We11Done Went From Seoul to Berlin—To Make the World’s Chicest Bus Stop
We11Done
What do you get when a deadly cool Korean label hooks up with an iconic Dutch street photographer in the kinetic hot pot of Berlin? The latest jaw-dropping lookbook and campaign for We11Done, the perennially hip brand run by Dami Kwon and Jessica Jung of the Seoul concept shop Rare Market.
The secret to their success has always lain in their global point of view, coupled with Kwon and Jung’s uncanny sense for universally good style. Their fingers ever on the pulse, those instincts drew them to Ari Versluis, the Dutch photographer responsible for an ongoing visual series called Exactitudes, which began in 1994. Each edition has encapsulated different social groups or subcultures in gridded portraits, showing their similarities and differences of dress and demeanor. (Memorably, it inspired Demna Gvasalia’s parade of stereotypes for Fall 2017 Vetements.)
A cold email followed. “I was not aware of We11done before they contacted us,” Versluis said, “but looking at their images and enjoying the overall tone of voice seduced me straight away.” Their collaboration would be shot in Berlin and entirely street-cast, working with casting director Affa Osman to gather the perfect group of young Berliners. “The project is about realness, as you can expect,” Versluis explained, “and the cast is a diverse crowd of young people in the know.” The result is a beautiful portrayal of the city’s rich cultural makeup: a gamine with a half-shorn mullet with a handful of shaved punks; a classic Dutch beauty next to an androgynous Asian with tattoos and a top knot. As Versluis arranged the kids in frame, the team discovered that much of the cast were already friendly from frequenting Berlin’s infamous clubland, “a sweet proof that we were spot-on with the casting in a tribal sense, which is half of the work.”
And what did the We11Done tribe wear but the brand’s latest Spring wares—a pleasing mix of punchy pieces as eclectic as the models who wore them. Think: a little black nylon dress with an off-kilter bubble hem worn with white heeled flip flops. Python-print bellbottoms, pastel silk capri pants, and skirt suits with the ’80s padded shoulder, but slightly less. A little cropped teal tweed jacket and miniskirt look seamless beside a baggy white tee and calf-grazing cargo shorts, of all things, ever rooted in We11Done’s worldview. So was the setting: Versluis constructed a long plinth in a blank studio space to create the “ultimate bus stop,” a nod to his favorite photographic hunting grounds.
“The best spot of observing street fashion are the night bus stops and metro platforms at party nights in London or Berlin,” he said. “The plinth was created to capture and mimic this feeling, so your eyes could wander in a way like observing the opposite platform.” (The full infinite-scrolling effect will be featured online). Making a bus stop look this chic is no mean feat. Consider this one well done.
