The times, as Bob Dylan sang it, are a-changin’. And while the fashion industry as a whole can be slow to embrace change, not so Jae Choi, founder of visionary creative agency, The Collective Shift...
The times, as Bob Dylan sang it, are a-changin’. And while the fashion industry as a whole can be slow to embrace change, not so Jae Choi, founder of visionary creative agency, The Collective Shift. Among her roster of industry legends such as Francois Nars, Tom Pecheux and Peter Gray, you’ll find a young upstart, the photoblogger extraordinaire, Tommy Ton whose phenomenally successful street style blog, Jak and Jil has given way to regular gigs for the likes of style.com and GQ. “Tommy Ton is so much more than a blogger,” Choi insists, “His image-making skills put him miles ahead of his fellow bloggers. He is a true visual documentarian and I believe his work stands out among his peers as his images are distinctive and have a voice of their own; you can always tell a "Tommy" image. Also the depth and wealth of his knowledge of fashion is so vast that he would be my lifeline if I was ever a contestant on a fashion game show!” Unlike others in her industry, Choi embraces the challenges the internet poses to photography: “If anything, I think it has elevated and further validates photography as an art form. Great fashion imagery has to perform an even bigger job competing in today's fractured media environment where we have an audience awash in visual stimuli.”
Choi found herself on the business side of fashion following a trip to India to produce samples for a collection she was planning to debut. She recalls, “That experience was challenging in so many ways I did not expect – and it made me realise that it was the business of fashion that appealed most, not the 'making of'.” She adds, “I'm a complete perfectionist and I find it much more natural to exercise that trait on this side of the industry than on the creative track.” Since starting up the aptly named Collective Shift in 2008, Choi has gone on to represent the likes of established heavyweights like Melanie Ward, Inez & Vinoodh and acclaimed art photographer Phillip-Lorca Dicorcia. For Choi, her success has been shaped by some of the challenges she’s faced along the way. “One thing an old boss said to me that really stuck was: "You're a double-minority (alluding to her Asian heritage and gender) so you will have more challenges and disadvantages to confront along the way than others". At the time, I found that statement a bit shocking. But I'm naturally a bit obstinate hence my resistance to allowing those labels to be limiting has defined me in so many ways.”
If the name of her agency implies forward as well lateral thinking, it’s reflected in her eclectic roster where a stylist like Patti Wilson can sit next to the choreographer and creative consultant Stephen Galloway or the Paris-based writer, Stephanie Cohen-Chaptal. For Choi, she’s never made any distinction between disciplines: “Aside from their exceptional and inherent creative talents, I prefer representing artists who are inspired by using their talents across multiple platforms - and always with that identifiable, individual mark that makes the creation uniquely theirs.” And what does she love best about her job? Never once to mince words, Choi is typically succinct: “I just love making shit happen.”
