Paul Choi

Recently, I re-discovered vinyl. I am a late entry — this is clear as I stalk the web for information and records. My endeavor began on Spotify where I added Yusef Lateef’s Eastern Sounds on my playlists — making sure to make the playlist accessible on and off line. Business trips have made creating music [...]

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Recently, I was reminded of one of my favorite clothing lines, Cloak, in a New York Times Magazine piece. I had just moved to New York in 2005 and saw the documentary, Seamless, which highlighted various designers chosen as finalists in the first CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. One of those finalists was Alexander Plokhov. While he did [...]

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An inherent necessity of my job is reading through magazines, look books, and blogs scanning picture after picture of clothes and people wearing clothes. Things start to look similar even when the clothes are relatively different or vice versa. Being cool is so trend-reliant, especially in fashion imagery. Yes, there are many iconic styles and people pushing [...]

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My first job in this industry, a little more than 10 years ago, was at the Gap. During my first week, I was asked to attend a meeting – apparently a regular ongoing affair – in the art gallery in the main Gap Inc. building in San Francisco where the CEO, Millard “Mickey” Drexler, was [...]

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When running around, traveling, shopping, or walking, the best ideas seem to hit when you are not in the design studio or at your desk. That is when the right tools, easily carried and accessible are essential. Like many, I am obsessed with notebooks and sketch pads of all sizes and makes. One of my [...]

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My mind is buzzing about store design and retail presentation. I realize that there is no single solution to successfully designing space and presenting product within that space, but rather a multitude of theories, variables, metrics, and strategies to putting retail space together. In the end, we're trying to figure out how to best trigger [...]

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I recently took an amazing position with a brand I love to make a product I love, but the wrinkle is that this new position is going to be based in San Francisco, requiring me to move across the country from New York, “big city of dreams,” to the mellow coast. Having to move from [...]

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