For Better & For Worse
For BOKJA’s SS24 collection, For Better & For Worse, founders Huda and Maria returned to the brand’s rich, thematic roots. Reflecting on the nomenclature of ‘BOKJA’ – a bride’s trousseau or dowry – the designers re-entered the storied period of the brand’s origins 20 years ago. It was a time when the pair upholstered late modern furniture found in post-war Beirut flea markets, using trousseau heritage textiles and garments collected through various trips around Central Asia, all while embarking on frenzied chapters and relationships of their own. Now, two decades after the fact, they’ve re-emerged with eyes wide open to the humour, heartbreak, transient and indelible ecstasy of love and relationships of all kinds.
For Better & For Worse is an entrance and exit to love. Less about the stages and chronology of traditional marriage and more about the stages of exploring our relationship with self and others, the collection is an inquiry into personal choice and satisfaction. (A visual journey, too.) Captured on friends of the designers, not models, For Better & For Worse questions all the ways anyone says “I do” to … marrying, not marrying, coupling and uncoupling, friendships only, children never, solitude or communion. How do these dynamics launch, bloom, stifle, die, and ultimately, shape us?
“Aptly, we chose this coming season’s theme to explore the underpinnings and implications of nuptial rituals and the formulation of interpersonal relationships more abstractly. The collection was both conceptually and practically perceived in six chapters.”
Text by Huda and Maria of BOKJA
In Selvedge issue 119: Savoir Faire, we look at the tradition of Haute Couture Paris shows ending with bridal wear. This prevails in today’s mid-2020s, where emphasis is given to sumptuous fabrics, classic silhouettes, immaculate construction, and faultless embellishment – often using sought-after artisanal techniques. Marrying the past with the present requires an eye on sustainability – wearing an item of clothing only once feels too decadent as well as unsustainable. So, how can today’s wedding dressing be entirely appropriate – making you look and feel good in a way that no other ensemble in your wardrobe does? Read more in our current issue, 119 in our article. Something Old, Something New: Modern-day bridal wear by Sarah E. Braddock Clarke.
Buy or subscribe with issue 119:
www.selvedge.org/products/issue-119-savoir-faire
For Better & For Worse is an entrance and exit to love. Less about the stages and chronology of traditional marriage and more about the stages of exploring our relationship with self and others, the collection is an inquiry into personal choice and satisfaction. (A visual journey, too.) Captured on friends of the designers, not models, For Better & For Worse questions all the ways anyone says “I do” to … marrying, not marrying, coupling and uncoupling, friendships only, children never, solitude or communion. How do these dynamics launch, bloom, stifle, die, and ultimately, shape us?
“Aptly, we chose this coming season’s theme to explore the underpinnings and implications of nuptial rituals and the formulation of interpersonal relationships more abstractly. The collection was both conceptually and practically perceived in six chapters.”
Text by Huda and Maria of BOKJA
In Selvedge issue 119: Savoir Faire, we look at the tradition of Haute Couture Paris shows ending with bridal wear. This prevails in today’s mid-2020s, where emphasis is given to sumptuous fabrics, classic silhouettes, immaculate construction, and faultless embellishment – often using sought-after artisanal techniques. Marrying the past with the present requires an eye on sustainability – wearing an item of clothing only once feels too decadent as well as unsustainable. So, how can today’s wedding dressing be entirely appropriate – making you look and feel good in a way that no other ensemble in your wardrobe does? Read more in our current issue, 119 in our article. Something Old, Something New: Modern-day bridal wear by Sarah E. Braddock Clarke.
Buy or subscribe with issue 119:
www.selvedge.org/products/issue-119-savoir-faire