Jung Wook-jun switches gender focus
On the 10th anniversary of his avant-garde fashion label Juun.J, South Korean designer Jung Wook-jun has ventured into rare territory for him: womenswear.
His latest collection starred in the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s Centrestage event last week, and much like his menswear it featured oversized silhouettes, excessive layering and street-style tailoring.
Jung, 50, says the switch to womenswear coinciding with the anniversary follows his usual pattern of change and renewal. He says women have been wearing his clothes for a long time, and people around him have been asking him to make womenswear for years.
He says his aesthetic has gradually shifted over the years from menswear with feminine elements to increasingly gender-neutral clothes. Now he is reversing the dynamic by giving womenswear a more masculine edge.
Jung is working with Hong Kong fashion boutique Joyce again this month on a menswear-focused pop-up store inside Lane Crawford IFC as well as online. Titled “No Man is an Island”, it features collections from similar avant-garde designers Raf SImons, Rick Owens and Yohji Yamamoto.