9 UPCOMING AND EXCITING BRANDS FROM SEOUL

Elaine YJ Lee, former Managing Editor of HYPEBEAST Korea, introduces nine underrated and exciting brands to know from Seoul.

Undoubtedly a thriving fashion capital of the world, Seoul is home to countless creatives in music and cinema that have rewritten the course of global pop culture in recent years. Next in line to succeed them is a rising generation of creatives that are breathing new life into the region’s fashion scene. In a Sabukaru original editorial shot in Seoul, editor Elaine YJ Lee introduces nine independent Korean brands that should be on your radar.

Joe Gush

Joe Gush, the name of an eerie damsel from a vivid dream, became the name for Haengwon Choi’s brand, which started out as a line of individually remade, repurposed garments. Now a full-fledged operation since 2018, Joe Gush produces unisex collections inspired by punk spirit and Western Americana, with a touch of Choi’s quirky sensibility. The stylist-turned-designer makes everything locally, running his atelier in the heart of Seoul’s youthful and vibrant Hapjeong neighbourhood. In Japan, Joe Gush’s collections can be found at Nubian, Unfollow and Metatex.

Sansan Gear

Sansan Gear produces survivalist clothing that are meant to protect the wearer against a dystopian future. Co-founders Sangyup Lee and Sanghyun Kim first met in college while they both studied fashion design, and have the common interest of drawing inspiration from cosmic horror films. Their Fall/Winter 2020 “Sansan, Contain, Protect” collection was particularly influenced by 2018’s Annihilation, resulting in muted technical tracksuits and midweight cotton T-shirts with alien-like graphics. 

Even before the outbreak of Covid-19, Lee and Kim had the foresight to explore how people would have to deal with a pandemic for their Spring/Summer 2020 collection, whose campaign featured more than half a dozen people in face masks. The word “Sansan” in the brand’s name is the result of attaching the Chinese character “to shine (燦)” twice and pronouncing them back in Japanese, inspired by the word, “kira-kira (きらきら).” The completely Seoul-made Sansan Gear collection can be found at Heights Store.

Yeseyesee

Yeseyesee launched in Spring/Summer 2017 and gained wider recognition with its recent merge with Korean streetwear giant, Thisisneverthat. The brand’s name, while written as one word, is separated in three lines as “YES/EYE/SEE” in its logo, meant to be read both from left to right and top to bottom to symbolize its desire to break free from one limited definition. 

Yeseyesee’s Fall/Winter 2020 “Road View” collection was inspired by the instantly-captured and distorted images of the street on digital maps. The brand prioritizes the balance of comfort, wearability and durability, and designs casual yet energetic clothes to appeal to a youthful audience. 

TBOS

TBOS, short for “The Boys of Summer,” is a collection of one-of-a-kind, handmade clothes constructed from vintage and secondhand pieces. Founder KD Yoon has a special affinity toward The North Face and Nike, both of which can be found in his abundantly flowing closet, where he sources most of his material. TBOS Fall/Winter 2020 sees Yoon’s signature de/reconstructed clothes in unexpectedly knitted puffer jackets and sweatsuits.

Yoon also customizes furniture with vintage textiles, recently designing a line of store fixtures for Nike’s new flagship in Seoul.

Keenkee

Keenkee offers a never-before-seen aesthetic for gender-fluid menswear, as eclectic and unique as its designer, Hyoungkee Kim. The graphic designer and amateur boxer deepened his interest in fashion while art directing for Prada in New York, establishing Keenkee there before eventually moving his studio to Seoul. Keenkee, which bears no relation to the word, “kinky,” pushes for diversity and approachability in offbeat interpretations of men’s clothing.

The brand’s Fall/Winter 2020 collection was inspired by the number 2020, which felt oddly futuristic to Kim. His imaginations of sleek, oval objects of the future come manifested in colourful patterns rendered from digital pixelating, a signature design method for the brand.

Bluer

Bongsuk Kwon founded Bluer in Fall/Winter 2019 while he was still getting his Master’s in menswear at the London College of Fashion. Like its name, which combines Kwon’s favourite colour with “blur,” Bluer aims to blur the confines of limited definitions of gender and genre. 

For Fall/Winter 2020, Bluer drew inspiration from the rebellious spirit of British teens, their imagined raw energy manifested in spontaneously bleached denim with rough finishes. Currently, Bluer operates under a made-to-order model, crafting everything by hand in Korea for clients like K-pop megastars EXO, Super M and Seventeen.

CAYL

Established by illustrator and textile designer Hyunjung Kim and engineer by training Eoijae Lee, CAYL, short for “Climb As You Love,” is a brand for active lovers of the outdoors. Lee, who fell in love with hiking in college but struggled to find suitable clothing for his hobby locally, started out by making small batches of functional pieces for himself. CAYL develops lightweight and durable clothes fit for hiking and bouldering that could also translate well into everyday casual wear.

CAYL’s Made-in-Korea collections can be found at a slew of Japanese retailers like Nicetime Mountain, Drifter’s Stand, Connected Tokyo, Sumiyakickass and The Soft.

Carnet Archive

Carnet Archive made its debut in Spring/Summer 2019 after co-founders Youngdae Gong and Harin Kim took over a year to conceive the brand. When naming Carnet Archive, Gong and Kim -- who respectively studied menswear and womenswear at the London College of Fashion -- were inspired by the 20th-century French philosopher, Albert Camus. The brand takes after Camus’ series of working notebooks, “Carnets,” which contain his World War-era existentialist school of thought. Like his notes that recorded raw emotions in real-time, Carnet Archive places significance in the ongoing process of experimentation rather than the end product. Gong and Kim are especially inspired by the life cycle of not only living forms but also non-living objects that lose meaning once they’re discarded.

For Fall/Winter 2020’s “SKIN-OFF” collection, Carnet Archive explored man’s relationship with skin, muscle and bone, modelling clothing patterns off of ergonomic shapes that resemble the shell of an emptied body. The collection’s colours and materials are the result of months-long research on the decaying, rusting and rotting surfaces of objects and architecture. 

moif functional uniform.

moif founder Chanho Han’s philosophy is to pursue peace and quiet in today’s rapidly busy world. “moif,” a combination of “moi” in French and the “f” of “functional,” seeks to offer approachable everyday clothes to help bring order and conciseness to the wearer’s life. 

Han honed his skills designing at Eastlogue and Unaffected, two of South Korea’s most recognized brands when it comes to techwear and heritage workwear. For moif functional uniform, Han considers the region’s literal and social climate, constructing everything locally with meticulous care. 

Credits:
Writer: Elaine YJ Lee
Photographer: Baechu
Model: Seungtae Kim
Producer & Stylist: Elaine YJ Lee