Introduction
For a while now, my husband has suggested I start a blog (of some sorts). Whenever a journalist asks me for a quote, I always enjoy writing it (and i always excitedly read it aloud to him), so what’s the reason not to write about something I’m passionate about— my personal collection. For as long as I could remember, putting together some sort of cohesive outfit was always important to me, even before I knew anything about clothes or style or history. I vividly remember being in the 7th grade, buying a yellow sleeveless tunic with some super cheesy graphic (I think there was a sun on it) from Target, pairing it with leggings and T-strap Havianas and thinking how excited I was to wear this outfit. As I got older, this morphed into not just being excited about what I want to wear but all the factors surrounding it— who designed it, when did they design it, how does this design fit in with the house codes, did this design exist in previous seasons, how has this changed, what inspired them, how was it styled on the runway, how did other stylists reinterpret it in editorial— among many other questions.
I’m sure many of you know me if you’re following my substack, but if you don’t, my name is Arianna Aviram Cho, and to sum it up, I’m a collector of some sorts, vintage seller of some sorts (everything i have for sale lives on my Instagram’s Story highlights), and overall nice Jewish girl who hates waiting in line. I focus on collecting mainline Comme des Garçons and Junya Watanabe (not always but preferably before 2009), and Undercover (generally before 2006 although there are a few great outerwear pieces I’ve amassed from A/W 2009’s Earmuff Maniac, and a few others from more recent collections). I also am an avid fan of Naoki Takizawa’s tenure at Issey Miyake (Although I have tons of Pleats Please, it’s Naoki’s blend of sportiness and sensuality that I’m passionate about),
Miuccia Prada’s Prada, and as consistent as it may be, I am always excited about Chitose Abe’s Sacai (I’m currently reading her A Magazine Curated By and am loving the interdisciplinary depth of her influences).
As I continue to grow and collect, I will be sharing my personal archive, season by season, with additional runway photos, reviews, editorials, and my personal stories behind each piece. Some posts will be longer, and others shorter, but all consistently full of Arianna-isms. And in true Arianna fashion, I will start with delving into the world of Jun Takahashi and Jan Svankmejer with S/S 2005’s But Beautiful II: Homage to Jan Svankmejer (my favorite Undercover collection). Stay tuned!
