Nohke (Q3526)

After a few seasons, the recipe for a Nohke show has been all but set. Walking in, one expects a touch of European art influence, and indeed the Spring 2018 runway was decorated with two square steel beam cubes with sheer violet and lime-lit curtains, as a recording of Pina Bausch played in the background. The clothes will deal with sharp deconstruction and fluid drape, plus a mix of feminine romance and fetishism. “Lately,” designer Mi Sun Jung said backstage, “I’ve been very interested in smart factories and that sort of technology. So, this season plays a bit with futurism, but a future that is very feminine.”Yoon Young Bae opened the show in a boxy camel coat, sliced in the front, with loose asymmetrical pants; another model wore a black mesh top and corset bandeau to add toughness to a khaki vest (all the “leather” pieces were in fact a spring-appropriate coated denim). There were some nice clean items—a white cotton poplin with belted straps, draped and tiered in a way that resembled a judo gi or straightjacket. Boxy blue shirting with undone buttons on the sleeves also worked well.“I focus on the cutting and movement because I think it’s important for women to look beautiful, no matter how tall or short or what size they might be,” she said. It’s true that thoughtful, dimensional cutting is where Nohke has shown the most promise. It would be nice to see more dimension in the color, as well. Though flat, richly pigmented hues are a signature of hers, experimenting with depth might help elevate the clothes, as would revisiting some fabrics—a few small considerations to take the brand to the next level.