Kiok (Q4943)

Though Kiok remains a family business run by mother Kiok Kang and daughters Coco.J and Crayon Lee, Spring 2018 saw the 13-year-old label fall squarely into Coco’s domain. ”It was really about what Coco wanted to wear as a kid,” Crayon explained backstage. “So, we have a lot of ’80s in here, what she looked at women wearing and thought was beautiful and grown-up then.”Here the ’80s meant a ’60s redux as well, and a color palette that was far more understated than previous seasons—nearly all black and white with a few pops of green, a dash of red, and the ever-present denim. Went to Wonderland was the collection’s tagline, and the runway was mod black and white checked tile. There were plenty of polka dots—a black bandeau top beneath a sheer tulle spotted jacket, frilled wrap skirts—and many leg-of-mutton sleeves. A sweet denim coat on male model Jin Park was a pleasant surprise. To counter the volume up top, a few looks had exaggerated curves at the hip that were inspired, Coco said, by her childhood love of Mrs. Potts fromBeauty and the Beast(though it did remind one also of more wearable Comme).As Kiok has the potential to fill a need in the market—women interested in something fun and fashion-forward at a more contemporary price point—it is not wholly surprising to see some on-trend shapes and details occurring here. That said, it would be nice to see the brand fine-tune its individual vision; perhaps letting a single voice come through more clearly is the right way to go.