John Sohn is a senior in the Fiber Science and Apparel Design department specializing in Apparel Design. From origami to trigonometry to patternmaking, John is a master technician and slave to detail. Like a bored, precocious musician, he is all too aware of how to execute his craft perfectly, and he gets to riff on that perfection and reinvent it. John’s work strikes a rare balance between drama and ease that makes women crave to wear his pieces. He has interned with vanguard New York fashion houses Richard Chai, The Row and Phi, where he picked up technical skills and industry savvy. He has received numerous awards in fashion; most notably he was awarded $25,000 last winter as one of four winners of the Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship. But above all, John is one of The Sun’s 25 Scintillating Seniors for this year, and here’s why… 

The Sun: John, why are you so awesome? 

J.S.: It has recently come to my attention that I am awesome. 

Sun: Okay, real questions begin now. Tell us how you first fell into fashion. 

J.S.: It was in high school. Back in California, all we wear are jeans and t-shirts. So when skinny jeans came in, I really wanted them so I altered my own, sat down on my mom’s sewing machine and figured it out myself. Then she got mad and taught me how to really use the machine, and I started making things because I was bored. I came to Cornell as a Fiber Science major because I thought it would be cool to study design and something very technical, starting with the basic fiber through to the final garment. But I took classes with pre-meds and it felt too competitive. I thought about switching to English, but I decided to stick with design because it is more rewarding to ultimately have a garment than a paper.

Sun: How did you form your intense work ethic? 

J.S.: I have a disciplined mindset because I have played piano all my life, practicing each song at least a hundred times a week before competitions. I don’t mind doing monotonous things, or things that are really labor intensive or mentally and physically grueling. I think fashion is very intriguing because it can be as difficult or as easy as you want it to be. 

Sun: So, who is your muse, your woman? 

J.S.: My muse is a woman who has earned her way to the top, not fallen into it. I’m not in to that socialite person — the heiress. I’m more into people who are good at what they do. Cecilia Dean and Kate Lanphear come to mind; they are chic without trying too hard. 

Sun: Your website says that your work focuses on the relationship between garment and wearer. 

J.S.: When I approach a garment, I look at it very rationally. I want the garment in its flat pattern form to be just as beautiful as it is on the mannequin. So I’m very meticulous about the numbers I use, certain proportions, the lengths, the nitty gritty. But I think once it gets on the person, that makes the garment. 

Sun: How would you define the concept of “fashion?”

J.S.: I think of it in terms of cycles, what comes back. What matters is what is interesting now, what is right for this moment. 

Sun: Of the various influential companies you have interned at, one has since dissipated (Phi) and another is very much on the rise (The Row, addressed in this column). What do these ebbs and flows mean to you? 

J.S: It’s just a difficult industry. Phi ran for seven years, and although the designs were good, they were based in New York but targeted a customer in Europe and Asia, and that is tough. It wasn’t necessarily an American brand. As for the Row, it is a down-to-earth concept. Ashley and Mary-Kate wanted the perfect white t-shirt. They got it, and a lot of women wanted it too. They have perfected these staples that everyone wants, but they are intricately detailed and they fit amazingly. So I think there is a middle ground between the companies. Clothes don’t have to be so aggressively designed like at Phi, but you can have that balance between the ones that will please the fashion crowd and the ones that will please the customer. 

Sun: Coming back to Cornell, it is now the eve of your final show, the culmination of all your intense work these past four years. Could you tell us about your inspiration and what to look for in this year’s Cornell Fashion Collective runway show on Saturday? 

J.S.: The inspiration for the line is the haenyeo (해 녀), literally the “sea women” of Jeju-do, an island off Korea. These women have been a diving community for 2000 years. It was a tradition for every female on the island to enter the profession. There was a saying that if she gives birth to a boy, kick her in the rear, if she gives birth to a girl — another diver — have a feast. Until this day they don’t use modern scuba equipment or oxygen tanks. And now, although all the women’s daughters have moved off the island for education, there is this last generation of women diving. They are average wives and moms, but they do this extremely grueling job. I like that toughness. I watched lots of film footage about them, and saw this sense of remorse. They all always wanted to be girly but were just born into the job, drawn back to the water.  I was inspired by their strength, that a girl doesn’t have to be girly to fulfill the idea of womanhood. It’s a confident collection for a very confident girl. 

Sun: John, thanks for sharing with The Sun. Last question, what is your poison, what is your passion? 

J.S.: My poison is alcohol. My passion is iced coffee. 

To see John's work in further detail, see his website at johnsohn.com.