This Dance Is Calm

October 03, 2022

Last December, at the Chanel Métiers d’Art 2021/2022 show, Soo Joo Park stepped off the runway and behind the mic, with a pleasant surprise for the Paris Fashion Week audience — the debut of a new song, which she performed alongside close friend and collaborator, Oneohtrix Point Never.

For the past twelve years, the Seoul-born model has graced the catwalk for Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Rick Owens, and has posed on the cover of publications such as Vogue Italia, Numéro France, and Vogue Korea several times over. By 2015, she became the first Asian-American spokesmodel for L’Oreal Paris cosmetics.

Interview by RACHEL ROSE
Introduction by DEVAN DIAZ
Photography by DANIELLE LEVITT
Styling by CAITLAN HICKEY
Make up by AMBER DREADON — A-Frame
Hair by TIAGO GOYA — Home Agency
Set Design by JAMES RENE
Photo Production by KYLIE GOVINCHUCK
Production by SARAH SCHECKER
Photography Assisting by BRYAN LYNN, DAVID ARDILL, BONO MELENDREZ
Styling Assisting by CASSIE JEKANOSKI, MICHY FOSTER
Production Assisting by MONTREL DAVIS
Fashion Intern KAIA CARIOLI, BRAYDEN ALMS

Top GOGO GRAHAM, Skirt, ACNE STUDIOS, Necktie CDLM, Shoes LOUIS VUITTON

For the majority of her modeling career, Park has been captured as platinum blonde. Now, Park who was previous based in New York, has been spending time in Los Angeles, utilizing free time between jobs to work on her forthcoming album. Her voice has the free, yet looming, quality of Julee Cruise, a muse she cites enthusiastically. Park’s hair is now black, and she’s diverting the course of her creative life in a true Lynchian act of self-possession. Here, she speaks with friend and artist Rachel Rose about discovering and uncovering sounds in unlikely places, chasing cinematic thrills, and the rare opportunity of merging different personas. The two met nearly a decade ago through Rose’s now-husband and artist Ian Cheng, around the time Ian was working on early demos with Park. Catching up from her LA home, Park sits in the afternoon light, Zooming into Rose’s New York evening.

Rachel Rose – How’s your day been?

Soo Joo Park – I woke up really early because I'm a little jet-lagged and I had a flurry of emails — fires to put out. I played around on the keyboard for a little bit – I'm teaching myself how to play the piano again, without any guidance. I learned classical piano when I was young. I find it really fun to just tinker around with sounds, and I just record stuff on Voice Notes. I drank way too much coffee, walked my friend's dog around the reservoir, went to lunch, unpacked all my stuff, and now I'm talking to you.

Are you an autodidact?

I taught myself how to use Photoshop, and I guess I'm a self-taught vocalist. I've had a few vocal lessons recently, like right before the December Chanel performance. I like learning things on my own. It can be really frustrating, and it's a little bit hard to get started, but I like doing things at my own pace, and I like discovering my own methods.

Dress, Gloves, Shoes DION LEE, Leg Harness ZANA BAYNE, Bracelets SAINT LAURENT

What were you thinking about before you began making music?

I grew up singing in choir and going to church on Sundays with my family. My mom was in the church choir, and she would come home humming, so I would harmonize with her while she was doing the dishes. Very domestic. My parents had some CDs of music from the 60s and 70s. One of them was a compilation of The Mamas & The Papas, and I remember listening to certain tracks — “Dream a Little Dream of Me” and “Midnight Voyage” on repeat. In my teen years I started developing interest in the arts and wanting to be a participant in it, I started becoming extremely hungry for knowledge, regardless of genres or styles. After I graduated college, I had a full-time job in San Francisco doing graphic design, and then I started modeling. At first, modeling was quite slow, so I filled my whole day with watching movies and listening to music. I got really into shoegaze and witch house, which I think encapsulates the soft yet sinister, raw feelings I had at that moment. Then I watched Mulholland Drive. I was clutching seeing Rebekah Del Rio's performance of Roy Orbison's “Crying,” in Spanish. It was so entrancing. It was around then I thought, maybe I want to try to pout some of my emotions into making tracks and singing.

The persona I take on as a model can be transmutable to my persona on stage.

Pants and Shoes LOEWE, Top STYLIST’S STUDIO

I found when I was listening to some of the tracks on your album, that your voice feels like it is gliding on water. It's floating right above, and sometimes will duck down and submerge into sound and then come back up. It feels like the water is the electronics. I was thinking about how much that movement feels like you, or how much that movement feels like you're channeling something else. Is it a part of yourself that you don't otherwise get to touch or see?

I reference water a lot, actually. Getting my start in the choir, I’ve always wanted to use my voice as an element of an ensemble. Obviously, I metaphorize nature in my lyrics as well, and a lot of things I write about are purely personal. But at the end of the day, what really carries me is melodic harmony and how things make you feel.

There are these moments where it feels like it shifts into banger energy, and then feels totally calm. Are you interested in dance music at all? How does this ethereal, natural, choral aspect of what you're doing also push up against pop or dance?

I've always loved the idea of opposites cooling each other off. So, just because something glides or sounds very airy, it doesn't mean it can’t have that intensity. I love the push and pull. I like to surprise people, fuck up, and find happy accidents. I find those moments a lot more exciting than when things are what you expect.

Dress, Gloves, Shoes DION LEE, Leg Harness ZANA BAYNE, Bracelets SAINT LAURENT

I've always journaled, so I had a lot of materials that I'd written down before I was able to really get started with studio time. You never know what you're going to get when you walk into a studio, which is the excitement. I usually work with a producer, and we sit down for the first 30 minutes, just bantering and talking shit. Once we start building things, we're looking for something exciting to happen. It becomes about sifting through a lot of things that are floating in the air, and going with that flow to see how we can play it out. We usually start arranging a chord or some kind of melodic thing, and then I go and start humming some melodies. Sometimes if I'm humming, it's almost like rambles of pronunciation or sounds, and then those become part of the lyric. The lyrics don't have to have meaning, but I do like having some kind of depth. It's like a secret message for myself, if anything.

I love the idea that the words emerge from sounds, rather than the inverse. Returning back to something else you were saying in the beginning about your history with music, I was wondering if you could speak further into your cinematic experience with sound. Is that still influencing you? Are you still finding music through films?

I've always been obsessed with the color palettes in film stills and soundtracks. The cinematic experience, for me, is the whole thing. A good film absorbs into your skin. I used to love watching French New Wave films, and the song that I'm constantly playing in my head is “Theme de Camille” from Jean Luc Godard’s Contempt. Do you know it?

Coat, Skirt, Boots RICK OWENS

I can't believe we’ve never talked about this. I used it as the opening of a whole film I made.

I think about that song pretty much every day. As I'm doing stuff around the house, sometimes I live it out like I’m in a movie, playing certain soundtracks in my head — does this sound delusional? [Laughs] Have you ever watched Thumbsucker?

No.

It's a really beautiful coming-of-age story. It's a Mike Mills film, and there's a song called “Thirteen” in it. Do you know this song?

No, but I want to know now.

It's a 70s song by the band Big Star. Any time I’m feeling love, especially at night time, I think of that song. I'm really drawn to the warm crackle feeling of the 70s, it evokes nostalgia for a time I don’t personally know but like to imagine. But I also love futuristic and abstract electronic sounds. I'm always trying to merge those things. But recently, I watched Meet Joe Black while I was in Europe last week because it was one of those films that was available on Netflix. The track at the climax of the movie, called “Someone Else” is really ... It's fucking strange. The progression of the chords are very unexpected and etherial. I think about that sound a lot as well. Thomas Newman did the soundtrack.

I like to surprise people, fuck up, and find happy accidents. I find those moments a lot more exciting than when things are what you expect.

Top, Gloves, Shoes, Earrings BALENCIAGA, Skirt STYLIST’S STUDIO

Okay, I'm going to watch it tonight. Do you keep specific music archive journals – especially when you're on the road – dedicated to jotting down musical inspiration and ideas?

No. I wish I was more organized, but I'm a little bit of a chaotic organizer. I like things to be orderly, but I'm not too precious about anything. And I can’t seem to have too many categorizations and compartments either, so it’s better to have it all listed in one place. It’s just in my Notes app. Everything is in my notes, like my daily to-dos and reminders, and then songs that I want to listen to again, or songs that I want to blend when I'm DJing. It's like my brain.

When you performed with Oneohtrix Point Never for Chanel, it was this really crazy moment to see, because it was like two identities becoming one. It feels rare for anyone to have that moment. Walking out one way and leaving the stage another way. What did it feel like to move between those states?

The persona I take on as a model can be transmutable to my persona on stage. I rehearsed and monitored my performance for two weeks, every day, for hours. I enjoyed it, and I hadn't worked so intently or dedicated so much of my time into work in a while. Modeling, by now, has just become like breathing. I've just done it for a long time, and I've spent hours doing it, so now, it's like second nature. I have to get to that stage with singing and performing. The most tense moment was timing, because they really timed it so tight, because during the rehearsal, there was more time left in between my runway walk and performance.

Shirt DOLCE & GABBANA, Pants, Shoes, Sunglasses, Belt BALENCIAGA

It felt like this moment in which these two parts of you were really beaming together.

The last time I performed on stage was when I was in high school. When I first signed up for it, I was very nonchalant about it. And then once it registered in my head that I had to perform live in front of an entire audience that knew me as “Soo Joo the model,” I started having a little bit of a panic attack. But I had time to prepare, and I did have a really amazing crew to back me up. Oneohtrix Point Never, Michel Gaubert, Ryan Aguilar, and my friend Megan, who's in the band Desire.

When I came to visit you in LA and heard your demos, it felt so you, and I couldn't believe it. I remember just being in awe of how much you had made in such a quick amount of time. It felt like this thing that had just been holed up inside of you. All of a sudden, it was just pouring out, and with such expansive production, at such a quick pace. I couldn't believe it. Yeah. I felt totally inspired by that, by your energy, and sort of, like, a calm force into this new direction.

Thank you. That was the phase when I was super, super green, and I was so excited about everything. And then as time has passed, I'm realizing now that music is a wonderful process, but the reality is that there's politics involved. It's just like any other crossbreed of art and commerce, I think. But I'm being patient, and I think things are still going to work out. I’m going to release some EPs soon. I haven't been so happy in a long time, I think.

Jacket BALENCIAGA, Underwear, Skirt, Belt, Socks, Shoes MIU MIU

As I'm doing stuff around the house, sometimes I live it out like I’m in a movie, playing certain soundtracks in my head — does this sound delusional?

Right: Dress, Tights, Shoes SAINT LAURENT, Sunglasses PUMA

Left: Bodysuit ALIX, skirt TELFAR, hoodie BALENCIAGA, Jacket ACNE STUDIOS, Shoes GIVENCHY, Belt AREA

Fashion

From Prince Street to East 4th, a Ride With Rapha

April 29, 2024

To celebrate the coolest (and finest) cycle-centric brand Rapha's latest drop, we kept the party going after its New York Clubhouse launch with dinner and drinks at Ella Funt.

With a first campaign shot in New York, capturing riders through the lens of street photographers Sarah van Rij and David van der Leeuw, Rapha Performance Sportswear strikes the perfect balance between style and functionality, tailored for life in motion. Just in time for prime sunny weather here in New York, the collection is a perfect choice, both on and off the bike. "For someone like myself who lives in Amsterdam and commutes by bike daily," says Fayrouz Salem, Rapha Head of Lifestyle, "this is a dream come true. We've created pieces that work on the bike without having to compromise on style."

Shop the collection at rapha.cc and in select Clubhouses.

Photography by Anderson Martinez

Fashion

Happy 424 Day

Simon Rasmussen — What's going on?

Guillermo Andrade — Right now we're just setting everything up.

So, what are you doing, is it a party?

Well, I kind of felt universally forced, right? Because 4/24/24, I was just like, I don’t really have a choice here. The stars also just kind of aligned, so to be honest, I got this settlement that came with a bunch of clothes so I had this idea to give back to the kids who fuck with us by allowing them to buy our shit first. Not handing stuff out for free, but to do it in a way where we could skip the middleman of the industry, so to speak, and not allow clothes to disappear into the abyss of Farfetch or whatever else. So what we’re going to do is a sort of warehouse sale, which we’ve never done before so that was really exciting for me. I didn’t want to do just another warehouse sale, so it’s like a sample sale turns rager. We teamed up with Adidas and a couple of other sponsors, then drinks, DJs, and a performance.

Sick, I love it.

Yeah. My dream sample sale. Also, it’s not just hoodies and t-shirts here in there, it’s proper collections from the past three seasons. I’m also not picking and choosing, trying to make it accessible, like this was the only way I could afford to buy shit when I was a kid, bro. Sample sales were the thing I looked forward to the most.

I feel you. In New York, there's the annual CDG sale, which is when I used to cop all my CDG.

The only time I could afford Rick. I flew to New York once for a Rick sample sale and I was like, Wow, I can't believe I got invited. And it was mental. I still have those pieces. I will never sell them. Not even because I got 'em cheap. It was also just really fun. Even on the flight to New York, I was like, I can't believe I'm going to New York for a sample sale, what a fucking loser I am. But it was like the adult version of when I was a kid and I was like, Wow, I can't believe I'm 20-something and I'm still doing the thing I was doing in high school. So I hope we can create moments like that for kids here in LA.

Yeah. I love that. It’s important to connect with them; they’re essentially creating the brand. If you don't have them, good luck.

I mean, yeah. Fuck, bro. It's cool that we've been around for this long. I mean, it got a little rocky there for a second I think, for all of us. So coming out of it, tomorrow is a celebration. And it’s like an odd day of the week. It's a Wednesday, super random. And now that we've set it up, the homies are all like, Yo, I'm coming. I'm coming. Let me jump on stage, let me do this, and that's really what it's always been about. It's not some other strategy to get likes on the internet.

That’s how the best things happen, you just couldn’t help yourself. It was intuitive.

Yeah, it all came together in a really nice way.

Would you say that’s how 424 started as well? I remember we met in like 2010 on Fairfax and I was visiting with Rasmus…

Oh bro, it’s probably the time when I started the branch… do you remember Cecilia from Black Dakini? She’s the one that introduced me to CIFF and honestly, I didn’t even care what she was doing, I was just like, I’m coming, I’ll go with you. She said she’d give me half of her booth and I said, Awesome count me in. At the time, I had just gotten my green card and I wasn't allowed to ever leave America, so Copenhagen was one of the first cities I went to when I could finally travel. I mean, you see what we did at CIFF bro? It became our fucking hub for half a decade.

That was a moment for sure.

I remember the first account I got was Antonioli, and he came super gangster, being like, You're going to sell me these clothes. And I was like, bro, I didn't come to sell clothes. I'm just kind of catching a vibe with my homie and I made these things. And he's like, No, you're going to sell it to me. And then I was like, Oh my god that’s Claudio Antonioli. So then I went home, I googled wholesale, and figured that shit out. [laughs]

[Laughs]

Like you said, I couldn't help myself, but I didn't just make t-shirts and hoodies either. I was really on my Rick wave, so I made my version of the Rick things. It was that meets like The Boondock Saints, because I'm still a little bit of a Cali bro, sort of rock kid, but not really. I like hip-hop, but I like the way the rock stars look. I like the contrast. I thought it was cool. After that, I just never stopped.

It was clear to me when I first met you that you were onto your own thing in LA. It made a lot of sense, and it was so cool. It was before 424 was its own brand; you just had the store and this really cool curation.

It was all my shit, bro. I was very, very invested in sharing all of these things that I was finding from all over the world, like Astrid Anderson. She was one of those designers at the time, so important to 424. The connection to Copenhagen specifically for me was huge. I had a big fan base there. It was incredible. And then here in LA, we were sharing the things that we were a part of and finding; it was still the early days of Fear of God, Rhude, Martine Rose. A lot of these brands, we were the first store to ever sell it — we were selling Hood By Air on the West Coast.

You had Rick as well, I remember.

Oh yeah. It took me a long time. But I got Rick, bro. By the time I had to close the store on Fairfax, I already had a Raf Simons account. I had reached my ultimate dream. It was really all the stuff I wanted to wear at the time. It was dope. The best of the best.

We had an office magazine newsstand in there as well.

Oh yeah, we did! I came to visit the one you had, and I was like, Yo, I got to bring this whole fucking thing over here. But yeah, in LA, after two days people forget you exist, but everyone’s been super supportive. We’re all 10 years older now. We've been around forever at this point.

It can be dangerous to take those breaks when you’re figuring shit out, but there’s something very genuine to this comeback you’re having.

Thank you, thank you. We’ve been in and out of those fucking showrooms in Paris for long enough. I've been in and out of these factories for the past 10 years of my life. We had to figure something out. And I think now really diving in, being in Italy full time and being there to develop these products over time, I think that the whole thing just really shows the suppliers respect you more. The people who are making your goods understand why you're making them. And I think now I finally got to the place where I'm not making Italian things, I’m making my clothes, I'm making Cali-centric shit, but with that European technicality and execution. With this Fall / Winter collection, it clicked.

So what’s the vision for the next year? What are you manifesting?

I'm just fucking relentless, bro. This is the way I want to live my life. Now that we are more aligned, more prepared, and have more experience, moving forward it is just more of becoming a fully functioning company that can provide and create opportunities for all of the people around me. We’ve been operating just on instinct for a long time.

Sustaining a business is scary, trust me I know.

Scary as fuck, dog. I just opened a store next to Bottega, bro, and it’s like what am I even doing? You have to just believe in the thing you're doing more than anybody else.

100%, and it seems like that’s what you’re doing.

And fashion’s kind of a competitive sport, as much as people don’t think it is. We can reach a certain level without losing ourselves. My biggest ambition at the moment is to create something that, when you leave one of our neighbors you come into our place you don’t feel that the level has been sacrificed at all. And it’s not easy.

Definitely. I wish I could be there tomorrow.

Thank you, bro. 10 years now. You’ve always shown me so much love. We have to do a booth or have the office part of the next 424 day. Shit let’s do a 424 day in New York.

That would be sick. Let's do it. I'm here. Let’s catch up soon.

Next season’s right around the corner so I’ll see you in Paris.

Yes, see you in Paris and Happy 424 day!

Fashion

Luis De Javier's PUTA Takeover

April 25, 2024

Last night with Luis De Javier, guests were overheard confirming this generation's most vital conundrum: “If I’m cunt, I can still be pussy.” “And if you’re pussy, you can still be cunt.” This sentiment echoed throughout the night as we celebrated De Javier’s first-ever streetwear collection, "PUTA". We spent seven hours at Ella Funt at a dinner turned party that only he could’ve thrown (co-hosted by emcee). It was too dark for even the most aspiring-to-look-mysterious of us to wear sunglasses inside. Under the semi-oppressive flash of party photographers, we danced as much as the space would allow, drank tequila out of teacups and kissed each other on the cheeks with a vaguely European intimacy. “I’m doing streetwear!” De Javier could be heard exclaiming — whether it be in disbelief or excitement, we couldn’t tell you.

Words and photos by Izzy Capulong

The Spanish-born London-based designer has been well-loved for his genderless tailoring, latex mastery, and overall message of empowerment. Dressing everyone from ravers to A-listers, De Javier’s latest drop pushes his design repertoire to a new level. “While designing for my celebrity clientele and showcasing my creations on the runway has always been my dream,” he notes, “It’s equally important to me that my brand resonates with a wider, more diverse audience.” While this collection’s medium has shifted from corsets to sweatshirts, the classic LDJ avant-garde sensibilities remain. Bikinis and booty shorts are shamelessly emblazoned with “PUTA,” blazers are constructed with ample shoulder padding, and I had my eye on the cheekily-named “Faguette Bag.”