Spotted in Korea: Lie Sang Bong

Whenever I start my monologue about Korea and its culture (yeah, I’m kind of obsessed with Korea) people look like if they were about to cry because I can be really annoying with my speeches about K-pop (Korean music). Everybody is like “OMG, here she goes again” and I must accept that I mostly spend my day talking/dreaming/listening and better said breathing k-pop, but Korean culture is not just about their music, which now is getting really popular around the world and I’m afraid to say this but people seems to forget that Korea is a country with rich culture and history, Korea, or better said South Korea is not a country that suddenly appeared yesterday with all their technological advances and modern cities. As a proof of that, last weekend I assisted to KBEE, Korean Brand and Entertainment Expo 2011, in Paris and my surprise was big when I saw just a bunch of teenagers screaming like crazy and just waiting to see one of the most famous girl groups in Korea, Secret. I won’t deny that I was there because of that too, but there were stands with all type of Korean products that no one cared about, cosmetics, books, food, and of course CLOTHES. I felt disappointed by the fact that most of those stands had actually Korean people who came here just for the exposition but again, no one cared about that. The worst part came with a Fashion show that judging from my student’s profile was indeed very good, with unique pieces and amazing designs, but which everybody bashed because they wanted to see Secret. I couldn’t feel more annoyed when a group of girls started to point at the dresses calling them hideous and ridiculous, but that’s reality, Korean Fashion is very unappreciated and unrepresented, and I don’t mean those online ‘fashion’ companies, which in fact are very successful, but high fashion, haute couture.

Fortunately, for true fans of Korean fashion, there are some designers that are getting attention internationally by important fashion magazines, tv channels and celebrities including Lady Gaga and Beyonce. That’s the case of Lie Sang Bong, who started by stylizing his surname as Lie instead of the typical Korean last name Lee. Sang Bong has shown his collections in Paris during last years gaining some recognition, but still and again, clichés and prejudices hadn’t allow him to come out with complete success in a market that is taken in its majority by Japanese brands like ‘Comme des Garçons’ ‘Yohji Yamamoto’ or ‘Kenzo’.

However, with his last Spring Summer collection, Lie finally achieved popularity amongst the most difficult-to-please critics. He received praises by the way he used the over-used concept of Asian minimalism, combined with Korean traditional architecture and bright colors, creating a unique show that would turn into a big fail if he wasn’t as amazing and creative as he is.

Kang Ji Young from famous K-pop girl group Kara at the opening of Lie Sang Bong Over the Rainbow collection

Spring Summer 2012.

Lie Sang Bong at the closing of the show.

For me the most impressive about his collection are not the metallic pieces everybody loved or the mask in the models' faces but the way his collection mixes very simple cuts with prints, making each outfit look very complicated and futuristic but yet artistic. A true achievement, it's not surprising that people call him the 'Korean McQueen'.