Wooyoungmi

WOOYOUNGMI is a South Korean designer brand founded in 2002 by Youngmi Woo, also known as Madame Woo[1].

WOOYOUNGMI
TypePrivate Company
IndustryFashion
Founded2002, Paris, France
FounderYoungmi Woo
Headquarters
Seoul
,
South Korea
Key people
Madame Woo (CEO & Creative Director)
ProductsApparel and accessories
Websiteen.www.wooyoungmi.com

A member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Mode Masculine with two prêt-a-porter collections per year, WOOYOUNGMI has been part of the official menswear calendar since its debut. Although initially a menswear-only brand, WOOYOUNGMI launched its first womenswear collection–presented together with menswear­–in 2020.[2]

Known for its clean tailoring and subtle details, WOOYOUNGMI also produces leather goods, accessories, and jewellery. Its square logo, always found at the nape in metal, is inspired by a picture frame.

The brand currently operates in 45 locations (20 countries in total) with flagship stores in Paris and Seoul.[3]

History

Between 1978 and 1982, designer Youngmi Woo studied fashion at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.[4] Following her graduation, she was selected to represent Korea in Osaka’s International Fashion Competition in 1983, where she won third place.[5]

Madame Woo went on to work in womenswear for six years, before deciding to pursue menswear and create her own brand. In 1988, she launched her first brand–contemporary menswear label Solid Homme–in Seoul, joined by her younger sister Woo Janghee, who had recently completed a degree in Fine Arts.[6] This venture marked Madame Woo as the first designer in the country to offer prêt-a-porter menswear.[7] Her minimalist, clean designs, inspired by “clothes for [the] ideal man,”[8] also reflected a shift from the still conservative style of menswear in Korea at the time.

Twelve years later in 2002, Madame Woo founded her eponymous brand WOOYOUNGMI in Paris, France, inaugurated at Paris Fashion Week.[9] Four years following its launch, WOOYOUNGMI opened its first store in the Marais quarter of Paris. [10] A Paris-based design studio was subsequently established in 2009, supported overseas by the design studio in Seoul.

In October 2010, WOOYOUNGMI held a special fundraising event with London department store Selfridges titled ‘My Coat, My Gift.’ While celebrating the brand’s best-selling coat No. 51, the event also raised support for local charity Art Against Knives and invited five budding creatives (Gary Card, David Hellqvist, Steve Salter, Reece Crisp, and Jordan Askill) to realise their own take on the classic coat.[11]

In 2011, WOOYOUNGMI became an official member of ‘La Chambre Syndicale de la Mode Masculine.’[12] The following year in 2012, the brand commemorated its tenth anniversary with an exhibition ‘WOOYOUNGMI Repository: 10 years of Creation’ at Manmade Wooyoungmi, the brand’s first flagship store opened earlier in May. A space merging art, fashion, and culture, Manmade Wooyoungmi also paid homage to the history of the brand, erected within the same building that once housed Solid Homme as well as Design Allée, a design company founded by Madame Woo’s oldest and youngest sisters, Kyungmi Woo and Hyunmi Woo.[13]

2013 marked the opening of WOOYOUNGMI’s second flagship store, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris.[14] The next year, Madame Woo was included in the BoF (Business of Fashion) 500, an index of people recognised for shaping the current global fashion industry.[15] According to The Korean Herald: “Wooyoungmi has become the most successful Korean independent menswear designer brand."[16]

In 2021, Wooyoungmi held the highest sales in menswear at Paris luxury department store Le Bon Marché, which the brand entered back in 2008. Though many brands were negatively affected by COVID-19, WOOYOUNGMI’s sales increased over the course of 2021 to the equivalent of $46 million, up by 8% compared to 2019.[17]

Corporate

WOOYOUNGMI belongs to the Korean company Solid Corporation, which was established in 1988. The privately-owned fashion firm holds both WOOYOUNGMI and SOLID HOMME, two ready-to-wear menswear brands differentiated by targeting, segmentation and positioning.[18] Headed by Madame Woo in her position as CEO, the business has remained family-owned to this day.

Creative Director

2018 ~ present: Woo Youngmi

2017 ~ 2018: Katie Chung

2014 ~ 2017: Woo Youngmi & Katie Chung [19]

2002 ~ 2014: Woo Youngmi & Woo Janghee

Collaborations

Art

Between 2012 and 2016, WOOYOUNGMI collaborated with Korean and international artists for its global campaigns.

  • 12SS Collaboration with artist LEE SONG: Mind Games [20]

Around the City. 2011. Oil on Canvas. 162.1 x 130.3 cm.[21]

Farewell. 2012. Oil on Canvas.

See the Sea. 2012. Oil on Canvas.

  • 12FW Collaboration with artist Clemens Krauss: Concepts of Isolation [22]

Laughter and Value. 2012. Oil on Canvas. 190 x 140 cm.

  • 13SS Collaboration with artist Osang Gwon: MASSPATTERNS [23]

Nuages pattern. 2012. C-print, mixed media. 220 x 63 x 50 cm.

Aztec pattern. 2012. C-print, mixed media. 217 x 135 x 83 cm.

  • 13FW Collaboration with artist Michael Johansson: Ensemble [24]

Tower. 2013. Bags, boxes, ordinary items, and Wooyoungmi fabrics. 47 x 47 x 110 cm.

Tube. 2013. Camera bags, Lego, boxes, ordinary items and Wooyoungmi fabrics. 36 x 36 x 81 cm.

Cube. 2013. Bags, boxes, ordinary items, and Wooyoungmi fabrics. 75 x 75 x 75 cm.

  • 14SS Collaboration with artist Kyungwoo Han [25]

Window to Loci, 2013. Digital C-print. 150 x 112 cm.

  • 14FW Collaboration with artist duo Guerra de la Paz (Alain Guerra and Neraldo de la Paz) [26]

Man of Art. 2014. WOOYOUNGMI garments and footwear, mannequins, silicone, steel.

  • 15SS Collaboration with artist Christoph Schmidberger [27]

The Return. 2015. Oil on Board. 53 x 83 cm.

  • 16SS Collaboration with artist Matthias Kiss [28]

Out of Time. 2016. Technique dorure à la feuille/ or blanc / platiné / palladium crédit.

Fashion

18SS VANS X WOOYOUNGMI Collaboration

In 2018, WOOYOUNGMI and Vault by Vans launched a special collaboration on the Vans OG Slip-On Lux. Drawing inspiration from Catherine Hardwick’s 2005 cult film Lords of Dogtown—which pays homage to young Venice Beach skaters Tony Alva, Jay Adams, and Stacey Peralta—the laceless sneaker was released in two colours, with a footbed paisley print reminiscent of skater bandanas worn in the early 70s. [29]

Other

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 & Z Flip 3 “Wooyoungmi Edition”

In 2021, WOOYOUNGMI collaborated with Samsung Electronics to produce limited edition accessories for the company’s latest smartphone models: Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3. [30]

Stores

Concept

‘The Gallery’ is a global retail concept developed by the brand for its stores and international retail spaces. The gallery concept was first unveiled with the opening of Manmade Wooyoungmi in 2012, the brand’s five-floor flagship store located in the luxury fashion district of Dosan Park in Seoul. With a square, café, and exhibition area on the ground floor, the brand’s collections are displayed on its upper floors in wooden picture frames and vitrines in a classic gallery style.

The brand’s second flagship store was opened in Paris in 2013 on Rue Saint Claude in the Marais. To reflect the neighbourhood, the interior—designed by architecture firm Abstrakt Architecture—was made to resemble a modern gallery, [31] with polished brass frames lining rectangular alcoves housing the garments.

The two flagship stores have hosted art exhibitions as part of the WOOYOUNGMI Artist Collaboration Project. The brand’s retail vision extends to global department stores, where its shops are often recognisable through its use of Marquina black marble, white marble, brass, and painting frames.

Retail Stores

WOOYOUNGMI is based in 45 locations across Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia, in luxury retailers that include Le Bon Marché, Selfridges and Ssense. [32]

  • Flagship Stores: 2 (Manmade Seoul, WOOYOUNGMI Paris Boutique)
  • Global Stockist: 45

ASIA: China (Assemble by Reel, Galeries Lafayette, Lane Crawford, SKP, JD.com, SND, Joyce, Lux Emporium, XC273), Hong Kong S.A.R. (Harvey Nichols, Lane Crawford), Malaysia (Bluebell), Singapore (Club 21), Taiwan (Ne.Sense), Japan (Basement, Zozovilla)

EUROPE: U.K. (Harrods, Liberty, Harvey Nichols, Coggles, End Clothing, Matchesnds (Ekademe), Italy (Impact, Antonia), Switzerland (Opia), Turkey (BeymenEAS: Qatar (Galeries Lafayette), UAE (Harvey NiNE: Matchesfashion, End-clothing, Ssense

References
  1. Hahna Yoon, “The Mother of South Korean Men’s Wear Rides the K-Wave,” The New York Times, 3 August 2022.
  2. Mimosa Spencer, “Wooyoungmi to Launch Women’s Wear During Men’s Paris Fashion Week,” WWD, 17 January 2020.
  3. Jeong-Cheol Bae, “Wooyoungmi emerges as ‘new luxury’ menswear brand,” The Korea Economic Daily, 2 November 2021.
  4. “Woo Young Mi,” Business of Fashion.
  5. Kim, Hong-gi. K-Fashion: Wearing a New Future. South Korea: Korean Culture and Information Service, 2012. p. 68.
  6. “Woo Young Mi,” Business of Fashion.
  7. “Introducing: Wooyoungmi | A Distinctive Twist on Menswear Staples,” Coggles.
  8. Hahna Yoon, “The Mother of South Korean Men’s Wear Rides the K-Wave,” The New York Times, 3 August 2022.
  9. “Introducing: Wooyoungmi | A Distinctive Twist on Menswear Staples,” Coggles.
  10. Cantwell, Rachel. WOOYOUNGMI REPOSITORY: 10 YEARS OF CREATION. South Korea: SOLID CO, 2012. p. 38.
  11. “Wooyoungmi’s My Coat My Gift at Selfridges – October 2011,” YouTube, uploaded by Selfridges, 26 October 2011.
  12. Jeong-Cheol Bae, “Wooyoungmi emerges as ‘new luxury’ menswear brand,” The Korea Economic Daily, 2 November 2021.
  13. Cantwell, Rachel. WOOYOUNGMI REPOSITORY: 10 YEARS OF CREATION. South Korea: SOLID CO, 2012. p. 26.
  14. “Opening Wooyoungmi Paris Flagship Store,” Crash Magazine. Accessed 22 February 2022.
  15. “Woo Young Mi,” Business of Fashion. Accessed 18 February 2022.
  16. “Woo Young-mi seeks homegrown fashion in Paris,” Korea Herald, 14 February 2014.
  17. Jeong-Cheol Bae, “Wooyoungmi emerges as ‘new luxury’ menswear brand,” The Korea Economic Daily, 2 November 2021.
  18. Nick Carvell, “Will Solid Homme’s success translate to Britain?” GQ Magazine, 25 November 2016.
  19. “Woo Young Mi,” Business of Fashion. Accessed 18 February 2022.
  20. “Spring/ Summer 2012 이송,” WOOYOUNGMI Official Website.
  21. “Around the City,” Saatchi Gallery. Accessed 23 February 2022.
  22. “Fall/ Winter 2012 클레멘스 크라우스,” WOOYOUNGMI Official Website. Accessed 23 February 2022.
  23. “Spring/ Summer 2013 관오상,” WOOYOUNGMI Official Website. Accessed 23 February 2022.
  24. “Fall/ Winter 2013 미카엘 요한슨,” WOOYOUNGMI Official Website. Accessed 23 February 2022.
  25. “Spring/ Summer 2014 한경우,” WOOYOUNGMI Official Website. Accessed 23 February 23 2022.
  26. [1] “Fall/ Winter 2014 구에라 드 라 파즈,” WOOYOUNGMI Official Website. Accessed 23 February 2022.
  27. “Spring/ Summer 2015 크리스도프 슈미트베르거,” WOOYOUNGMI Official Website. Accessed 23 February 2022.
  28. “Spring/ Summer 2016 마티아스 카스,” WOOYOUNMI Official Website. Accessed 23 February 2022.
  29. John Kim, “Vault by Vans Taps Wooyoungmi to Update the OG Slip-on Lx,” Freshness Magazine, 30 May 2018.
  30. “Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 & Z Fold 3 ‘Wooyoungmi Edition,’“ WOOYOUNGMI Official Website.
  31. Vincent Levy, “Wooyoungmi 10 Adores,” 10 Magazine. Accessed 23 February 2022.
  32. Hahna Yoon, “The Mother of South Korean Men’s Wear Rides the K-Wave,” The New York Times, 3 August 2022.
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