Bound by Heritage: EENK’s AW 25/26
“B for Binding”
Under the visionary leadership of Creative Director Lee Hyemee, EENK first captivated fashion enthusiasts with its “A for Aesthetics” collection: a thoughtful homage to vintage classics and timeless tradition. Drawing from the brand’s extensive archive, the collection wove together bygone elements with modern artistry, incorporating Bojagie-inspired detailing and an exclusive color palette. This initial venture established EENK as a label dedicated to preserving heritage while simultaneously reinventing its essence for today’s world.
Building on that foundation, EENK now unveils the Fall/Winter 2025-26 collection, aptly titled “B for Binding.” Taking a cue from the meticulous craft of bookmaking, EENK channels the artistry of bound pages, how separate words form sentences, sentences turn into stories, and stories unite as a book. This conceptual framework resonates powerfully with EENK’s mission: to integrate multiple cultures, eras, narratives, and genders within a single garment, echoing the way individual pages come together to create a cohesive volume.
Integral to this season’s inspiration is the work of conceptual artist Sooja Kim, whose exhibition To Breathe Constellation at the Bourse de Commerce–Pinault Collection in Paris left a lasting impression on Director Hyemee Lee. Kim’s approach: modernizing traditional Korean aesthetics while fusing seemingly disparate concepts mirrors EENK’s core philosophy. Her choice of thread and needle as painting tools expands the canvas into infinite space and symbolically links it with the universe. EENK echoes this sentiment in three-dimensional garments formed by weaving two-dimensional fabrics, each piece weaving identity as deftly as a story is told on a page.
The collection itself is a testament to this artistic synergy. Flowing dresses resemble bookcases with layers that flutter like turning pages, while outerwear fuses shirts and jackets into unified silhouettes. Knit sweaters pay homage to Kim’s stainless-steel sculptures, rendered in patterns reminiscent of sculptural scrolls, and knotted bags evoke the spirit of The Bottari Project, reimagining classic forms through a contemporary lens.
As EENK binds these elements together into its “B for Binding” collection, the brand offers a multifaceted narrative that celebrates tradition, innovation, and the infinite potential of cross-cultural inspiration. From the archives of “A for Aesthetics” to the conceptual layering of “B for Binding,” EENK continues to elevate fashion to an art form,one that pays tribute to the past while forging pathways into the future.