It is extremely common for fashion designers to reference the past in the garments they make, some even basing entire collections around a particular era or event, however who is looking at the present and how it will be referenced in the future? Post Archive Faction are.
If you haven’t had the privilege of knowing about PAF at this point, you are in for a treat. The entire ethos of the brand directly goes against the fashion industries practices, yet it hasn’t stopped them from becoming one of the most innovative and interesting clothing brands out there right now.
Let’s first begin with the history of the brand. Founded in 2018 by Sookyo Jeong,and DongJoon Lim, who is now the creative director of the brand. Lim has a background in industrial design and he incorporates it into his work for PAF.
Instead of relying on references from the past like most fashion designers, PAF chooses to create a new product that will become the foundation for the future. Essentially by creating something that is fully new, PAF is creating it’s own reference points. Doing this allows them to incorporate their own ideologies, instead of relying on references that have connotations attach to them from the past that is impossible to remove.
This choice has meant that PAF has avoided being placed into any genre of fashion as there is nothing in the garments that can be associated with anything but them.
Instead of referencing the past, PAF looks to nature for inspiration, then using technology, will imitate the forms and structures, creating garments that are a hybrid of tech and of organic structures.
It is easy to become fatigued by the seemingly endless cycle of fashion, where it feels like designers are stuck in a feedback loop of imitating the past. That’s why what PAF is doing is so innovative and important. Sometimes to escape the past, you must build your own future.
References
Post Archive Faction (PAF)’s design language – The Curriculum Ep 5. (n.d.). http://Www.youtube.com. Retrieved May 6, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD0QSxzu62U&t=602s
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