Following a successful in-person show at Seoul Fashion Week this month, Bonbom Jo tells us about his inspirations—and what it’s like to design for Blackpink and other superstars
South Korean designer Bonbom Jo recently made his runway debut at Seoul Fashion Week, where he presented his brand Bonbom’s fall/winter 2022 collection.
The event, which is held biannaully, took place from March 18-23 and offered a mix of live-streamed runways and in-person shows. It marked the first offline Seoul Fashion Week events since 2019.
See also: How Dhruv Kapoor Is Making Waves with Indian-Inspired Sustainable Fashion Design
In Bonbom’s new collection, named “This Is the Way That We Love Like It’s Forever”, the brand’s biker-couture-inspired look took centre stage, accompanied by heavy doses of the Y2K aesthetic: think low-rise mini-skirts, crop tops and oversized cargo pants. The collection also took inspiration from the zoot suit, made popular in the 1930s and 1940s by jazz musicians in the US, as well as the influential sukeban subculture of Japan. The term, meaning “female delinquent youth”, refers to a female gang or the leader of a female gang, and the subculture is characterised by a distinct look that includes brightly dyed light-coloured hair and school uniform-inspired look adapted by its followers.
Jo, who launched Bonbom in 2020, was born in Seoul and spent some of his childhood in Texas before returning to South Korea to study fashion at Hanyang University. Before establishing his brand, he also studied at the London College of Fashion. The brand has been steadily gaining traction over the past couple of years—it’s particularly known for creating custom pieces for the country’s K-pop idols: the likes of girl groups Blackpink and Aespa, as well as Girls’ Generation leader Taeyeon, have all been spotted in Bonbom.
Don’t miss: How This Japanese Designer Brought Hybrid Fashion to the Forefront