Songzio and Egonlab Unveil Military-Inspired Collection "The Art of Dark Poetry"
Seoul's Songzio and Paris-based Egonlab have released a joint collection built on French military uniforms. The range is called "The Art of Dark Poetry," and it goes online on Monday, according to WWD.
Songzio is a South Korean fashion house rooted in Seoul. Egonlab is a label based in Paris. The two teams worked together for about eight months on the project. Songzio's creative director and chief executive, Jay Song, has said the house brought the construction and architectural shapes, while Egonlab brought what the brands describe as Parisian romanticism and subversion.
The collection takes its starting point from historical French military dress and reshapes its structured silhouettes. Pieces include exaggerated shoulders, defined waists, long officer coats and wider cavalry jackets. Traditional military trims appear throughout. Frogging, the braided fastenings found on old military coats, sits alongside soutache, a narrow braid, plus other braids and decorative cords. In some pieces the trims run down the pant legs rather than across a jacket.
The online release will be followed by a launch event at Songzio's flagship in Seoul on Wednesday, 11 November. The Paris launch is set for 3 December at the house's store in the Marais, the historic district of the French capital. The Marais store is a neo-brutalist building, a style built on raw concrete and blunt forms, designed by Songzio's creative director.
Songzio has a track record in entertainment costume too. The house designed the wardrobe for BTS' "Arirang" comeback, a set of looks called "Lyrical Armor," which WWD reported in March. Those costumes mixed traditional Korean dress with the armour of the early Joseon era, the period that ran from 1392 to 1897, and reshaped both into sculptural forms.
The new range follows the same idea of armour turned into fashion, this time with a French source. Songzio's homme, or menswear, line is known for experimental patternmaking and technical details, according to the house's own website. The joint collection puts those habits next to Egonlab's approach, and the two brands are now putting it on sale in the same window.
