Benjamin Cho
Designer
Ride the Beast
Benjamin Cho has formed a reputation for his daring creativity displaying his prodigious talents and his staunchly original view. He has translated this aesthetic reverence into a decidedly American arena: modern, unique and sexy. His collections have a pointedly post-modern air, but remain organic, artfully nuanced and idiosyncratic. Cho’s clothing finds an elegant balance between feminine and aggressive, practical and decorative, sculptural and body conscious, the ecstatic and the depressed.
Cho has become known for what have become trademarks of his own invention: braided silk fringe, D-rings and ribbon, thigh-top sneakers, inventive ruching, and his use of a mixture of seemingly unconventional elements to create his innovative but always flattering designs. In each of his specialized garments, one can feel the graceful hand that guided the cut. This distinctive new femininity is why he has garnered a wide- ranging clientele, from artists to lawyers, to celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Kate Blanchett, Christina Ricci, Claire Danes, Milla Jovovich, Pink, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marisa Tomei and Kirsten Dunst to name a few.
Born to an opera singer mother and NASA-employed physicist father, it is no surprise that Cho’s designs display both an obsessive eye for detail and a dramatic imagination. There is a conspicuous lack of retro, ethnic or derivative motifs. Rather, the energy taps into the many facets of his life. Aside from designing, Cho has remains active in society, volunteering his time working as a “buddy” for people with AIDS, with children of inner-city schools, and aligning with numerous organizations and charities in which he believes. Also influential are his projects in art and music. Cho is slated to have his first solo show of paintings and drawings in London this summer. Cho also plays the cello and is no stranger to many stages of New York City. Despite being known for such wide-ranging collaborations, it is in his collections which Cho’s irrepressible energy becomes most finely focused and refined.