While Eudon Choi’s roving eye has seen him indulge in a series of charming flights of fancy over the past two years, each inspired by a different exotic destination, for pre-fall he decided to look a little closer to home—specifically to his early days as a designer. “I started doing menswear in Korea, and I was back there recently, which got me thinking about the memories of when I just started,” said Choi. “I just wanted to bring back that feeling of when I first began in fashion, and how I fell in love with it.”
One of Choi’s most abiding memories from this time was his discovery of Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 classic Blow-Up, and its gently satirical vision of the Swinging Sixties fashion scene in London through the lens of a David Bailey–esque photographer who accidentally witnesses a murder. (This inspiration came through most palpably in the backdrop for the look book, which forewent Choi’s typically more lavish sets in favor of a stark photographer’s studio, echoing the film’s infamous scene starring Veruschka posing on an infinity curve.)
When it came to the clothes, however, Choi steered away from more literal parallels, instead using the reference as a starting point to explore anew the 1960s menswear that inspired him as a young designer. An emphasis on form-fitting tailoring—here explored in a dandyish, dusty pink suit with oversized pockets and a royal blue blazer with off-kilter button detailing—was one such example. “Over the pandemic, we’ve been leaning into more of a relaxed feel and making things comfortable fit-wise,” Choi explained. “I wanted to make things a little tighter and more compact, where you could show off your body a bit, so the ’60s felt perfect.” Meanwhile, instead of leaning into the decade’s famously trippy prints, he looked to painters that defined the era to inform his eclectic color palette—from the everyday people immortalized in punchy, graphic colors by Alex Katz, to the mundane objects realized in similarly vibrant shades by the British painter William Scott.
While Choi’s calling card is undoubtedly his ability to take even the flounciest and most feminine of garments and give them a practical attitude, it was fun to see him play with motifs from the men’s side of the aisle this season, whether shirting with military-style epaulets and riffs on tuxedo bibs, or a trench coat storm flap repurposed as a shawl. Just as you might find an unexpected panel or pocket when trying on one of Choi’s garments for the first time, his ability to find a new angle on a well-worn reference like Blow-Up is proof that—even when dialing back to something more minimal—he still has the ability to surprise.
