Helmed by its first creative director, Yuni Ahn (the design director at #oldceline), the French music label elevates its club culture cool with the introduction of high fashion.
In an already very crowded fashion market, where it feels as if a new player appears every other day, we have to ask: Do we need another high-fashion label? The answer is no, but Maison Kitsune is not just another player.
Created by Daft Punk’s former manager and art director Gildas Loaec, Japanese architect Masaya Kuroki and London-based design company Abake in 2002, it started as a record store for electronic music with the kind of cult following that made it a hang-out for Parisians and a destination shop for tourists – the way Merci is and the defunct Colette was. In 2005, it launched apparel – think Parisian prep for women and men done the Japanese and small-scale way.
While the latter was created for its indie followers, Maison Kitsune’s high fashion is aimed at the international audience. Ahn showed her first collection during F/W ’19: #oldceline influences of sharp and louche tailoring meeting the brand’s distinctive street cred. Priced accessibly from 35 euros (S$54) to 1,100 euros, Maison Kitsune is attainable high fashion with cool cachet. – ST
Maison Kitsune is available at www. maisonkitsune.com/en.
YUNI AHN’S FASHION RESUME
The South Korean moved to England to study fashion print design at Central Saint Martins in 1996. In 2001, she was scouted for Stella McCartney’s design team when the latter started her own label. Thereafter, she worked on interior design projects at Chloe, Miu Miu and Paul Smith. Ahn then moved to Celine, where she worked under Phoebe Philo on the label’s RTW, pre-collections, as well as signature designs for bags and accessories before becoming the house’s design director.
