Even after 35 seasons, Juun.J creative director Jung Wook-jun shows no sign of running out of steam in his perpetual quest to reconcile opposing ideas.
Plays on volume have been part and parcel of the designer’s work since the brand’s beginning and so has the modus operandi of inflating, streamlining and refining cuts.
Built on voluminous layers and sophisticated textures, the collection folded together couture and workwear.
Fusing staples such as MA-1 bomber jackets, overalls and tailored jackets with mermaid dresses, puffball skirts and cocoon-like volumes, the result was elegant.
Shoulders were the anchor for these silhouettes, with the bottom half hewing close to the legs or occasionally flaring out with kicky hemlines or trailing backs, turning a polo shirt into a formfitting floor-length gown, heavy-duty twill into a sharp suit and a Canadian tuxedo into a glamorous playsuit.
Some of these garments were also transformable, such as extra-wide utility cargo pants that had panels that could be zipped into an overskirt.
Elsewhere, Jung injected more subtle touches, whether a collar cut out of leather, lace fused into the parachute silk or a mercerized net overlaid on an oversize faded denim top. This reinforced the final impression that the more formal and feminine side was to the fore.
For the finale, he sent the cast back out wearing a range of blue mesh sports jerseys emblazoned with the number 35, for the number of collections Jung’s created so far.
Thrown over lace tights, sparkly bustier bodysuits or tailored mini-shorts, it felt like an on-point transition between the dressier mood of the men’s spring runways and the Olympic vibe taking over the city.
They also telegraphed the image of a winning team’s parade and given the solid collection Jung put out, that was a fair assumption.