Rok Hwang launches menswear for spring, giving fashion fans a new way to reimagine the classics.

Rok Hwang, a <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/celine-fall-winter-2024-collection-hedi-slimane">Celine</a> alum and prot&eacute;g&eacute; of <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/fashion/phoebe-philo-womenswear-history-brand-designer-collections-career-quiet-luxury">Phoebe Philo</a>, is part of the rising generation of avant-garde designers reclaiming classic codes. After three years at Celine, Hwang set out to revolutionize womenswear with his own label, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/hm-collaboration-rokh-collection">Rokh</a>. Founded in 2016, Rokh epitomizes elegant and elevated womenswear that plays with androgynous styling and deconstructed designs. He snapped up an LVMH Prize in 2018 for his womenswear, and finally, this spring, debuts his first-ever menswear collection.&nbsp;
A fundamental ethos for Rokh is that a garment must take on many forms and identities in order to achieve its full potential&mdash;the designer&rsquo;s clothes can often transform into multiple different pieces. Any tailored and reconstructed pieces in his new <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/categories/men">menswear</a> collection live up to this pillar. Here, Hwang sits down with L&rsquo;OFFICIEL to dive deeper into his inspiration and methods of creation for his upcoming collection.

L&rsquo;OFFICIEL: Your menswear collection is an extension of your womenswear. Why wait five years to launch it?
ROK HWANG: I think it&rsquo;s related to how I create on a daily basis. Whatever garment I design, I start it with my hands, working the drape, the pinfall. But the terrain of the female body is more interesting for this&mdash;its forms, its curves. Especially for tailoring, to which I attach great importance. So, from a less artistic and more Cartesian point of view, we felt the need to install the language of the brand by feeding the women&rsquo;s collection first.
L'O: How is this first men&rsquo;s collection the masculine counterpart of the women&rsquo;s collection?&nbsp;
RH: Both start from the same approach: the movement of the human body. The technique is the same, but it took us time to adapt the patterns and replicate the system identically.
L'O: How would you define Rokh? &nbsp;
RH: Raw and sensual. The contrast between two worlds&mdash;the perfect and the imperfect, the precision of craftsmanship and the chaos of spontaneity. The confrontation is fundamental for me and at the heart of the brand.
L'O: This obsession with the in-between, in constant evolution, is your signature. How does this translate from a technical point of view?&nbsp;
RH: This is what I call the philosophy of reconstruction. What I like, above all, is to combine all the elements of a garment&rsquo;s construction in my own way. I dissect it, then reassemble. A dress can become a suit, and cargo pants a dress. Taking an element and adapting it to its new function gives it a new life. That&rsquo;s why I spend most of my time in the studio. I&rsquo;m not saying that the outside world does not interest me&mdash;far from it&mdash;but I am fascinated by the details: a seam, a button, everything I call micro. I think that&rsquo;s what makes the imagination work best, and that leads to the big picture. It&rsquo;s like writing the script for a movie. To be perfectly honest, this love of workshop work is one of my strengths.

Look from the debut Rokh menswear Spring/Summer 2024 collection

"[Rokh is] the contrast between two worlds&mdash;the perfect and the imperfect, the precision of craftsmanship and the chaos of spontaneity."

L'O: Does working on wardrobe essentials (such as trenches, suits, and military uniforms) reassure you and, if so, why?&nbsp;&nbsp;
RH: It&rsquo;s true that I am emotionally very attached to the great classics, to what I call the archetypes of the dressing room, and this has always been the case. Probably because there&rsquo;s a story behind it. I am a collector of art as clothing, especially military garments.&nbsp;
L'O: Your young brand already has a very strong DNA, with commercial bestsellers. How do you explain this success?&nbsp;
RH: I sincerely think that the fact that we were able to focus only on ready-to-wear in the beginning and never deviated from that by resisting, for example, the commercial [lure] of an accessory line. It allowed us to build a very strong, identity-based wardrobe that speaks to customers. This is a strength, especially for a brand like ours&mdash;independent, and still very free to choose.
L'O: Do you agree that the Fall/Winter 2022 collection marked a major turning point for Rokh?&nbsp;
RH: That&rsquo;s exactly right, and I&rsquo;m glad you noticed! When I started, I dreamed of cinema, novels, and writing my own story. More recently I have moved to another stage: focusing on the garment itself.&nbsp;

"I am an eternal optimist. I&rsquo;m one of those who think that we must always see the good side of things."

L'O: You&rsquo;re a graduate of Central Saint Martins, a disciple of Phoebe Philo, and winner of the LVMH Special Prize. Everything happened so quickly for you. Was it too fast?
RH: It&rsquo;s clear that I did a lot! With many challenges, so different but so formative. And complementary. Central Saint Martins taught me how to develop my creativity; Phoebe Philo [taught me] precision and perfection; the LVMH Prize relationships [taught me the value of] mutual aid and networking.
L'O: The media increasingly associate your name with those of the &ldquo;New Guard&rdquo;&mdash;along with Jonathan Anderson&mdash;representatives of a deliberately sharp and thoughtful fashion, a reflection of today&rsquo;s current state of affairs. Do you agree?
RH: Yes. I am an eternal optimist. I&rsquo;m one of those who think that we must always see the good side of things. We each have our own style and different creative methods, but we agree on the fact that we want to bring something new by breaking the established rules in order to impose a postmodern vision of fashion, with our own language and an obsession [with finding] perfection in chaos. That&rsquo;s what I consider to be my mission, and I find it very exciting.
L'O: What&rsquo;s next for Rokh?&nbsp;
RH: The arrival of menswear is the big step of the moment. But I already know that the next step will be to establish the brand universe with the opening of the first store&mdash;in Paris, of course.

Rising Designer Rok Hwang Subverts the Classics

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