COLLECTION RELEASE
WOOD HOUSE Army Spring Summer 2019
Unlike the previous WOOD HOUSE Army Collection in NYC, Phoenix was inspired by Hangzhou, China. After arriving in the city, Creative Director, Julian Woodhouse discovered— through constant reflection and meditation— a new way to create . Through meditation, Woodhouse envisioned the next installment in the WOOD HOUSE Army archive and titled it Phoenix— after stumbling upon a relief sculpture of one around the local tourist attraction, West Lake. While Julian developed the Phoenix Collection in China, Partner and General Manager, Kirill Kabachenko, worked in tandem to direct the spiritual awakening Julian was experiencing into a sound plan with relevant execution. The two account their joint experience below…
A collection born from the idea of a future societal army that promotes Humanity
"While envisioning the Spring-Summer 2019 Collection, I focused on communicating “alert presence”. Which can be seen as actively contributing to our collective of Humans. The collection takes a closer look at how the future of WHA views life and the interconnectivity of humankind.” -JW
"I found the BMX Uniform reference and started to devise a plan to combine the monk-like spiritual experience Julian was having in Hangzhou, with the idea of the solider that wears the WOOD HOUSE Army Uniform. This ended up being the style direction for this season. " -KK
"After two weeks we started to discuss color schemes that would match the concept of the collection while still keeping it consistent with the overall WHA direction. In order for us to stick to our strategy for the season and hit all of the high notes we aimed for, we needed to focus on concision without lessening the importance of creative freedom.
When creating, it’s always important to identify the desired outcome of your efforts. Critical questions posed early in the development of your creative endeavors can guide your projects towards that desired outcome. During our time building The Phoenix Collection, dual-execution of our responsibilities was key to delivering the message of unity we seek to see in the world. " -KK
"During the first two weeks I tackled several projects we are involved in China but when I had time for spiritual growth I aptly used it. I spent my days either in our factory, various regional raw material markets, or meditating around the local attraction, West Lake. Through immersing myself into Chinese culture I grew to understand how individuals contribute to societies and how societies can positively contribute to civilizations. Throughout West Lake Park I found cultural references that solidified my understanding of collectivism leading me to critically consider my responsibilities as a creative. During one of my many runs around the lake, I stumbled (literally) over a flat phoenix relief sculpture and it became our design for digital print." -JW
"The collection that came from the ashes of the previous collection, was the series of mutual decisions we made, immortalized. I looked at the experience— that now guides how I create— as a way to satisfy my responsibility to leave the world in a better state than I found it in and to consider the fruits of my labor a contribution to future of our civilization." -JW
"As a creative team our responsibilities are unavoidable. We take the opportunity to transmit positive and contributive vibes into our space. Hangzhou was admittedly challenging for the WHA Team. It was the first time we worked both in physical and spiritual terms and the first time our teams worked separately on a collection from two sides of the planet, we all pulled the collection together and hopefully hit all the high notes." -KK
