It is fitting that South Korea’s first household name in high fashion, Woo Youngmi, chose Itaewon for her new flagship store. The Seoul district is a vibrant blend of buzzy bars, clubs and international restaurants, as well as cultural highlights including Pace Gallery and art museum Leeum. ‘I mix East with West, feminine with masculine, classic with modern. I stand on the border. As the most multicultural place in Seoul, Itaewon felt like a perfect choice for our flagship,’ says Woo.
The designer has been at the centre of an extraordinary trajectory within Korean fashion. She started Solid Homme, one of the country’s first design-led menswear labels, in 1988 when South Korea, rising from dictatorship, debuted on the world stage by hosting its first Olympics. In 2002, she launched high-fashion label Wooyoungmi in Paris, and, in 2011, was the first South Korean designer to become a full member of the influential French trade association La Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. In 2023, Wooyoungmi’s Paris store opened on the prestigious Rue Saint-Honoré.
(Image credit: Simone Bossi)
Step inside Wooyoungmi’s new Seoul flagship store
Opening a flagship in Seoul feels long overdue. ‘I was determined to put down deep roots in Paris, the centre of the fashion world. But Seoul – where I grew up – is my base with my design team here, and the Seoul flagship is my place to express my universe.’ Having her brand’s home in Seoul seems strategic, considering the South Korean capital is now a destination for the global cultural elite, whose members fly in regularly to catch up on the country’s fast-moving trends.
The new store reflects how much Wooyoungmi has evolved since its launch more than two decades ago. ‘[Back then] I used to be on edge with insecurity,’ says Woo. ‘Doing Paris Fashion Week was like taking important exams at school, but I evolved each season through self-reflection. I began to accept who I was.’ This included realising that she was something of a hybrid, growing up in Seoul with Confucianist values but absorbing Western influences in Paris. She also learned from Korean consumers. Fashion changes extremely fast in South Korea. In the past, she viewed this negatively, but she has come to see this is driven by open-mindedness: ‘Young Koreans readily embrace new trends without any hesitation or reservation. I learned to become more open-minded, too.’
(Image credit: Simone Bossi)
Inclusivity and openness became important. She didn’t intentionally set out to have these values as the theme of her new space, ‘but when the design was completed, it felt like it was reflecting my identity,’ she says. ‘To draw an analogy to a form, I used to have sharp edges but began to be more curvy, just as this building feels.’
Designed by Swiss architecture studio Stocker Lee Architetti, headed up by Melanie Stocker and Dong Joon Lee, the building translates Woo’s creative philosophy into physical form – a synthesis of meticulous structure and human emotion, made to be experienced in person. Originally, it was planned to be just a clothing store. However, as Woo and Stocker Lee developed the idea further, the use evolved, too.
Now, the building is multifunctional, comprising not only a menswear and womenswear store – including a space to view pieces from the Paris runway show – but also a café and restaurant. The rooftop garden, developed with landscape studio Design Allee (founded by Woo’s sisters Woo Hyunmi and Woo Kyungmi), offers a quiet urban retreat defined by sculptural mounds and textured plantings. It visually echoes Namsan, one of Seoul’s mountains, which can be seen from the city.
(Image credit: Simone Bossi)
Legally, the plot could only accommodate a two-storey building. ‘We thought about how to design a structure that’s far more engaging than a standard two-storey one, whether viewed from the inside or outside,’ says Lee. Ultimately, he devised an interior with seven distinct levels, each with its own unique ceiling height. Keeping the horizontal plane simple and functional, the architects aimed to evoke emotion through the vertical, an approach that Woo readily embraced as this combination of function and emotion reflected her attitude to design.
The resulting four floors (two above and two below ground) are divided into a series of staggered levels that vary in height, with internal volumes evoking different moods as visitors move through the space. Light and sound help shape the atmosphere.
The architects tackled the interiors alongside the overall architecture in a holistic way. Woo led new furniture creation in collaboration with designer Dongwook Choi, while she and Stocker Lee agreed on deep red curtains, introducing a dramatic interplay of light and colour on the second floor.
(Image credit: Simone Bossi)
The building is located on a large corner plot on Itaewon Hill. The façade, composed of concrete and glass blocks, rises in organic curves that echo the surrounding topography. When projections are made from within, the glass blocks create a natural pixelation, casting abstract images onto passers-by. Wooyoungmi’s Paris runway footage is currently on show, appearing so subtly that it is sometimes unclear whether the visual is a video projection or coloured light. ‘It is precisely the direction I had imagined,’ says Lee. ‘Architecture is a vital medium shaping the city, and since the city belongs to everyone, how a building is perceived by people who pass by every day is an important consideration for architects.’
The palette was deliberate. ‘We selected materials that bear the marks of the labourer’s touch, craftsmanship and the passage of time,’ the architect adds. The small glass bricks were individually laid by hand and convey a physicality that you don’t find in machine-made elements. The exposed concrete features an unconventional paint finish, with colouring achieved through mineral coating to ensure the base material’s character comes through with refined clarity rather than presenting as a flawless surface. Applied manually, it lends the surface a subtle, shifting quality as it catches the light throughout the day. The wooden flooring was equally tailored to the space. The custom-made boards feature narrow 5cm grain patterns layered together, highlighting the craftsmen’s handiwork.
(Image credit: Simone Bossi)
In the three decades since Solid Homme’s founding, South Korean elements began to emerge in Woo’s own designs, and she realised her heritage could become a point of distinction. As Korean culture continues to gain influence, she feels that the West is now ready to appreciate it more. For the opening of the flagship, she arranged a traditional Korean ritual to ask for the spirits not to interfere with their new tenant and to co-exist. She even designed a screen for the ritual, reflecting the five traditional Korean colours (blue, red, yellow, white and black), and also collaborated with artist Huh Myoungwook on dark olive plates to contrast with the colour of persimmons laid out on the table for the ceremony.
Importantly, Woo does not rest on her laurels. ‘Korean consumers are wielding the whip, setting a very high standard for brands. As a designer, I need to constantly evolve to survive.’ Having solid foundations in Europe, she plans to grow her business more in Asia. The brand recently opened two China stores, in Beijing and Chengdu, and is expanding in Japan, a historically challenging market for South Korean brands. She feels that the time has come for Korean fashion, and she hopes it will last. ‘Korean fashion is known for good value, but for Korean fashion to have a lasting impact, I hope to see more successful Korean high-fashion brands.’