Globalizing the K-Fashion Paradigm Lee Cinu: The Soul of Goguryeo Perhaps the most adventurous of the Korean designers in Paris during the 1990s was Lee Cinu. Between 1993 and 1995, she took part in six different Paris Prêt-à-Porter collections. She also enjoyed sensational success commercializing design brands over the years—from “Original Lee” in the late ’60s to Youngwoo, Socié, Icinoo, Icinoo Homme, and Icinoo Collection. In 1991, she became the first foreigner to receive Japan’s prestigious Mainichi Fashion Prize, an award for new designers whose past recipients have included Issey Miyake, Yoji Yamamoto, and Rei Kawakubo. Lee Cinu's Prêt-à-Porter collection in 1994, For the 1994 Paris Prêt-à-Porter inspired by Goguryeo murals show, Icinoo presented a collection based on the theme of Goguryeo, drawing kudos for her prints based on the sun and moon patterns of the old kingdom's murals. This was particularly noteworthy because it charted new territory in the reinterpretation of culture—while others focused solely on the Joseon era, Lee Cinu was looking back to a more ancient dynasty. Her work at the 1995 Paris Collection was a blend of cutting-edge style with a simple silhouette. The designer mixed modern materials with a mother-of-pearlesque “three-legged crow” motif, generating a beauty that transcended space, time, and distinctions of “East” and “West.” She also introduced avant garde elements into the modern fashion stylings: using high-tech materials with natural Korean hanji (traditional paper) and including prints from Goguryeo murals and 48 K-Fashion Wearing a New Future
plant patterns, she forged an overall design aesthetic in which heterogeneous elements came together into a harmonious whole.
Jin Tae-ok: Korean Elegance in Paris Jin Tae-ok is something of a godmother in Korean fashion history. She established her Françoise brand in 1965. A quarter-century later in 1990, she established the Seoul Fashion Artists Association, where she served as the first-ever chair. From there, she traveled to Paris, where she staged collections that highlighted Korean lines, space, and layering. In 1998, she became the first Korean designer to be featured in The Fashion Book , a collection by the British publisher Phaidon. Her pieces at the 1994 F/W Collection offered a glimpse of Korea’s distinctive physical aesthetic. Combining a dress and chiffon pants, with a blouse layered over top, the designer produced an effect of natural concealing and revealing on the body and outfit. No lining was needed—the effect came from the layering of materials. The following year, Jin took another bold chance, embroidering the pattern of a traditional hwarot wedding dress and pairing it with denim. Dresses designed by Jin Tae-ok are on display at the Bergdorf Goodman Department Store, New York, in the 1990s.
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