To highlight the clothes currently inhabiting our fantasy wardrobe, we've teamed up with vitaminwater and asked The FADER's extended family of photographers, stylists and models to pool their talents and showcase some of the best threads around. Each Styled by FADER will feature a different brand's collection of the season that sits at the top of our most-wanted list. This week, we bring you Siki Im. Click through the slideshow to see more photos from the shoot and to read our thoughts about the brand.
Some designers would find a palate of black, brown and grey to be boring, but for Siki Im, who trained as an architect before becoming a clothing designer, it was just the right kind of challenge. "All the blacks and greys let me focus more heavily on the structure of the clothes," says Im. "Sometimes color can be a distraction. I want people to see what I'm building." The dark shades in Im's fall collection allow his work with shape to shine. Proportions are on an amazing gradient: gauzy shirts are long and graze at the thigh, poking out far below blazers, which are stunted and boxy. Siki Im-styled outfits stand together like the jagged skyline of a city, some structures taller than others, an always beautiful hodgepodge of ups and downs.
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But even while Im's architectural background inspired the hard cuts of his clothes, there's also a touch of romance and sweetness that comes from his love of the dusty American southwest and its desert culture. "When I made this collection, I was actually feeling anxious from the city and all the buildings," he says. "At times, my mind wandered to places that were quiet. I wanted everything to feel tranquil." Beautiful ponchos and soft scarves that double as blankets bring his sky-high ideas down to Earth. Yet for all of its intricate, grand tailoring, it's his most accessible collection yet. "I make things for people to wear," Im says. "I left architecture because it wasn't open enough, it didn't always feel human. I need my work to live on people."
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Photography Talia Herman. Styling Ian Bradley. Model Jay Colbert at Re:Quest Models. All clothes by Siki Im, ponchos and blankets vintage, shoes by Florsheim for Duckie Brown.