Siki Im on Vogue.
Siki Im—now showing his collection in Paris as opposed to New York, where he is based—found his swell for Spring on a surf trip to Bali. “What really impressed me there was the feeling of spirituality in the day-to-day.
When I was surfing, nearby there was a shrine. It was almost this . . . dichotomy.”
That surprise mix of sport and holiness breathed life into a collection that wasn’t derivatively Balinese as much as it was a globalized translation of what, exactly, it is that pulls so very many to the Indonesian paradise.
Bali seems to promise wellness, casualness, meditativeness, inclusiveness, and introspection.
Clothes-wise, Im’s interpretation of that meant shirts and pants that had built-in sarong layers; and short-shorts (on-trend!) from his dedicated sports line, Siki Im Cross, that were made for wearing with tunics.
One pair of those shorts had a lovely hibiscus print, an imprint of a sort of digitalized take on the natural verve the designer wanted to extract.
When specifically speaking about athletic gear, which was styled in the lookbook with his eponymous line, Im mentioned it was for the “poetic jock.”
That too presented a mindful dichotomy; in this day and age it is more than ever acceptable, if not normalized, for a jock to be poetic. Im’s customer will find piece after piece that satisfies his inner romantic gamesman, from best-seller drop-crotch terry-cloth pants to heat-pressed running shorts to featherlight linen tops to maroon joggers.
“Now it’s about being easy. The opposite of trying too hard,” Im concluded. We’re in agreement.
Siki Im Studio @sikiim.
