Suk-Kyung Lee, First Prize: Bachelor in Fashion Design Competition 2019 – IPAC Geneva

A laureate of the renowned Genevan fashion school, the young designer has drawn on her multicultural experience to craft an inspiring first collection blending tradition and modernity.

Suk-Kyung Lee, IPAC Genève
Selected by PROMOSTYL
A designer without borders

It all began on 18 April 1980 in Busan, Korea. It was here that the young designer Suk-Kyung Lee was born, who from her earliest childhood had a passion for drawing and fashion design despite her conservative environment. She boldly followed this calling, joining Moda Gakuen, a Japanese fashion school based in Tokyo, in 2009.

Suk-Kyung Lee, IPAC Genève
Selected by PROMOSTYL

There she brilliantly affirmed her talent, while experiencing the solitary life of an expatriate in a foreign country. This was a trying time of uprooting, which would intensify with her departure for Geneva, where she joined IPAC fashion school. Surrounded by a stimulating teaching team, she determinedly developed a singular artistic vision, blending her discovery of the Western world and incorporating her Confucian-influenced Asian culture.

Suk-Kyung Lee, IPAC Genève
Selected by PROMOSTYL
Suk-Kyung Lee, IPAC Genève
Selected by PROMOSTYL

On visiting the Swiss metropolis’ Modern and Contemporary Art Museum (MAMCO), Suk-Kyung Lee started thinking about the status of foreigners and the problems encountered, whether in terms of language or culture, highlighting the existence of different perspectives that can coexist within a community. This was how her first collection « coexistence » came about, winning first prize in the school’s Bachelor in Fashion Design competition.

Suk-Kyung Lee, IPAC Genève
Selected by PROMOSTYL
Hanbok(s) and streetwear

On the programme? The Korean designer offers a skilful blend of streetwear elements and fabulously reworked traditional pieces. Inherited from traditional Asian style culture, Hanboks come to the fore as the centrepieces of this dually inspired line.

Suk-Kyung Lee, IPAC Genève
Selected by PROMOSTYL

Sometimes pleated, sometimes quilted, these suit jackets with a bold minimalism are teamed with immaculate cotton twill trousers on which the words « Truth » and « Lie » are printed in French and Korean, the highlight of her sartorial thinking. 

Suk-Kyung Lee, IPAC Genève
Selected by PROMOSTYL
Suk-Kyung Lee, IPAC Genève
Selected by PROMOSTYL

Rolled up over neo-futuristic trainers, they are also worn under evanescent organza dresses with spring-like motifs or long masculine coats with craftsmanship roots. Unmistakably modern, anachronistic looks emerge, presenting a (very) talented dialogue between eras and influences.

Suk-Kyung Lee, IPAC Genève
Selected by PROMOSTYL