lie sang bong paris @ the V&A

I was invited to an exclusive gala reception on Monday evening by designer Lie Sang Bong (often hailed the Korean Alexander McQueen) in the Raphael Gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum. As part of the Korean Cultural Center UK’s ‘100 Day Festival of Korean Culture‘ Lie, who has consistently surprised audiences for over twenty years with his experimental designs, presented two collections followed by a Korean cooking tutorial from two of Korea's master chefs and a lovely four course meal from Bibigo, a new Korean restaurant in London. Oh yeah, and there was soju too!

The first collection Lie presented was entitled ‘Discourse: Fragments’ featuring a modern representation of traditional Korean patchwork clothing known as Jogakbo / 조각보. The second show was by far my favorite - titled ‘Over the Rainbow’ and focusing on traditional architectural designs known as Dancheong / 단청, which are the decorative colours you see painted on temples around the South Korean peninsula. I especially loved the almost holographic leather used on shoes, bags and some of the garments, as well as the tile headpieces worn by some of the models which echoed temple roofing.



left: Me with Lie Teacher / 이선생님, which is how you refer to designers and teachers in Seoul.
right: With Hye Sung Kim / 김혜성 my 'respected older brother' aka 형님.

left: With Korean model Yeon / 혜연 who I recognize from Seoul Collection.
right: with Nicole & David who were taking backstage videos & photos of the show as well.


Huge thanks to 이선생님, Nana, Chung and the rest of the LSB Paris team for welcoming me to the show. Seeing so many familiar faces and eating great Korean food made me very nostalgic for my life back in Seoul! :(















































































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lie sang bong ss12

My journalist friend Michael Reyes just forwarded me this video that he worked on for crane.tv about Korean designer Lie Sang Bong's SS12 collection. The collection was inspired by the bright colors and intricate patterns associated with Korean buddhist temples also known as 'jul / 줄'.
"Hailed as the "Korean McQueen," Seoul-based fashion designer Lie Sang Bong has dressed everyone from South Korea's First Ladies to international stars like Beyoncé and Lindsay Lohan. Crane.tv visits him in his studio in Gangnam-Gu where the former costume and set designer tells us about his childhood dreams and wanting to communicate Korean cultural identity to the world."
Here are a few of my favorite looks from his latest collection including those very cool melty face masks.






























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my article in Surface Asia Magazine

I was asked to write an article on a selection of Korea's rising fashion stars by Surface Asia Magazine. I was honored to do so and it allowed me to continue to feel connected to Seoul after moving away. There were so many more designers I would have liked to include in the article so I'm glad the final decision of who to write about was left up the editors at the magazine. I hope you enjoy!

















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