Kanghyuk

In 2017 after graduating from the prestigious Royal College of Art, Kanghyuk Choi and Sanglak Shon launched their ambitious namesake label Kanghyuk with the intention of bringing to life a conceptually-driven ready-to-wear brand. The visionary South Korean designers quickly garnered critical acclaim amongst members of the fashion world for his use of unorthodox materials: deployed vehicular airbags constitute one of the defining features of their utilitarian-inspired menswear collection. Although influenced by notions of the early twentieth-century readymade, they cleverly push this concept further, deconstructing the pre-existing everyday object only to reassemble it anew. The deployed airbag thus takes on a second life as it is recrafted into modern and durable outerwear, vests, shirts, and trousers. Stark serial numbers and bold contrasting thread run through the collection, providing visual unification to each piece, while unexpected mesh construction and sportswear-inspired elements ensure that the brand’s unconventional offerings do not veer too earnestly into the dystopic. By recasting meticulously-tailored wardrobe staples in discarded technical fabrics, they communicate a highly personal design statement that, while futuristic in aesthetic, is ingenious in its nonconformist approach to design.