Kang marks 10th anniversary with Oriental style
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Designer Kang Dong-jun
This is the first in a series of interviews with Korean fashion designers participating at the 2016 S/S Seoul Fashion Week that is scheduled from Oct.10-21. ― ED.
By Kim Jae-heun
Kang Dong-jun celebrates his 10th year as a fashion designer in 2015. The menswear designer, famous for his signature style of dark color palettes and asymmetric cuts, is ready to advance to the next level, inspired by Korean traditional silhouettes.
Kang, a graduate of Parsons School of Design, started small in 2006 with his first label “D.GNAK” at a tiny office. Two years later, he made a successful debut at the Seoul Fashion Week as a promising young designer.
It took only three years for Kang to launch his second brand “DBYD,” a street-wear line that focuses more on practicality rather than concept designs for runway shows.
Actor and model Kim Woo-bin on the runway at D.GNAK’s show inspired by Charlie Chaplin during the 2012 F/W Seoul Fashion Week. / Courtesy of D.GNAK
Kang is known for having a knack for designing dark-colored garments. His 2012 Fall/Winter (F/W) collection inspired by British comic actor Charlie Chaplin was a big hit and a real boost for the designer.
“D.GNAK is well-known for its dark, brooding colors and it sometimes puts fetters on my imagination,” said Kang during an interview with The Korea Times, last Friday at his office in southern Seoul. “I’ve always thought a dark color scheme is the identity of my brand, but it hasn’t always been like this.”
The 36-year-old designer said people discouraged him from using only black because they thought that the collection might look like a funeral and not sell well.
“One day, Chaplin’s popular quote ‘Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot’ struck me. That was when I decided to pay homage to Chaplin in my 2012 F/W collection and it was successful,” Kang added.
Models on the stairway during D.GNAK 2016 S/S collection in Milan presentation
Going international
It was then the D.GNAK designer realized he had to do what he wanted to do, which prompted him to enter fashion weeks in Milan and Paris. Kang presented his first European show in 2011 on S/S and F/W London Fashion Week stages and debuted in Milan and New York in 2015. He became one of the most successful Korea designers to sell his clothes in 86 multi-shops abroad.
However, he stopped selling his clothes in Korea after he advanced into the European market. A complicated distribution system was the first obstacle and a common belief among Koreans about local designers also contributed to him closing up in his home country.
“Korean fashion industry has much to be desired and one reason is that good fashion makes a designer a star overseas, but only star designer sell clothes in Korea. I think there is a kind of cultural toadyism here that when the designer is local, people tend to underrate the quality. It is hard to gain respect just because you are a local,” Kang said.
Models on the runway of DBYD show in 2016 S/S New York Men’s Fashion Week
The designer also expressed concern over the prevailing idea of people expecting local designers’ clothes to be cheap. According to Kang, designers received an adequate price for their designs in the 1990s and many local brands were found in department stores, such as designer Jang Kwang-hyo’s Caruso and Kim Seo-ryong’s Kimseoryong Homme. However, the price of the designer’s clothes has stagnated since then along with value.
Nevertheless, Kang plans on opening a store in Korea both on and offline soon.
“I had to think about my identity as a Korean designer. Although I consistently participated in Seoul Fashion Week, I did not sell my garments in Korea, which put me out of public’s attention. Also, buyers from overseas always tell me that they want to visit my store, but I had to tell them that I don’t have a space in Korea. Most importantly, there are fans of my designs in Korea and I cannot stand them buying my clothes abroad through the Internet at over double the original price,” Kang said.
For the upcoming 2016 Summer/Spring (S/S) D.GNAK collection, Kang is preparing new designs that feature the silhouette of a “hanbok,” or Korean traditional costume. His collections have been receiving reviews from foreign critics that they contain Oriental elements, although Kang has never intended to do so.
He once had a Native American theme for a collection, but still received remarks that the clothes looked Asian. So this time, the designer wants to show as many Korean traditional features as possible in his design.
Some of the 2016 S/S DBYD collection shown at the New York Men’s Fashion Week last month will be introduced in the original D.GNAK line. The concept is “hikikomori,” which is a Japanese term referring to a phenomenon of teenagers or adults isolating themselves from social life to an extreme degree.
“When people hear about hikikomori, they think about dark, isolated loners but they can be happy, imaginative and joyful as well. Although I used heavy, dark colors in my collection, the collection itself will not be dark or gloomy. I adopted fancy displays in the show to make it joyful. I hope the brand D.GNAK is not too serious and heavy for people. It is the same for fashion too,” Kang said.