Defamilarization – Munn At London Fashion Week Mens

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I always like to do things a little differently, so I thought today we’d look at the womenswear from the unisex collection presented by Korean label Munn at London Fashion Week Mens. The collection was a deep dive into sustainable and ecologically minded design including using textiles to create the look of leather and fur alongside the more considerately produced accompanying them.

It’s worth noting the level of recycling going on here, while the fabrics look sumptuous and heavy, many have been derived from coffee bean bags, tires and salvaged denim among other items. When they talk about change, they are really focused on reducing material creation and waste.

This was a darker creative direction than we’ve perhaps seen before from Hyun-Min Han, but understandably so as the genesis of the collection was the Korean civil war that to this day plays a large role in both society and identity on the peninsula.

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The inspiration is derived from images the designer saw depicting refugees and the difficulties faced by people during the conflict. When I discussed the collection with Hyun-Min after the show he said he had also been influenced by Alexander McQueen, that this collection feels like there is a note of the late 90’s period of that most hallowed of designers should come as no surprise. Here he has mixed tailoring with dramatic forlorn apocalyptic themes.

The layering of the more traditional Hanbok touches mixed with flourishes of English classicalism create much interest, drawing you in to examine the true nature of the looks, the dabs of light and colour that side by lift from the almost overwhelming darkness of the deeper hues. There is a lot going on, Hyun-Min is the ring master, getting colour, textile types and various forms of loose and tight all to play together making a collection that is as thoughtfully diverse as it is controlled.

I’m a little in love with it.

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