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‘My aunt was a fashion designer,’ says Chaerin Han. ‘So it was a very natural thing for me to study fashion.’ The 27 year old BA Knitwear designer’s final collection is a tribute devoted to this influence.

After undertaking a placement at Charles Jeffrey, Han travelled to her home country of South Korea due to the global pandemic, living at her aunt’s home in an isolated small town. Her collection is an homage to this: ‘I realised so many things around me inspired me, like my part-time job as a safety guard, and my aunt’s house.’ As a result, her garments are an unexpected but deeply personal fusion of both utilitarian construction wear and pastel florals. Han has knitted a buttercup yellow peplum skirt, and created cropped safety vests from ivory silks, all of yarn and textiles sourced from the market stalls in her town.

‘It is not luxury, it is not expensive,’ she says. ‘But, it is meaningful.’

Han would like to continue her intimate and introspective work after graduation by creating a namesake brand, based in either South Korea or in London.

Ella Slater, BA Fashion Journalism
@ella.slater