Emerging from the shadows of an ever-changing cultural skyline, the London-based, Korean-crafted label Jekeun unveils its Autumn/Winter 24 collection entitled “Stray Dogs.” Through the moody captures by lens maestro Joseph Delaney and the style narrative spun by Matt King, Jekeun stitches a thread connecting with Daido Moriyama’s raw snapshots of life amidst chaos – a homage to an ethos that defines not perfection, but reality in its undiluted essence.
The emblematic 1971 portrayal of a “Stray Dog” by Moriyama mirrors, for Cho, the turmoil within the human spirit – an anchored analogy to a society scrabbling amid uncertainty, its individuals embroiled in a relentless quest for identity while wrestling with profound senses of dislocation and existential dread.
The narrative of Jekeun is penned through the rebels of a generation teetering on the edge – somewhere between the remnants of history and the unwritten chapters of what’s to come. It’s a tale of youthful defiance, punctuated by hesitant optimism and shadowed by the search for self amidst a whirlwind of societal turbulence. In Cho’s vision, the ordinary becomes extraordinary through a transformative lens, viewing the uniform as a canvas of subversive personal expression, which these wandering souls tirelessly reinvent, yet never discard.
Craftsmanship meets rebellion in the creation of Jekeun’s unique textiles, birthed from innovative techniques in silk printing, with patterns whispering tales of mechanized dreams, of motorbike chains whispered through each thread. Ushering in a sustainable stance, discarded school uniforms rise from the ashes with an estimated 1.4 million pieces forsaken annually on UK soil alone. Their reincarnation through the collection, in unison with Marton Mills, constructs a tapestry both authentically raw and environmentally conscious.
Endeavouring into the realm of accessories, Jekeun’s alliance with CC-Steding blooms once more, presenting an armoury of adornments: necklaces, bracelets, keyrings, and tie holders, each piece a phoenix raised from upcycled motorbike parts and chains, exalted into existence with a glint of fine silver.
Peeling back the layers of Jekeun’s creator, Cho is a tapestry of cultural narratives himself – a seedling from South Korea, nurtured with Japanese roots, and law schooled in China, before the calling of London’s fashion ethos beckoned. This blend of East and West is intricately woven into the brand’s psyche, shedding light on the diverse tableau of conformity versus individualism.
