EKJO DESIGNS BEYOND GENDER
EKJO DESIGNS BEYOND GENDER. In Paris, a sculptural brand bends gender and time through slow tailoring and subtle defiance. In the early 2000s, fashion was loud. Logos ruled. Lines blurred into excess. Meanwhile, amid this chaos, a quiet force emerged. Founded in 2001, EKJO stood for something else: slowness, structure, and soul. Instead of following noise, the brand embraced stillness. In a world racing toward spectacle, EKJO turned to silence. Even now, more than two decades later, the Paris-based labelled by Korean designer Eun-Kyung Jo, continues to make noise by refusing it. Ultimately, each garment is a statement in restraint. Each silhouette, a meditation.
EKJO UNIVERSE: WHERE MINIMALISM BREATHES
“EKJO is a Paris-based contemporary fashion house that pursues ageless, genderless, and minimalism.” The brand avoids trend-driven chaos. Instead, it builds meaning through form. “Our collections are characterized by pure lines, structural silhouettes, and freedom of volume,” explains the designer. The garments don’t scream. They hold space. Furthermore, “the brand’s identity is to contain artistic and poetic sensibilities.” Consequently, this artistic core doesn’t only inspire the design, it shapes the entire brand’s philosophy.
EKJO ESSENCE: ARTISTRY MEETS INCLUSIVITY
Sustainable values, timeless process. “EKJO’s essence lies in artistry, sustainability, and gender expression without boundaries.” Rather than follow fashion’s fast-paced cycles, the house stays rooted. “The brand pursues a poetic and original aesthetic that transcends time rather than following trends.” This timeless approach is also ethical. The collections are “small-quantity production, carefully selected materials, and eco-friendly and inclusive designs.” Since 2018, the label has leaned further into freedom: “The brand has been presenting a gender-neutral collection, practicing inclusivity and diversity.” Inclusivity is not a strategy, it’s structure.
EKJO SILHOUETTES: STRUCTURE AS EXPRESSION
“EKJO’s silhouettes are bold and architectural, with a meditative and poetic atmosphere.” This duality is intentional. Indeed, “pure and restrained lines, free volumes, and sculptural structures are the brand’s signatures.” These forms are not just technical. They’re emotional. In fact, they come from the designer’s “love of painterly sensibility, inspiration from nature, and artistic experiences from his childhood.” Moreover, these memories are not just sources, they’re tools. As a result, EKJO’s silhouettes carry both structure and soul.
EKJO PROCESS: FROM FEELING TO FORM
A method that starts with memory. “EKJO’s design process begins with artistic imagination, emotion, and exploration of natural materials.” Creation begins before drawing. “The designer draws inspiration from paintings, colors, landscapes, and childhood memories.” Then come “sketches, materials, structural patterns,” all developed in the brand’s Paris atelier. Every piece is slow. “We pay meticulous attention to each piece through small-scale production.” Therefore, each garment feels lived in, before it’s even worn.
EKJO deconstructs tradition. While one piece evokes uniform, the other resists it. Still, both remain grounded in freedom and formal clarity. Courtesy of EKJO
EKJO INSPIRATION: TEXTURE, COLOR, HERITAGE
“EKJO’s inspiration comes from his love of painting, his Korean heritage, the colors and textures of nature.” Jo designs through sensation. Notably, “the emotions he felt in the foothills of southern Korea” meet “the harmony of various textures and colors.” This creates a sensual palette that is never loud, always deep. Additionally, his childhood “in an artist’s household” infuses the brand with visual literacy and emotional tone. Ultimately, his clothing doesn’t reference art. It is art.
EKJO COLOR: SILENCE AS LANGUAGE
“EKJO expresses timeless minimalism, inner peace and meditative atmosphere through black, white and neutral colors.” These hues do more than match. In fact, “this color selection further emphasizes the structural silhouette and the texture of the material.” It’s not aesthetic, it’s strategic. Therefore, “color is an important element that conveys the brand’s identity and aesthetic beyond fashion.” Consequently, the absence of color becomes a message in itself. It says: look deeper.
EKJO blends shadow and light. Asymmetry breathes through folds. Although somber at first glance, the garments unfold with surprising fluidity. Courtesy of EKJO
EKJO STORES: WHERE TO FIND THE COLLECTIONS
Paris, online, and everywhere in between. “EKJO’s works can be experienced and purchased directly at the flagship store in the 1st arrondissement of Paris (2 rue du Jour).” Although “several stores have closed following the COVID pandemic,” the brand’s reach has evolved. “They are also available on the official website (ekjo.com), some select shops, and online platforms.” Thus, the poetic structure of EKJO finds new life in the digital world, without compromising craft.
STILLNESS AS STYLE
Fashion often demands more. EKJO asks for less. Not less beauty, but less noise. Less excess. Less distraction. Its minimalism is not emptiness. It is precision. Its genderless silhouettes do not erase identity. They multiply it. EKJO reminds us that fashion doesn’t need to shout. Sometimes, it just needs to breathe. After all, EKJO DESIGNS BEYOND GENDER.
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Marie Loire Moulin approaches fashion as an immersive language—one that expresses identity, character, and cultural influence. Echoing Jean Cocteau’s observation that “Fashion is what goes out of fashion,” Moulin embraces the paradox at the heart of her craft. For her, fashion is a living, breathing art form—constantly deconstructed, reimagined, and reshaped in response to the world around it.
What fuels Marie Loire’s creativity is the ability to blend worlds—to explore the intersections of fashion, technology, history, and art. She is inspired by how these disciplines collide to generate experiences that are not only visually compelling, but also deeply purposeful.
Moulin is particularly drawn to artistic expressions that serve as bridges—linking cultures, fusing tradition with innovation. Sustainability, for her, is not a buzzword but a foundation. She sees it as a long-term commitment to thoughtful creation, not a passing aesthetic.
As a stylist working with actors on film sets, Marie Loire thrives on transforming a director’s vision into living, breathing characters. Through wardrobe and silhouette, she builds atmospheres that tell stories—stories of emotion, intention, and presence.
Her creative drive extends into virtual reality and immersive art, where she explores how emerging technologies can shift perception and spark connection across cultural boundaries. For Moulin, the digital realm is just another canvas—one that, when used with care, has the potential to resonate as powerfully as the physical world.
Whether on set or in virtual space, Marie Loire seeks originality and depth. Her work is marked by richly layered references, a reverence for detail, and a belief that fashion—at its best—can speak not just to the eye, but to the mind.
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