Scene setting: Rejina Pyo has been renovating her house. For A/W 2019, this led the designer to consider the foundations of form and the crux of creation. She held her fourth collection on the London Fashion Week schedule in a raw venue near Covent Garden, its runway set made up of construction-inspired wooden beams and protective plastic sheeting. ‘The process really made me think about structure,’ Pyo said backstage. ‘And what clothing is really about.’
Mood board: ‘I was inspired by a time when clothing was cherished, and people bought classics that would last,’ Pyo said. ‘I wanted to bring the best of each era into the collection.’ This drawing on a diverse range of references translated into a collection featuring smart pencil skirts, silk dresses, easy tailoring and voluminous evening wear. Eighties flounce, 1940s skirt hems and 1990s sportswear. Classic shapes yes, but there was a contemporaneity to the collection, nodding to Instagram’s current penchant for colour, an off-kilter detail, a boldly hued bag, a sliver of vinyl or a sparkle of Lurex. The mix and match aesthetic and colour blocked styling, that incorporated turquoise and chocolate, lilac and sugary yellow was right on the radar for now.
Finishing touches: Pyo’s jewel box-like Olivia bag has become a signature of the young brand, and architectural bags abound outside the shows at fashion week. Her accessories had an interior design-élan, including mules with spindly heels resembling bamboo cane and objet-like handbags. ‘I always joke that by the time I am sixty I want to be making sculptures from my house in the mountains,’ Pyo said. ‘A slight change in line can really give designs a life and make them interesting.’ §
