For Spring/Summer 2019, AMBUSH designer Yoon Ahn looked to create her own wave of simple, beach-ready garments with many meta layers underneath. At face value, her wetsuits emblazoned with “WAVES SS19” may seem like a pretty literal manifestation of the wave theme, but the inspiration traces back to the designer's frequent beach trips.

“I go to the beach a lot. I think being in the water just makes me really calm,” says Ahn. During a recent trip to Hawaii's Big Island, she took up surfing and developed an appreciation for Hawaii's pristine wave forms. That isn't the only inspiration she took, as plenty of the jewelry built on Hawaiian motifs, from sterling silver reinterpretations of floral leis to high-end renditions of trinket necklaces commonly found at Hawaii swap meets.

She synthesized that inspiration with the work of sculptor Constantin Brancusi, who left an intact atelier behind after his death, which remains open to the public right across the Centre Pompidou, and is the location Ahn chose to show her latest collection.

“It makes perfect sense because, although the theme is about surfing, what we stand for as a brand and my philosophy on designing the jewelry and everything is about going back to the form of it. That's exactly the message he was preaching. When you look at his sculptures, there's a very primitive pureness to it.”

The minimalist sculpture-meets-beach-party vibe was reinforced by metallic surfboards and garments rendered in different shades of baja stripes, plenty of tie-dye, and oversized down vests that resembled life preservers. Considering the term “waves” has become shorthand for abstract vibes and moods in internet parlance, perhaps Ahn's mode of thinking is a bit ahead of the current.

For more on Yoon's other gig as the accessories designer at Dior, check out everything we know about Dior SS19 so far.