Inciampo, è andata proprio così, allo scorso Pitti Uomo nel Padiglione dedicato alla Korea e noto da subito, era impossibile non individuare le stampe ironiche e lo stile street, Beyond Closet.
Oggi scopro che il designer del brand, Ko Tae-yong, è considerato uno dei più conosciuti e gettonati stilisti coreani!
Nata nel 2008 e presentata dal più giovane designer alla Seoul Fashion Week la collezione riceve ottime critiche grazie al suo stile preppy, quasi uniforme scolastica da cartoon con elementi delle più disparate provenienze (spunta anche un guantino alla Micheal Jackson!).
Oggi Ko si prepara ad un’altra visita in Italia per proseguire il viaggio nella Grande Mela e tornare nuovamente in patria. Un anno entusiasmante che lo stilista sintetizza così: “But the finale never means an ending in the fashion business”.
Mantenendo il focus su di lui scopro che appare regolarmente in tv nel programma “Fashion King Korea” una sorta di talent show di designers emergenti, che ha letteralmente invaso, così come le strade della Capitale, con il suo signature puppy graffiti stampato su T-shirt e felpe.
Ma la cosa ancora più interessante è che a soli 33 anni attribuisce il suo successo a due fattori: fun and experiencing as much as possible.
“Fashion is about having fun and goofing around, if you think of fashion as part of work, good designs are hard to come by and you can’t really last for the long term. I travel a lot, go to clubs, listen to music, hang out with friends, work out regularly and try to have fun in life. That is where thoughts and inspiration come from. Maybe studying abroad or having parents who are in the fashion industry can help a lot, but the most important variable is experiencing various things”.
“The first time I studied fashion was when I was 24, a junior in college, right after returning from mandatory military service in the Marines, prior to that, I studied social work”.
“There were very difficult times in the past, for three years after the initial launch of the label, I didn’t make any money. It hasn’t been too long since I started making some money.”
“I am very grateful for the success, I think it is important to keep investing in myself and the brand. That is why I try to make interesting fashion shows with various collaborations to engage with the audiences”.
Puoi considerarli creativi o meno ma sta di fatto che questi sono i nuovi enfant prodige della moda 2.0, perfettamente in linea ai trend occidentali e pronti a confrontarsi con i grandi numeri di un mercato sconfinato e un pubblico vittima delle più strategiche dinamiche emulative, dove anche il “piccolo” può stare a galla ed essere player nell’arena del fashion system. In Korea succede così.
Sulla collezione uomo SS15 le ispirazioni sono state:
“For this season, I was inspired by my high school days, the collection depicts stylish students at their best and school gangs at their worst, kind of like ‘Gossip Girl.’”
“I don’t have tattoos on my body, but I would really like to get one, but there are people who can’t get one for many reasons ranging from religious reasons to family restrictions to health issues. It began from there, the tattoos are embroidered on the part of the clothes where actual tattoos are drawn on the body, which can satisfy people’s fantasies (about getting a tattoo).”
When did you know you wanted to be a fashion designer?
In my collage years, I was majoring in fashion design and the class attended a fashion show all together for the class credit. The Thrill I felt at that time made me to chase the dream of becoming a fashion designer.
What do you think about international market? And how do you think to push your collection?
The destination of fashion business is having its concrete existence in global market. It is very important to present my collection worldwide.
Let me know your thoughts about digital in fashion system.
Digital systems make it easier for designers to communicate to the world and to catch the needs of customers. Using and applying the system to business is important.
Describe your style.
My style changes every day depends on the mood of the day. I have enough sense to manage variety of style to be look good on me and I have enough clothes for styling.
Where do you live? What do you call home?
Inchon, southwest part of Seoul.
What is the thing that impressed you most of Italy?
T bone steak!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUlSoG__ql4[/youtube]
