Justin.oH is currently
exhibiting in Re-fashion at the Chinese
Arts Centre in Manchester.
Re-fashion
6 May 2005 – 17 July 2005
The curators of Re-fashion have announced their selected designers; Maria Chen Pascual, Julian and Sophie, Justin Oh, for this exhibition that
In a move away from recent fashion exhibitions Sally Lai, Chinese Arts Centre, and Amechi Ihenacho, designer and fashion co-ordinator, are interested in unearthing and revealing something of the creative process behind designer’s work as oppose to purely presenting finished garments.
They have chosen designers who are innovators, whose practice is fluid and whom they felt would embrace the challenge with energy and creativity. They work collaboratively, experimentally, questioning the structures of the industry, blurring the boundaries between fashion and art.
With the focus on process; ideas to date include ethereal environments created with vintage Victoriana incorporating sound and moving image, a digital message in a bottle of inspiration, cultural references, an exhaustive definition of ‘Here and Now’, ready-made sculptures wrapped in signature fabrics or suspended patterns.
Be prepared to be inspired.
Media sponsored by Flux Magazine
Autumn Winter 2005
The Planter
Justin.oH's celebratory 10th anniversary collection, The Planter' is truly special and uniquely personal. It is a celebration of Justin.oH's transitional multicultural journey through life.
Voluminous skirts and batik kilts echoing the rich fusion of indigenous life and Justin's captivating background are worn with delicate satin blouses and beautifully draped pin tucked wool jerseys. Exquisite silk herringbone and splendid vintage pinstripe and vivid coloured cotton shirting sporadically appear among a collection of wonderfully crafted wool gabardine and black chalk stripe wool tailored separates. The finale will embrace an array of 10th anniversary celebratory contoured paneled satin dresses all expressing the natural landscapes of indigenous territories.
Autumn Winter 2005 introduces Justin's first commercial menswear collection, combining the art of fine tailoring with the feeling of design. The collection showcases variations of earthy rich tweed, delightful herringbones and distinctive wool gabardines. Shirting is offered in vintage Savile Row pinstripes whilst ingenious pattern cutting is shown on trousers, jackets and overcoats. The collection is layered together to give a relaxed tailored edge, which together will satisfy both the effortless bohemian and the quirky country casual.
Colours: rustic brown, camel, moleskin brown, russet, tobacco, sage green, forest green, navy, blue, red and black.
Fabrics: satins, tweeds, herringbones, gabardines, riding twills, chalk stripes, cottons, cotton tweeds, wool jersey and batiks.
Editors Notes:
Justin's taste for British-ness started as a child when growing up in postcolonial Malaysia. It is from here his home territory that he has sourced his unique Batik fabric.
Even with the passing of colonialism he was selected for and attended a British school. His education shaped his understanding for cultural divides and for the reality that at that time, and even now, knowledge of the English language bestows a discriminatory superiority.
His British schooling was a deceptive blessing, allowing him to pursue his future journeys. His formative years were spent in the Australian outback, a region still rife with clashes between the differing ways of Aboriginals and white culture. The Australian landscape and tribal earth tones are echoed in this collection through the moleskin brown, russet and rustic brown satins, and is also referenced as pin tucks on wool jersey and on feminine satin skirts, dresses and the unstructured tailoring decorated with contrasting bindings.
After passing through three continents Justin.oH has now made London his home. He is however, no true outsider as he was and is a product of the postcolonial British Empire.
It is here in London that Justin has pursued his fascination with and formal training in traditional British tailoring. His passion for fine gabardine wools, tweeds, twills and cottons is reflected in the A/W 05 collection with the continued development of his signature tailored designs. These garments showcase the fusion of Justin's mixed background with his admiration for the lay tribal people who are a part of his past and future. Their way of life will continue to inspire him and help him reinvent British tailoring, as today we live in a multicultural world, that we have yet to come to terms with.
The Justin.oH label was established in 1995 after studies and experience took Justin from St Martin's School of Art , the Royal College of Art to Lachasse in London, Charles Jourdan in Paris, and most notably Yohji Yamamoto in Tokyo. In 1995, Justin also experienced his first London Fashion Week Show as part of the New Generation Designers then sponsored by Marks & Spencer. Over the last 10 years, with an enormously loyal and faithful staff the Justin.oH label has grown organically and successfully sold designs to prestigious stores across the world. On the eve of his 10th Anniversary, Justin continues to show and produce two collections each season in London.