Korean American Designer’s Unlikely Hit at Fashion Week

Story by Y. Peter Kang.

Korean American designer Richard Chai sent a revamped version of every homebody’s favorite garment, the bathrobe, down the runway at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, triggering an unexpected buzz.

The New Jersey native unveiled the Fall 2014 collection for his Richard Chai Love clothing line on Thursday. A writer on the fashion blog Pattern called the plaid bathrobe an “impressive surprise.”

“I couldn’t believe my eyes. I checked my Twitter feed. Yes, others had seen it, too. Then, the pictorialevidence started pouring in. In fact, no one was tweeting any of the other looks for a while,” wrote fashion photographer Charles I. Letbetter. “The audience was stunned with amazement. Richard Chai sent a bathrobe down the runway. And it was an immediate hit.”

Described as having a hipster or grunge aesthetic, Chai graduated from Parsons the New School for Design in New York and also studied at the Lissa School in Paris, according to the Wall Street Journal. He previously worked as a designer at Marc Jacobs before starting his own line.

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Chai also showed a green version of his bathrobe.

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Richard Chai takes a bow.

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This story was originally published on iamkoream.com.