Image by Sophie Hong
Sophie Hong’s unique design sensibility comes from a desire to merge the organic lines of the East into the more tailored style of Western fashion. When encountering a HONG garment, one cannot ignore its undeniable reverence and quiet power. Sophie often finds herself looking to history to develop her own view and create contemporary, original collections. Her top priorities are ingraining nature deeply into her technical process while creating both artful and wearable garments
Sophie has developed her own visual language through incorporating subtle yet vital details: the signature piping that reinforces structural shape, and the decorative red thread that intentionally references a time when embroidered symbols were common on clothing items.
Using only organic materials like cotton, linen, and silk, and natural dyes, Sophie is devoted to upholding high environmental standards. She has invested herself into researching textiles and dyeing techniques since the brand’s beginning. Most notably, she uses the traditional “Mud Silk” technique and constantly experiments with environmental variables to achieve the unique quality that her textiles possess.
In 2012, Sophie debuted her Summer 2013 collection on the streets of Paris as models acting as pedestrians cheerfully paraded the streets to the tune of Bach. Sophie later turned the experience into a publication in which notable attendees recounted and gave their opinions on the mystical event. Here is an excerpt of what Vicky Sung, editorial and business consultant of Textile Asia, had to say in favor of the beloved Sophie Hong —
