A Wandering Eye

Molly Goddard, the British fashion designer who’s come to be known for her smocked tulle dresses, on the necessary act of travelling.

- Guan Tan

The Grand Hyatt Seoul is a sprawling hotel perched on a hill in the Itaewon area of Seoul. Its lobby, an imposing and stately alcove is a massive space, where countless guests and visitors gather. By chance, Molly Goddard, the British fashion designer who was in town to present her collection at the local presentation of MatchesFashion’s Fall/Winter ’19, happened to walk by.

When I approached Goddard at the lobby, she briefly mentioned that she’d just landed in Seoul, was feeling the brunt of an eight-hour jet-lag, but was headed out in search of local cuisine. The next afternoon, we met again for an afternoon tea and walkabout of her installation at the Fall/ Winter ’19 presentation. She’s a reticent figure — extremely soft-spoken appears to sit comfortably in silence and has few words to offer. Yet, her eyes appear to sparkle with curiosity; her eyes darting around intently, observing and imbibing in all the action around her, even as she’s quietly standing to the side. It is that keen curiosity that forms the bedrock of Goddard’s creations.

Goddard is 31 this year. She studied at Central Saint Martins under the tutelage of the legendary late professor, Louise Wilson. In 2014, Goddard debuted with a small collection of smocked tulle and taffeta frocks — or what she had dubbed party dresses — during London Fashion Week, but her collection was shown off-schedule, in a church hall. It was an instant hit — Dover Street Market London picked up her dresses, Dazed & Confused ran her collection on their site, and Women's Wear Daily marked her as the designer-to-watch. The rest, as they say, is history.