“I wanted to freeze the beach,” said Ambush’s Yoon Ahn during a private appointment at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, where a photo shoot for her Fall lookbook was taking place. Last season, Ahn went for a streetwise-surfer aesthetic. This time, she’s dipped the temperatures—imbuing, along with the plunge, something of a futuristic alien verve into her compelling ready-to-wear. “It’s loosely based on the movie The Man Who Fell to Earth,” said the designer. “But really it’s about being on the run, on the go . . . about someone, maybe a visitor, who is on their way. And it’s meant to be comfortable. There are a lot of cottons, a lot of wools.”
Ahn’s profile has risen dramatically since last summer, due largely to her appointment as Kim Jones’s jewelry chief at Dior Homme (Ambush began as a jewelry line). In the months since, Ahn has collaborated—and will continue to collaborate—with Nike and expanded Ambush’s offerings. This collection is her biggest yet, and it includes another partnership, this time with Converse on brilliant (and sure to be copped) rubberized boots. They feature a raised sole, layered seams, and utilitarian markings like Keep double laced to hold firmly. They’re one of the strongest shoe styles of the season so far.
Cotton sweaters have a faded dye—almost like a sunburn or a washout, the consequence of polar glare. Pants have a snowboard kick, and jackets are technical, insulated, but most of all, interesting (see a super-cropped glacial blue bomber paired with statement, elbow-reaching gloves). The clothes, very much like Ahn herself, retain a relaxed but decisive character.
Lastly, the jewelry: This is where Ahn’s creativity physically shines. She noted that charms sell well; for Fall, she’s added scorpions, spiders, a lightbulb, even a clasp that holds a plastic water bottle. Chain links were inset with pavé crystals, and lighter holders returned. But most satisfying were USB sticks plated in silver or gold. Said Ahn: “Whatever planet you end up on, you can take your data with you.” Icy.
