From The Straits Times    |

SEOUL – Korean designer Lee Suk Tae’s label Kaal E. Suktae has been increasingly becoming one to watch. Although it was first launched way back in 1997, it’s really only since 2011 that the brand has garnered itself something of an international profile.

Which is a bit of a shame really; Lee’s training at the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne and his background working in the design teams at Sonia Rykiel and Christian Dior means his work is beautifully cut and finished and his attention to detail is sublime.

kaal e suktae aw14 at seoul fashion week DECOR 1Looks from Kaal E. Suktae AW14 with the amazing hats. Images: Seoul Fashion Week

Still, at least Kaal E. Suktae is now becoming better known globally; mind you, Lee is already at the top of the Korean fashion industry going by the desperate fight to get seats to his Autumn Winter 2014-15 show at Seoul Fashion Week. It was standing room only as the designer sent out a collection entitled “This Is That”, a minimalist take on 90s grunge apparently.

While it may have been Lee’s inspiration, to “translate ‘the grunge’ into modern and propose new structural silhouettes” according to the show notes, there were few obvious clues amongst the streamlined dresses, skirts, pants, tights and fabulous jackets and coats that there was anything 90s going on.

The odd midriff cut top perhaps? Or a kilt-like skirt here and there? More likely the layering of various lengths and textures, and the almost uniformly monochrome colour palette of black, grey and white with only touches of ruby red, ink blue and green to liven it up, could be seen as 90s styling.

kaal e suktae aw14 at seoul fashion week DECOR 2Looks from Kaal E. Suktae AW14. Images: Seoul Fashion Week

No matter the inspiration, the collection was an absolute stunner. The hats! Oh my … the enormously wide-brimmed felt hats were the signature accessory of the show but you really would need to be a brave fashionista to try wearing one front row; your neighbours would hate you. But the look was striking and balanced the gloriously chunky platform ankle boots wonderfully.

While the colour palette was fairly simple, the addition of a geometric print that looked like an etched line drawing and was used on a variety of fabrics, from leather and wool, to velvet, sateen and cotton, added visual and textural detail; as did the use of quilting techniques done in a linear format.

kaal e suktae aw14 at seoul fashion week DECOR 3kaal e suktae aw14 at seoul fashion week DECOR 4
Dashes of bright colour off-set the mostly black and white collection from Kaal E. Suktae AW14.
Images: Niki Bruce using Samsung NX30 camera

The current trend of sportiness was certainly visible in the collection, but done in a very elegant and modern way; these are clothes for a slightly sci-fi, futuristic fashionista who loves luxury but also needs to get things done (as long as she’s not wearing one of those hats). The layering concept created an endless number of separates that could easily fit into anyone’s wardrobe; and in fact really should.

WATCH THE KAAL E SUKTAE AW14 SHOW AT SEOUL FASHION WEEK:

You can shop Kaal E. Suktae online at Opening Ceremony (US) that ships to Singapore; go to www.openingceremony.us/kaalesuktae to shop. For more information about Kaal E. Suktae, to go www.kaalesuktae.com; you can follow the brand on Twitter at @kaalesuktae and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/KAAL-ESUKTAE. For more information about Seoul Fashion Week, go to www.seoulfashionweek.org. You can follow the event on Facebook at www.facebook.com/seoulfashionweek and on Instagram at @seoulfashionweek.