Improbable Journey: A Metropolitan Fashion Odyssey

Exploring the Fusion of Architecture, Culture, and Fashion in Suet Yi Ko's Award-Winning Collection

The collection's design elements are deeply rooted in the urban landscapes of New York City. From uptown to downtown, the city's architecture and subway station artworks have been translated into design elements using hand-interlacing and felting techniques. The cutting of the outfits, inspired by the soulful subway station at 14th street, expresses a feeling of depth and soulfulness that Suet Yi Ko first experienced in the city.

The collection also reflects the city's fashion sensibilities, combining 80s inspired sportswear with an elegant style influenced by New Yorkers. Iconic styles like the bomber jacket and denim jacket, popular among New York hipsters, are key elements in the collection. The combination of these styles represents the cultural differences between Uptown and Downtown cultures.

The color palette of the collection mirrors the mood of New York City, inspired by the Highline, a railroad garden in the Chelsea area. The hues of sunlight, apartments, the sea, and evergreen gardens found in Manhattan are beautifully captured in the collection.

The collection's uniqueness lies in its expression of metropolitan diversity through handmade textiles and innovative silhouettes. The transformation of the city's architectural shapes into the outfits' silhouettes is a key design direction, showcasing the abstract fusion of architecture and multiculturalism.

The collection was realized through digital printing on wool, hand-felted wool, hand-interlacing patterned wool, and organza. The process of maintaining the 3D shape of the outfit design with different fabrics, given their varying stiffness, was a significant challenge. Hand felting and interlacing techniques, which required time and precision, added another layer of complexity to the design process.

The Improbable Journey collection was awarded the Platinum A' Fashion, Apparel and Garment Design Award in 2016, recognizing its world-class, exceptional, and highly innovative design that showcases unmatched professionalism and contributes to societal wellbeing. It is a defining aesthetic of an era, advancing the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology, and making the world a better place.