A DEEP DIVE IN KOREAN FASHION : UNDERSTANDING POST ARCHIVE FACTION

Launching their Post Archive Faction label in 2018, the pair of really talented Korean designers, Dongjoon Lim and Sookyo Jeong, surprised everyone with their avant-garde and experimental takes on the modern uniform. Their designs, hidden behind an enigmatic nomenclature of numbers and directions, rapidly caught the attention of the entire fashion world, including Virgil Abloh. A few years later, the label has now developed into one of the pillars of modern techwear. 

Picture yourself in a situation where you must decide between three doors. The door to your left opens into a realm of innovative, unconventional and progressive techwear. The one to your right presents a more conventional and traditional perspective on clothing, while the central door acts as a balanced middle-ground option. This is the creative task undertaken by Post Archive Faction, crafting three distinct iterations of each new garment. The three lines encapsulate a unique concept and message, ensuring to provide functional and innovative designs for any occasion.

Post Archive Faction creators, Dongjoon Lim and Sookyo Jeong, approach design with an engineer’s mindset, striving to build flawless versions of their pieces. Unlike traditional fashion houses which refer to seasons for their collections, Post Archive Faction stands apart with its distinctive approach. Rather than adhering to the conventional cycle, the Korean label identifies its collections with numerical designations. Their inaugural collection was logically titled 1.0, and today we are witnessing PAF's latest iteration, 5.1. This specific nomenclature serves as a constant reminder of the brand's evolution, as it continually refines both the functionality and conceptual essence of its silhouettes. Certain elements from the archives are reimagined with PAF’s latest fabrics and technologies in the 5.1 collection, highlighting the ever-evolving world of Post Archive Faction.

A year after its launch, Post Archive Faction was already peeking the interest of the renowned designer of Off-White, Virgil Abloh. Virgil's dedicated support served as a genuine source of inspiration for the creative collective. For their collaboration, PAF's functional designs seamlessly embodied the boundless creativity of the American genius, elevating techwear to another level. Their collaboration, named Equipment, drew inspiration from the allegorical symbols of fig leaves in the Adam and Eve story. Containing clothing and furniture but also unusual items like a Swiss army knife or a 3D-printed stone, the collection was a huge turn for the Korean collective. Post Archive Faction is not a small niche label anymore, capable of truly redefining outdoor equipment and techwear.