Taiwanese fashion designer Johan Ku, whose winning of a top prize in the 2009 Gen Art's Styles International Design Competition has gone viral, is planning to return to Taiwan this month for a solo show of his designs.
Ku told CNA Saturday that he plans to show the Taiwanese people 10 works he has created in recent years to show them how he creates his “sculpture-like” knitwear.
“Nothing is final yet, but I hope the presentation can take place at Eslite Books' Dunnan Store in eastern Taipei City,” Ku said during a dinner hosted in his honor by Taiwan's representative in New York, Kao Chen-chun.
Ku, owner of the Johan Ku Design Studio, recently won the top prize in the avant-garde design category of the 2009 Gen Art's Styles International Design Competition, a major fashion design competition in the United States for emerging talent.
He won the prestigious prize with one of his 2004 designs — a knitted series that highlights the versatility of yarn and displays creative patterns.
The 30-year-old attended an award ceremony in New York's Manhattan Dec. 2 before flying Saturday back to London where he is pursuing postgraduate art studies at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
During the dinner, Ku recounted how he managed to complete his undergraduate and postgraduate studies in fashion design at two universities in Taiwan after graduating from vocational high school, and how he stuck to his guns to pursue what he really wanted.
Ku also noted how impressed he was by the help given in Europe and the United States to young designers and said Taiwan should also provide assistance to young people seeking to make their mark in the creative industry.
“Taiwan has no lack of creative talent willing to work hard, “ Ku noted.
Regarding his planned presentation in Taipei, set to take place in mid-December, Ku expressed hope that entrepreneurs will want to buy his works, which will allow him to raise funds to continue creating more fashion or to establish his own brand.
