We’re at NYFW, seeing CHOCHENG fall/winter 2017 collection firsthand at the presentation. Read the review and see the inspiring scene!
Cho Cho Cheng is a film buff. He rattled off a list of favorite films while we had a brief interview at his Fall/Winter 2017 show, held at Industria in NYC. “This came from a passion of movies, I’d love to branch out into costume design” The garments were inspired by film as well, “I usually start with films [when designing the clothes], and then I look at old magazines, and a lot depends on what is available. Because I go to s fabric show, and sometimes I’m limited to that stock, so I must improvise.”
This collection was inspired by the stunning considerations of film (specifically The Big Sleep) and the fantasy of time, toward which Chocheng is particularly sensitive to. The “set” here was a highly detailed office of secretaries, a police station in the 40s, complete with cigarettes between clean fingers, face veils, pillbox hats, desks with typewriters, Rolodexes, yellowed newspapers, wired phones, handcuffs. Three vignettes of the classic police station. It was a performance as much as it was a presentation, models interacting subtly in stunning suits with padded shoulders, narrow waists, and dresses of exceptional tailoring in a muted colors of red, robin’s egg blue, and pink. Finished in vintage-inspired velvet, wool, and tweed, houndstooth, and dusty green with epaulets struck an important middle ground between couture tailoring and accessibility. The pieces felt weighty and expensive, but livable with pencil skirts and and contemporary details like silk flowers and heels. Models moved silently in the garments, a beautiful improvised interaction of the working office, in slow motion.
A black dress clung to a body, a perfectly rolled and rounded collar confirmed her sophistication. Turtleneck shirts accented the wool suit in perfectly, an effortless balance between detail and plain elegance. The heels featured a sheer netlike sock, which was a fabulously modern take on the mid sock. Rolled sleeves, geometric applications of fabric, trousers cut just above the ankle here all complimented a balance of complexity and grace. It was a film that came to life, a stage performance, and the garments were the stars.
Towards the end of our interview, Cho Cho Cheng reported he “is comfortable with this. [He] never do[es] anything [he’s] not comfortable with. [He] do[es]n’t take risk”. We’re having a hard time believing that, otherwise Cho’s understanding of “comfortable” is nothing short of extraordinary.
