Though Korean-born designer Rejina Pyo usually skips the runway experience, she made a special exception at London Fashion Week today. Taking over a large lecture theatre of London’s Quaker Centre on the smoggy Euston Road, she presented clothes that real women, and her legions of fans, will love to wear.
Though the setting was sombre, like all things with Pyo what you first see is not always what you get. When the lights dipped, and the eighties soundtrack started pumping, out came her models in modest-looking clothing that would turn out to be transparent under the light or fall low at the back to reveal a tiny bow keeping the whole piece tied in place.
Though Central Saint Martins-trained Pyo didn’t succumb to the pressure of showing ‘catwalk’ showpieces, that doesn’t mean her elegant spring summer 18 collection wasn’t exceptional. Her fashion fantasy for next season is a tale of dresses that flatter the female form, fluid suits and party dresses for the grown-up that likes frills. Block colouring was only once broken up by print, but the weight of long hemmed tailoring was balanced by tangerine colour aviators and blacked-out rectangular specs.
Those familiar with Pandora Sykes and Laura Jackson’s well-dressed wardrobes will find the nipped in waist and contrast stitching of Pyo’s pieces familiar. Rather than reinventing the wheel, this designer drove her aesthetic into spring. She may have added smock dresses and straw bags to her repertoire, but for all the new-ness the look was recognisably Pyo. This is what made her first runway experience so special; it was a sign her brand is maturing and that all is still to play for. It certainly made us look forward to a spring draped in bias-cut silk dresses and carnation pink suiting.