Benjamin Cho
The Label
After dropping out of the Parsons School of Design in 1998 at 21, Benjamin Cho presented two small collections before staging a full-fledged runway show in 2001, which featured sleekly modified trenches, corseted bustiers, and silk fishtail skirts. Though his last show—set in a fairly empty 80th-floor apartment at Trump World Tower—experimented with heavy zippers in oversize heart and floral designs, Cho thrives when he sticks to what he does best: slightly tweaked classics.
The Look
Wispy waif. Slinky skirts and evening gowns embellished with elaborate—if sometimes S&M inspired—braiding, ruching, and lace; shirtdresses with thin (but plunging) necklines; skinny pants with overpronounced buttons and piping.
The Designer
Over the past decade, Cho has gone from a precocious fashion-school dropout to a veritable Renaissance man. Aside from playing style icon to all the downtown divas, he gets their thigh-high Chucks grooving as a turntablist every Sunday at his “regulars only” parties at the West Village hipster depot Sway as well as on “Cho Time,” a semi-regular New Wave podcast he serves up on East Village Radio.
