🪡Threads of Petit Coussin🧵
Another instance of thinking too much about Hongjoong's artistic endeavors, and whether or not all of the meaning is there very specifically on purpose, or because of who he is intrinsically.
Cromer catwalk, made of sand. After sitting with the fashion show, and crying thinking about all the implications, I then took another look and realized the set is the Cromer. It's shaped like an hourglass, or an 8, and made. Of. Sand. The tagline of the fashion show, or the Petit Coussin project in general, is "To Childhood. From Childhood." There is a focus on memories, and what are memories if not the way we currently have to experience time manipulation?
In the Harper's Bazaar interview that @thirstkanaphan posted, he talks about memories of playing in the warehouse next to his mom's store like a playground. A couple of the looks were directly inspired by ways his mom styled him and his brother in childhood. He mentions in the Dazed Korea interview that he made 24 looks to represent an entire day, because as a kid you often wish you could spend an entire day on the playground.
Along with the personal ties to his childhood, he mentions in the Harper Bazaar interview his draw from children's books and fairytales. He calls out Peter Pan and Snow White for the soundtrack inspiration. I picked up on the first watch that it was his voice remixed saying Petit Coussin during that section. Listening through a few times, there are bits that sound like they are inspired by pencils taps, claps, snaps, and playing with cups. I don't think the soundtrack was made using any of those actual sounds, but it still feels like those raw playful clinks against plastic and metal of childhood.
Continuing the Peter Pan thread, I did pick up on this in my thoughts about the embroidered starry neckline top. I posted back in August about the design reminding me of the illustration styles in The Little Prince or Peter Pan. Hongjoong has mentioned his love of Peter Pan a lot over the years, from considering debuting with the stage name Pan to including it in lyrics for Wonderland to the ties in Illusion.
Hongjoong has also always been for the kids! He's donated and painted his nails for years in collaboration with Polished Man, and has put emphasis on improving conditions for children.
Then there are the marigolds of it all. Painted on the jacket of one look, and printed on the shorts of another. Marigolds are his birthday flower, and he's used them frequently in design, such as his birthday earrings from 2022 and the birthday lamp this year. Seonghwa has also said it's his favorite flower in the Golden Hour Part. 2 Jacket Making, *because* Hongjoong likes them.
We get even more of his use of the 8 motif, both in Cromer symbolism and in repeating elements of the designs 8 times. This nod to the 8 members that make up ATEEZ, pouring his love for his members into everything he makes. Not just in the embroidered starry neckline shirts, but in the Michael Jackson inspired marching band jacket, and probably more I'm not yet noticing.
We can see fulfillment of previous goals, in how he's spoken about wanting to do genderless design. The looks blend elements that might traditionally fall masculine or feminine, as well as some omitting anything particularly gendered. Design itself is also a goal he's always had interest in, always reforming clothes and accessories. He's been exploring and laying the groundwork for doing this for quite some time, talking about taking embroidery lessons earlier this year after wearing the shirt he'd designed that appeared twice in different variations in the show.
Hongjoong is always encouraging us dream big. From the Harper Bazaar interview again, he states the below when asked what he wants us to take from the show.
"I want each of you to look purely into your childhood dreams and feel the excitement you've forgotten. It would be great if that time becomes an opportunity to dream another dream, but even if that's not the case, I hope you feel that excitement, even if it's just for a moment."
The little cushions hung as clouds in the sky, literally and metaphorically asking us to never stop dreaming, and to keep our heads in the clouds.
I think there's something going on with the life savers, as well. I'm not sure if it's just an item that was present in his childhood, or maybe something more generally symbolic to childhood? But with the rest of the items I could see the direct links to childhood - and the individual b-roll of the canister in the intro makes it feel as important.
There is even more to be said about using sand as the medium for the catwalk in a show so focused on memories. Sure, a lot of playgrounds are sand. And yes, my previously mentioned link to it being the sands of time within the hourglass shape of the stage. But visually as a medium, we see the kids passing through the sands of time, changing it as they go. Marking and shifting the land. An image of the very temporal but impactful relationships of childhood playmates.
I wouldn't put it past Hongjoong to tie in canon ATEEZ lore to his birthday side project. But til anything is confirmed, I think it's just that the lore is so embedded in the fabric of important things to him that he couldn't not embellish with the symbolism. I hope he continues to talk about the details of this all, though!
