Three-year-old homegrown fashion house Koonhor has been making waves around the globe, especially since it shifted its promotional base to the world’s fashion capital, Paris. The label changed its name from Aperçu when its designers — Catrine The and Koon Lim — decided on a rebranding exercise to break into the international fashion firmament.
The duo made plenty of headway right from the get-go with American stockists snapping up looks from Aperçu’s debut collection. After showcasing the re-launched brand’s spring/summer 2012 collection during Paris Fashion Week, however, Koonhor is now also available in fashion-forward Moscow concept store Mood Swings and Japanese luxury online store zozotown.com.
And it doesn’t take a stretch of the imagination to see why Koonhor has found such success, once you’ve checked out its clean, refined, and sophisticated designs. While the current summer 2012 collection is a riot of bright colours and bold digital prints inspired by Austrian painter/architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s organic forms, the upcoming fall/winter collection delves into the core of the Koonhor woman — an empowered individual with an assured sexuality. Think boxy tops in bonded fabric with special finishings; outerwear crafted from buttery-soft lambskin, and streamlined silk and wool dresses that exude strong femininity.
Not satisfied with producing just a lookbook for the next season, the designers decided to launch a video campaign titled The Corridor, shot in the ultramodern Straf Hotel Milan by videographer Matteo Cherubino and photographer Vicky Trombetta.
“It is based on the play of black and white; two colors that were predominant in our collection, and also symbolise the dual personalities of the protagonist and her ever-changing mood,” says The.
“The Corridor also serves as a leitmotif that symbolises the disorientation of a woman who is sophisticated, but strongly attracted to her subversive side.”
Next up for the ambitious brand: A handbag and small leather goods line. We can’t wait. But in the meantime, what exactly goes on in the minds of these two creative forces? I found out a little more by subjecting The and Lim to a condensed version of the Proust Questionnaire:
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Koon Lim: Three consecutive days of rest, without a single thought of work.
Catrine The: A good breakfast.
What are your obsessions of the moment?
KL: Shopping for furniture. Chairs to be specific.
CT: Sudoku.
Which living person do you most admire?
KL: Pixar artists.
CT: No one in particular.
What is your greatest extravagance?
KL: Hair perm.
CT: Clothing alterations.
Who are your heroes?
KL: My mother. She is a super mum who brought up eight children with pure
dedication and love.
CT: American author/humorist, David Sedaris. His books exhaust me with
helpless laughter. He adores some truly awful people, yet treats them with
dignity and even grace. Respect.
What is it that you most dislike?
KL: Dishonesty.
CT: Delay of any kind.
What is your most treasured possession?
KL: Old family photographs
CT: A Cartier Santos 100 watch from my father.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
KL: Thinking I am always right.
CT: Being over-analytical
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
KL: My straight hair. I wish I had natural curls.
CT: My nail-biting habit.
Koonhor is currently available at Shopthemag.com and will soon be available at Tangs, starting from its upcoming fall/winter 2012 collection.
