Jekeun Explores Identity and the Human Psyche for FW23

The London-based, South Korean-owned emerging brand Jekeun is back for Fall/Winter 2023, this time drawing influence from the South Korean film Attack The Gas Station (주유소 습격 사건 ). Like the film, Jekeun wants to examine how human’s interact, respond, and portray themselves and one another — for the movie, this took place inside a gas station where the comedic criminals stole money, and for the brand, it too heads to a gas station to shoot its lookbook with commentary on the human psyche.

Taking to Bundang on the outskirts of Seoul, near where the founder Jekeun Cho grew up, the lookbook highlights a night of teenage exploration and finding oneself, particularly through the lens of identity.

Keyrings that would hold information like an address, name, and phone number are pieced together to create a vest top, commenting further on the collection’s ethos. Likewise, the neon yellow cracks that peak through a corduroy denim two-piece look imply that our identities are always on show, even when we try to hide behind clothes.

But aside from metaphors and deep meanings, we also find a collection of well-designed, curated must-haves. Punkish undertones come to the fore with an old English chore jacket done up in red plaid with faux fur collars and leather rope fastening, while crushed green velvet oozes a ’70s flair across a suit, it too sporting cracks of orange beneath in a dual-layered effect.

A touch of voyeurism and identification appears with an iPhone camera peaking out of the pocket of a blue and pink plaid suit jacket, once again tapping into Western influences. On the contrary, South Korea’s flawless taste and style, particularly when it comes to workwear trends, arrives in the form of a cobalt blue oversized zip-up jacket, informed also by techwear references.

Take a look at the latest collection from Jekeun above, and find out more about the brand on its Instagram.

In other news, Kid Cudi has debuted his new brand, Members of the Rage.