Seokwoon Yoon: I Love The Idea Of Transformation

Seokwoon Yoon @seokwoonyoon, a brand that stands out thanks to its uniqueness, its cutting-edge silhouettes, and its crazy designs, talks with Vanity Teen about the inspiration behind such jaw-dropping pieces, the backstory of the brand, the processes followed, and the experience of being part of Seoul Fashion Week 2022.

Vanity Teen. I am really fascinated by your brand and your amazing designs. When and why did you start your brand and which would you say are its main values?

Seokwoon Yoon. I started This Brand in 2017 right after I graduated from Pratt Institute. But I was working at the same time and I couldn’t focus on my brand. I decided to move back to Korea in 2018 and I presented the Fall/Winter 2019 collection at Seoul Fashion Week. I try to find something that people hadn’t looked at in a general way. I think it would be an interesting way to communicate with people. Also, I can give them a new story from something around us. More about sharing my interesting part.

VT. The brand has a unique approach, with a lot of varied textures, elements, and cuts. When did you find your style and when did you decide to focus on just that idea?

SY. When I was in Pratt Institute, I was walking down the street in Brooklyn. There was an abandoned factory there and there were also flowers all around. I loved seeing the harmony between the industrial building and natural things and I wanted to make my mood board with that idea. I picked up real flowers on the street and put them on the denim fabric, poured liquid silicone over them, and I used the fabric for my graduation collection.

I mainly focus on developing the textile within my own voice, that is why I painted and made weird sculptures and took photos. For the construction, I love the idea of transformation. For instance, as you can see in my collection, I made a four-sleeved jacket. It also can be as wearable as a normal two-sleeved jacket. It is about the process to find the silhouette. I want people to wear it in various ways, in the way they prefer, and I also expect them to find their own way to wear it. That is how I want to communicate with people.

VT. Your designs are really crazy and gorgeous. Could you tell us about your creative process?

SY. For me, the most interesting thing is the process. I love the process of fashion because it always started from an empty whiteboard or a piece of paper with a rough sketch. And it is more about creating a textile-like painting or melting fabric like crazy things and draping a silhouette in order to find interesting garment construction. At the end of the collection, we can see the movement of the work created. I loved to share my process through my collection.

VT. You recently presented your latest collection during Seoul Fashion Week 2022. What more can you tell us about the collection you presented? How was this experience for you?

SY. I would like to tell the story about future species, it could be AI robots or extraterrestrial beings, or the evolution of human beings. Now, we have a lot of restrictions about how many people can stay in one space and I would like to extend my idea to the future even over the Earth.

VT. To conclude, how do you see the future of your brand and your future as a designer?

SY. I think no one can define the future of fashion, that is why it is interesting. I hope to have more chances to share my brand story with more people in the future. As for me, I am learning from each collection I do. I love working in fashion and for my future, I expect to be a designer who is still learning and developing my works with interesting processes.

Seokwoon Yoon @seokwoonyoon in conversation with Adrian Gomis @adriange_ exclusively for Vanity Teen online!