Meme queen Goom Heo on internet trolls and her post-apocalyptic, year 3000 fashion
Welcome to CHEW THE FAT WITH…, our long-form profile series where we invite you to sit down with fashion’s next generation as they dig deep into their memories. To chew some fat - defined as an informal conversation brimming with small talk - we encourage you to pull up a chair and take a big old bite as we spill the tea on the life and work of the industry’s need-to-knows. Just remember to mop up after yourself.
For emerging designer GOOM HEO, it all started with grannies and grandpas; pot-bellied men with sweaty brows and clothes that didn’t quite fit. In her South Korean hometown, Jinju, the local market was a place where she could marvel at the ordinary characters and their costumes. Rickety makeshift stalls laden with mounds of rubbish would later be cited for Heo’s distinctive layering just as the ominous horrors of lockdown bled into her murky colour palette for AW21.
“Every day is a new experience,” says the designer, who one morning awoke to find her graduate collection immortalised as a viral meme material – you know the ones. After leaving CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS with both a BA and MA (and as a two-time L’Oréal award recipient), Heo has continued to sharpen a futuristic edge in fashion. An edge that slices neatly through present tradition; wispy draping can be seen beneath neoprene codpieces, blazers tucked into vermillion shorts – giving major semi-dressed WFH energy – then also in hallucinogenic mesh pleats and mohair knee-highs.
This thirst for taking risks traces back to Heo’s late teens having lived in Illinois as a language exchange student before quitting high school to work on a portfolio for CSM. “I was watching this documentary about the world's best fashion school and knew that was where I belonged,” Heo recalls. “Mum actually cried when I went to submit my resignation form, my parents were against the idea. Now they are very supportive of me and the decision I made.” Heo has garnered further support under talent incubator FASHION EAST where her work has shown beside the likes of MAXIMILIAN and NENSI DOJAKA. Conquering the binary this season – her third and final for the collective – Heo presented pieces on a unisex cast. “I’ve said my brand is menswear, but gender isn’t really the matter of the brand. More importantly, it’s who is wearing the clothing, and they should decide for themselves,” she notes. For Heo, the body is just a blank canvas, there to be dressed in frantic textures that have become the focal point of her designs.
It’s the kind of eclectic discord you’d expect from getting dressed in the dark, except Heo curates it all with beautiful ingenuity. Car boot sales on a pissing wet British Sunday and charity shops are what inform her pieces as much as OG THIERRY MUGLER and moon-booted muses from the sixties do. Surfacing during a hellish living nightmare, Heo’s latest collection was a horror-fuelled trip to the dark side: “The genre evoked suspension of not knowing what’s going to happen. That’s like life in the present, even tomorrow we don’t know what’s coming next,” she explains. Playing with contrast exposed this sense of sombre unease: light and dark, airy jerseys and heavy drapery hanging like shadows. Oh, and monastic hoods, perfect for hiding from whatever beast is lurking around 2021’s next corner.
Alice May Stenson: What has your day looked like?
Goom Heo: I’ve just been watching the virtual CSM MA show, I was surprised by the animation and how well presented it was.
AMS: How has CSM moulded your own vision?
GH: The most powerful thing there is the people. I used to go to these wild parties – you’d make a connection back then, now I’m working with those same faces in the industry. We’ve all grown together, in age and as individuals. There was help from the teachers but mostly it was my friends that gave me the ideas, it was a naturally collaborative environment. To be honest, when I first came here I barely knew any fashion theory. In the beginning I felt ashamed to say it, that I didn’t have the knowledge, I didn't even know who MARGIELA was. Now I take great interest in the retrofuturist sixties and eighties, especially original garments that you can find at Brick Lane. They inform my layering, how I mix-and-match pieces, kind of like a personality.
AMS: Being among such talent and acquiring heavyweight awards, have you ever felt pressured?
GH: Well, when I made new collections I would always wonder, ‘Oh, is this good enough?’ You need to learn how to trust yourself, improvement is a slow, steady process. My advice would always be to question yourself and your work, never be too complacent.
AMS: What did it feel like when your work was meme-ified? Do you think social media is central to the prosperity of young designers?
GH: It’s amazing to see people react to my work. It’s still going on, I always get messages from my friends! In the beginning, just a few days after my BA show I read the comments and thought ‘Why are people so mean?’ Now I find it funny to see what outsiders from the fashion industry think, how they perceive my clothes. It’s better than no reaction at all. Social media is a great platform for exposure, to promote and show your work to people though I wouldn't necessarily say it’s a reliable route to success.
AMS: Speaking of success, you went on to work with Fashion East. How did that experience aid your industry transition?
GH: First of all, I had no knowledge on how to run a business. I didn’t know how to do sales, face problems, or just generally fight fires. I’ve always been thankful for it, having the constant support for my collection. They provide step-by-step guidance, locate the right people to help. It’s all challenging to work on yourself especially after graduation, so having someone to completely trust with your work is a great experience. When I had my first solo runway it was weird to have the freedom to decide your own makeup and the music, seeing the models walking down the runway. It’s amazing, that moment when you realise people are sat out there in the audience for you and your story.
AMS: In which ways has a remote upbringing steered your creative journey?
GH: I’m from a really small town where basically everybody knows each other, there wasn’t much outside culture in my childhood so in some ways it just helped me to be more creative and focus on myself. On the other hand, there was no museum or even a movie theatre there so it became a challenge to learn about other societies. When I moved to London I frequented art shows, but generally I find inspiration in the street. I will sit outside when the weather is nice just observing people in their daily life. You can learn from your surroundings, I would find that anywhere from the park to house parties. In a crazy way I find more ideas in conversations with people, than books in the library.
AMS: Aside from surface aesthetics, do you believe there are deeper-seated disparities between fashion in Western and Eastern society?
GH: Yes, it’s generational. Right now in Korea people appreciate vintage garments, unique pieces. Yet when I grew up these garments were rare to find, so fashions were more about the present time and current popularity. After coming to London, I found so much fun visiting secondhand shops like Oxfam, being able to find clothes that nobody else could wear. In this city it’s about making up your own characteristics through clothing, putting together an identity. There's a conceptual difference. In the States it was more about respecting your own style and not caring what others wear whereas in Korea it is more uniformed.
AMS: The world is scary, and so are the references for your AW21 collection. Could you explain further about the horror pivot?
GH: There is a graphic side to the collection. I took the black and white silent movie aspect of Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, also the artwork used to construct its scenic backgrounds. Cold, sharp Philip Jackson sculptures inspired me too. When referencing a whole genre, I use the mood first and the visual comes after. In AW21 there is a lot of draping involved, then tailoring is mixed in to create hybridity – especially the jackets with their contrasted colours. For me it’s important to tell stories through shape, but to speak through shades and fabric too. I often start with a theme which is collected from that present moment, considering images, music or movies, I’ll piece them together and a story will emerge. Last season, Voyeur came from being locked down at home, looking through windows and seeing into other buildings.
AMS: And what’s next for you?
GH: I’ve got to start work on the new collection to release in September, we’re also launching the website and corresponding e-commerce. In the long-term future I would love to be a creative director for multiple houses.
AMS: Got any immediate plans beyond lockdown?
GH: I’ll go to a techno rave!
AMS: I reckon you should turn up in the meme outfit.