Throughout the pandemic, Eudon Choi leaned into escapism, delivering flights of fancy themed around destinations as far-flung as Bhutan, the Swiss Alps, and the Amalfi Coast. But even as he’s turned his lens back to the here and now—expressed most firmly in February, with his first runway show since 2019—it appears there’s still a little bit of that dreamily romantic spirit loitering around.
Choi’s resort collection was sparked by a black-and-white photograph of a 1930s woman that had hung around on his mood boards for many seasons. A member of his team identified her as Renée Perle, a muse to the photographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue; after the couple spent two years swanning around the French Riviera in the early 1930s, she all but disappeared. “With everything that’s happening in the world, I was really looking for a great love story to inspire me,” says Choi.
Yet while Choi always comes equipped with a charming backstory, the real reason he’s established such a loyal customer base is thanks to wearability of his clothes. No garment serves a single purpose; every piece has a trick up its sleeve and offers some element of customization. Thread the various straps at the waist of your trousers to make a belt detail, or just let them hang; slip into a knit top and choose which of the various openings you want to put your arms through, as whichever way, it will fit.
If that sounds gimmicky at all, it’s totally the opposite. There were plenty of immediately desirable pieces this season, from slinky ribbed knit dresses in green melange and dusty pinks, to delightfully skin-baring cotton shirts worn open to reveal the knotted belt details of trousers underneath, to a particularly ravishing set of trench coats and shirts featuring broderie anglaise in the shape of leaves. With all the airy linens and nautical undercurrents that make for effortless summer dressing, this collection was a pleasure to look at, and, we imagine, an even greater pleasure to wear.
