I’ve always wondered about the phrase ‘the sun has put his hat on’. What does it mean exactly? What kind of hat is it? Is it a sombrero or a sunhat, a beret or a beanie? Maybe even a boater tipped stylishly to one side? And why does everyone assume the sun is a ‘he’? Even the French language, with its masculine and feminine nouns describes it as ‘le soleil’, but, I’ve always thought of it as a bit more femme. With CC Kuo around, this is a question (and philosophical debate) that doesn’t need to be answered (or explored in a neverending cycle of questions). Forget the sun putting his headgear on, you can get your sun on.
CC Kuo‘s latest collection is a range of clothes patterned with skylines and sunsets. The pieces feature cloud-cover on dresses, sunlight peeking out of coat shoulders, and even beams bursting out of busts. What more could a gal want than to have something as beautiful as dawn and dusk right there on her lapel?! Just looking at these togs makes me think of the imagery in the (ever overused but still undeniably wonderful) Auden poem Funeral Blues that they read on Four Weddings and a Funeral all that time ago. Maybe even a hint of the sun in Wordsworth’s Composed Upon Westminster Bridge and Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 thrown in for luck.
Ok, I know you’re probably a bit dubious now, ‘who compares clothes to poetry?’ you ask? Well, the sky is probably one of the most beautiful things that there is, and we, (or at least, I) with our heads in our laptops and our fingers on our keypads, don’t often take notice of those funny, fluffy white things up there or the beautiful yellow gassy lightblub that gives our daylight. Unless of course you’re a big Instagrammer, or it’s about to rain.
CC Kuo brings our attention back to nature. Born in Taiwan CC graduated from Central St Martins. Her signature digital prints and both beautiful and wearable, and her clothes have graced the catwalk at Vauxhall Fashion Scout which is swiftly becoming part of the initiation for young designers. She launched her namesake label in 2010 and since then she’s been featured by a whole army of mags and the like, including Elle, Pop and The Independent.
Whether it’s in the form of a handbag, a heel, a dress or a coat, what could be better than having your very own chunk of the world’s ceiling? With her S/S 2014 collection on the horizon I spoke to CC Kuo about her sunset patterned collection White Lovers, the recently released video to accompany it and what inspires her to make these pretty pieces.
Can you describe CC Kuo in just three words?
Modernism, simplicity and fantasy.
How did your video collaboration with Robert Rogan and Meng-Chia Lai come about?
I have been friends with Meng-Chia for a long long time since our CSM days and we’ve always talked about working together. My PR (and good friend) Roxanne suggested the idea of an illustrative film this season as a different format of expressing the collection. I thought this would be a good opportunity to work with Meng-Chia and she introduced me to Robert Rogan.
CC Kuo by Maya Beus
Your new A/W 2013 collection is named ‘White Lovers’ and lists swans as one of the inspirations, is this to do with the fact that swans mate for life?
Not in particular as I was more focusing on the contrasting elements within the collection. I didn’t know that swans mate for life but now I know, I love the fact they do.
When did you go on the trip to Lake Balaton in Hungary that inspired this collection?
I went to Hungary last winter. I am inspired by my trips abroad and often use this as an inspiration.
Water and trees are the backdrop of this collection, do you feel that nature and fashion can coexist?
Of course it does! Nature is so important to us as human beings and I hope to use fashion to better illustrate how beautiful nature is.
CC Kuo by Laura Hickman
Your print designs are really distinctive, where do you get your inspiration?
I am inspired by everything I see, everything around me.
Is it important to you for your clothes to be wearable?
Yes, extremely important. I think clothing only makes its biggest impact when it’s wearable.
You’ve learnt from the likes of Alexander McQueen and Michiko Koshino, how do you feel this helped you develop as a designer?
My experiences working with these designers has taught me that discipline and passion are essential. Determination and a great work ethic is also a necessity.
CC Kuo by Jordan Andrew Carter
Your graduate collection was featured in Pop magazine, how does it feel to see your clothes featured in magazines?
Proud.
What draws you to opulent fabrics like silk and velvet?
For me, clothing should make women feel good about themselves, so I always use the best materials in a collection.
What projects do you have lined up for the next few months?
I am working on my next collection at the moment but also looking for a good collaborator to develop a diffusion line.
Do you feel like there’s a lot of pressure for each collection to be better than the last?
No, because I put in everything I can into each collection.
What’s your personal style?
I wear a lot of my own designs. I am very comfortable in my own skin.
Don’t be a chicken little, afraid that the sky is falling, grab a piece of it yourself by checking out the CC Kuo website www.cckuo.com
Categories ,A/W 2013, ,Alexander McQueen, ,Bags, ,CC KUO, ,Central St Martins, ,Dresses, ,fashion, ,Hungary, ,illustrative film, ,Jordan Andrew Carter, ,Lake Balaton, ,Laura Hickman, ,Meng-Chia Lai, ,Michiko Koshino, ,nature, ,Pop magazin, ,Robert Rogan, ,sunsets, ,swans, ,trees, ,Velvet, ,wearable, ,Womenswear
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