FASHION

Wong Turn

Penetration. Hump and run. Two-man combo. Get your mind out of the gutter -- we're talking soccer terms here. The first, for example, signifies the ability of a player to drive through the opposing defense....


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Penetration. Hump and run. Two-man combo. Get your mind out of the gutter — we’re talking soccer terms here. The first, for example, signifies the ability of a player to drive through the opposing defense. What were you thinking?

It’s precisely this wink-wink sensibility that inspired Stephen Wong, former art director at Helmut Lang, to launch his own line of cashmere scarves boldly emblazoned with these double entendres. This fall the six-style collection, dubbed Wong Wong, hits the retail shelves at Colette in Paris. “The whole thing came about because my friends and I would watch football all the time on the BBC and the commentators would use these terms naturally,” says Wong, a hardcore fan who plays in leagues around New York City. “But if you take it to a different context, it’s funny. Some people automatically think, ‘OK, that’s dirty,’ and I kind of like that.”

Each phrase, he adds, has been carefully paired with a particular scarf color and pattern — and only serious soccer enthusiasts will understand why. A case in point is his striped green and white design, which references Scotland’s famed Celtic Football Club. The team’s best known for its kick long-and-chase tactic — a play otherwise referred to colloquially as, ahem, “hump and run.”

Photo: Thomas Iannacone