Woyngmi — Wikipedia

WOOYOUNGMI is a South Korean ready-to-wear brand founded in 2002 by Youngmi Woo, also known as Madame Woo. ^{[ first ]}

Member of the male fashion union chamber with two ready-to-wear collections per year, Wooyoungmi is part of the official male fashion calendar since its inception. Although it was at the origin of an exclusively male brand, Wooyoungmi launched its first female collection – presented at the same time as the male collection – in 2020. ^{[ 2 ]}

Known for its clean cuts and subtle details, Wooyoungmi also produces leather goods, accessories and jewelry. Its square logo, still present on the metal neck, is inspired by a photo frame.

The brand is now present in 45 markets (20 countries in total) with shops shops in Paris and Seoul. ^{[ 3 ]}

Between 1978 and 1982, the Youngmi Woo stylist studied fashion at the Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. ^{[ 4 ]} After graduating, she was selected to represent Korea at the Osaka International Fashion Competition in 1983, where she won third place. ^{[ 5 ]}

Madame Woo then worked in women’s fashion for six years, before deciding to get into male fashion and create her own brand. In 1988, she launched her first brand – Solid Homme – in Seoul, joined by her young sister Woo Janghee, who has just obtained a diploma in Beaux -Arts. ^{[ 6 ]} This initiative makes Madame Woo the first creator of the country to offer male ready-to-wear. ^{[ 7 ]} His minimalist and refined creations, inspired by “clothes for [the] ideal man” ^{[ 8 ]} , also reflect a change compared to the still conservative style of male fashion in Korea at the time.

Twelve years later, in 2002, Madame Woo founded her eponymous brand Wooyoungmi in Paris, France, inaugurated during the Paris fashion week. ^{[ 9 ]} Four years after its launch, Wooyoungmi opened its first store in the Marais district of Paris. ^{[ ten ]} A creation studio based in Paris was then created in 2009, supported abroad by the Seoul creation studio.

In October 2010, Wooyoungmi organized a special fundraising event with the London department store Selfridges, entitled “My Coat, My Gift” (my coat, my gift). While celebrating the coat n ° 51, the most sold of the brand, the event also made it possible to support the local caritative association Art Against Knives and invited five budding creatives (Gary Card, David Hellqvist, Steve Salter, Reece CRISP and Jordan Askill) to make their own version of the classic coat. ^{[ 11 ]}

In 2011, Wooyoungmi became official member of the male fashion union chamber. ^{[ twelfth ]} The following year, in 2012, the brand commemorated its tenth anniversary with the exhibition “Wooyoungmi Restity: 10 years of creation” at the Manmade Wooyoungmi, the first brand vessel store of the brand opened in early May. Espace merging Art, Mode and Culture, Manmade Wooyoungmi also paid tribute to the history of the brand, erected in the same building which formerly housed Solid Homme as well as Design Allée, a design company founded by the elder and younger sisters of Madame Woo, Kyungmi Woo and Hyunmi Woo. ^{[ 13 ]}

The year 2013 marks the opening of the second flagship store in Wooyoungmi, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. ^{[ 14 ]} The following year, Mrs. Woo was included in the BOF (Business of Fashion) 500, an index of people recognized for shaping the world fashion industry. ^{[ 15 ]} According to the Korean Herald, “Wooyoungmi has become a major player in the fashion industry:” Wooyoungmi has become the independent Korean clothing brand that is most successful “. ^{[ 16 ]}

In 2021, Wooyoungmi made the best sales of men’s clothing in the Parisian Luxury Luxury store Le Bon Marché, where the brand entered 2008. Although many brands were negatively affected by COVVI-19, sales of WOOYOUGMI increased during the year 2021 to reach the equivalent of $ 46 million, an increase of 8% compared to 2019. ^{[ 17 ]}

Wooyoungmi belongs to the Korean company Solid Corporation, created in 1988. This private fashion company holds both Wooyoungmi and Solid Homme, two brands of male ready-to-wear which are distinguished by their targeting, their segmentation and their positioning. ^{[ 18 ]} Led by Mrs. Woo as CEO, the company has remained family until today.

2018 ~ Present: Woo Youngmi

2017 ~ 2018: Katie Chung

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

2002 ~ 2014: Woo Youngmi & Woo Janghee

Art [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

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

• Spring -summer 2012 – Collaboration with the 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.

• Fall -Winter 2012 – Collaboration with the artist Clemens Krauss: Isolation concepts ^{[ 22 ]}

Laugh and value. 2012. Oil on canvas. 190 x 140 cm.

• Spring -summer 2013 – Collaboration with the Osang Gwon artist: Masspatterns ^{[ 23 ]}

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

Aztec motif. 2012. Digital printing, mixed techniques. 217 x 135 x 83 cm.

• Fall -Winter 2013 – Collaboration with artist Michael Johansson: Together ^{[ 24 ]}

Round. 2013. Bags, boxes, ordinary objects and Wooyoungmi fabrics. 47 x 47 x 110 cm.

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

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

• Spring -summer 2014 – Collaboration with artist Kyungwoo Han ^{[ 25 ]}

Window on LOCI, 2013. Digital printing. 150 x 112 cm.

• Fall -Winter 2014 – Collaboration with the duo of artists Guerra de la Paz (Alain Guerra and Neraldo de la Paz) ^{[ 26 ]}

Man of art. 2014. Wooyoungmi clothing and shoes, models, silicone, steel.

• Spring -summer 2015 – Collaboration with artist Christoph Schmidberger ^{[ 27 ]}

The return. 2015. Oil on panel. 53 x 83 cm.

• Spring – Summer 2016 – Collaboration with artist Matthias Kiss ^{[ 28 ]}

Out of time. 2016. Leaf gilding technique / white / platinum / Palladium credit.

Mode [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Spring -summer 2018 – Collaboration Vans x Wooyoungmi

In 2018, Wooyoungmi and Vault by Vans launched a special collaboration on the Vans OG Slip-on Lux. Inspired by the cult movie Lords of Dogtown (2005) by Catherine Hardwick – who pays tribute to the young skaters of Venice Beach Tony Alfa, Jay Adams and Stacey Peralta – The Sneaker without laces was released in two colors, with a paisley print on the Sole reminiscent of the bandanas of skaters worn in the early 1970s. ^{[ 29 ]}

Others [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

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

In 2021, Wooyoungmi collaborated with Samsung Electronics to produce limited edition accessories for the latest models of smartphones on the company: Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3. ^{[ 30 ]}

Concept [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

“The Gallery” is a global retail concept developed by the brand for its international stores and retail spaces. The “The Gallery” concept was unveiled for the first time when Manmade Wooyoungmi was opened in 2012, the brand’s five -story flagship store in the Luxury Fashion Dosan Park in Seoul. With a place, a coffee and an exhibition space on the ground floor, the brand’s collections are exposed to the upper floors in wooden frames and windows, in the classic style of a gallery.

The second brand vessel store of the brand was opened in Paris in 2013, rue Saint Claude, in the Marais. To reflect the district, the interior – designed by the architectural firm Abstrakt Architecture – was designed to look like a modern gallery ^{[ thirty first ]} , with polished brass frames bordering rectangular alcoves housing clothes.

The two admiral vessel stores have hosted art exhibitions as part of the “Wooyoungmi Artist Collaboration Project”. The brand’s vision in retail sales extends to department stores around the world, where its shops are often recognizable by the use of marquina black marble, white marble, brass and paint frames.

Boutiques [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Wooyoungmi is present in 45 cities in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia, in luxury stores such as Le Bon Marché, Selfridges and Ssense. ^{[ 32 ]}

Admiral / Flagship Stores vessels stores  : 2 (Manmade Seoul, WOOYOUNGMI Paris Boutique)

Distributors worldwide : 45

ASIA  : Chine (Assemble by Reel, Galeries Lafayette, Lane Crawford, SKP, JD.com, SND, Joyce, Lux Emporium, XC273), Hong Kong S.A.R. (Harvey Nichols, Lane Crawford), Malaisie (Bluebell), Singapour (Club 21), Taïwan (Ne.Sense), Japon (Basement, Zozovilla).

EUROPE  : Royaume-Uni (Harrods, Liberty, Harvey Nichols, Coggles, End Clothing, Matchesnds (Ekademe), Italie (Impact, Antonia), Suisse (Opia), Turquie (BeymenEAS : Qatar (Galeries Lafayette), EAU (Harvey NiNE : Matchesfashion, End-clothing, Ssense.