Avant-garde fashion designer returns

Rising Taiwanese fashion star Johan Ku, winner of the top avant-garde prize in this year's international design competition, recently returned home from London to promote his upcoming collection at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, slated to begin in late January. Yesterday, Ku gleefully shared his experience and joy at winning with fellow islanders during a press conference hosted by the Council of Cultural Affairs in Taipei.

Showing up with a big smile on face, the 30-year-old Ku warmly greeted everyone. As the spotlight focused on him this week and reporters impatiently tried to question him, who could imagine that merely months ago, this man was still struggling to get a sponsorship?

“My mom was chased down by media even at home,” Ku laughed. However, Ku politely asked people to focus more on his work instead of on him. For those who want to better understand him, “I believe my works speak for me,” Ku said.

His sudden fame from came with good reason: Ku was recognized as an emerging talent for one of his 2004 designs, a knitted dress that highlights the versatility of texture and showcases creative pattern.

Dressed in a brown leather jacket, black shirt and dark striped suit trousers paired with trendy leather shoes, Kupractical persona did not change a bit for his appearance before the frenetic media crowd. Ku said that he got his US$200 brand-name shoes for free and he bought the cool jacket for at a flea market in the UK, where he is pursuing postgraduate art studies at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

During the news conference, Ku noted that many local fashion designers feel frustrated because Taiwanese people usually prefer foreign brands. So when a Taiwanese won the Gen Art's Design Competition, it truly encouraged those who were still fighting for their dreams, “like a light in darkness over 100 years” of Taiwan's existence, Ku said.

Ku was able to attend the competition with a UK-based company sponsorship; he expressed hope that Taiwan authorities can provide more assistance to young talents seeking to thrive in the creative industry. When reporters asked him to compare his works with another famous Taiwan-born fashion designer, Jason Wu, Ku merely said, “I don't compare with anybody besides myself.”

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