Dialogue Independent Designer Clothing Brand Oba Founder & Designer Joanna

1. As a Sino-Korean mixed-savvy designer, what difference do you think the popular styles of the two countries have?
Joanna: It's very interesting to draw inspiration from two countries. On the one hand, China can quickly absorb the fashion trends of Paris, Milan and New York; in South Korea, they also pay attention to their own tailoring and more interesting tailoring and contour design. There are also many colors to match. The OBA mixes the fashion elements of the two countries. Some are more pompous and some are very interesting in the details of the design. These are very suitable for Chinese consumers.

2. Recently, Korean dramas have become very popular in China. Have you considered designing clothes for Korean drama? If so, what kind of role do you think women in your clothes are?
Joanna: I really want to shape Korean idol dramas because I see a lot of Korean dramas (jokingly). Although I don't currently work with Korean dramas, I hope there will be opportunities to cooperate with Korean stars. Women who are OBAs should be brave to try and dare to play, but they also have conservative ideas. They are very smart, with perfect personality and self-styled perfect women.

3. Do you love jacket design so much, is there any special reason?
Joanna: I'm not sure when I started, but I've always had a special affection for the jacket. I think there is plenty of room for design inspiration when it comes to designing coats, for women of different styles and sizes. However, designing a dress does not have such a large space for shirts. Relatively speaking, it is still more meticulous. I especially like that the same jacket can be worn with different combinations to suit different women. Overall, the plasticity of the jacket is very high.

4. We found that every coat you design has a special name. What is the origin of these names? Can you share one of these stories with us?
Joanna: These names come from the style of the clothes themselves. For example: 01066 Freedom. This front is free of buttons and zippers and is completely open-ended, meaning that women are given more freedom and more rights to do something. You can choose whether to wear a waist belt to create different styles. This is a loose version of the tailoring, which can be used freely in the bottom of the clothing, will not affect the overall coat shape.

01002 Circus Spring. This cut is A-shaped, giving someone a sense of acrobatics.

5. In the traditional concept, the color of the jacket will be relatively single, mostly dark colors, but Oba's jacket has a lot of colors. Why is there such a design?
Joanna: There are many people who think that only a coat is needed in the closet, so everyone chooses to buy black, navy or khaki because it is the most versatile color. But in OBA, we want to break this idea and give women in the coat a new look. For OBA, the coat itself should be very special. It can be used as a single product and it is the focus of the overall clothing mix. Therefore, OBA rarely has regular colors (navy/black) and models.

6. What are your collocation suggestions for these colorful jackets?
Joanna: I'm a keen fan of many different levels and contrasting colors. So the clothes I designed were all short or 3/4 sleeve lengths, allowing you to have more space to show the inner parts, and also to match the accessories. It may be a pure black turtleneck sweater or a warm glove.

7. In addition to the jacket, what clothing items will you design next?
Joanna: We will start with expanding our accessories collection to match our coats. For example, warm gloves, belts, etc. Next, we will also have a high-level custom under the jacket, such as a simple one-piece knit dress, and now OBA's coat series to do some color match.

8. You said that you've been to many countries, but I think that the hard and wide field of the Oba brand was shot in Shanghai. What's the different meaning of Shanghai's alley and even the city?
Joanna: Actually, our 2013 autumn and winter publicity shots were taken in Hong Kong and Shanghai. They were shot in an old building in downtown Hong Kong and shot in a small shot in Shanghai's Nong Tang. I live in a different city in the world and think of myself as an “urban woman.” I am also very fortunate to have lived in different cities. These cities are just a combination of new and old (Hong Kong, New York, Shanghai). I was attracted by the old places in these cities and was visually spectacular.
The two photos below are publicity photos taken in Hong Kong and are on the roof of an old-fashioned dwelling in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.