Seunghee Nam Keeps 90s Minimalism In Fashion

The 25-year-old Korean designer discusses marrying comfort and fashion.

Words by Louie Dobner and Leelou Reboh

On the third floor of Central Saint Martins, amidst the hubbub of screeching tailoring shears and rumbling sewing machines, is where we caught Seunghee Nam working on her final collection. The design studios are particularly animated that day. Whilst some students are laughing and singing, others are hunched over their desks, frantically tracing patterns. Nam, though, is calm and collected. Her desk is organised, and her toiles neatly hung on a rack. As she talks us through the carefully curated selection of sketches and reference images she keeps methodically organised in a black box, her designs feel utterly personal, like an extension of herself. Wearing a tailored knit cardigan, she could easily blend in and become one of her drawings.

‘My initial inspiration is how people dress,’ explains Nam. ‘I like just taking pictures of random people in the street’. Aptly titled ‘A Room of One’s Own’, Nam started conceptualising her collection over a year ago, when she lived in Paris for her year-long placement in industry at the French label Lemaire. An experience that turned out to be crucial for the development of her final collection, as working under the direction of the design team allowed Nam to understand how to develop her creations from sketches to real, tangible garments at an industry standard. However fruitful the time she spent in the city was for her development as a creative, the reality of living in a foreign country without speaking its language is far less glamorous than and, at times, also quite isolating. ‘My room was where I felt the most like myself, and I wanted to bring that feeling of comfort to my collection,’ she says. For the 25-year-old Korean designer, fashion isn’t about excess or extravagance, but about capturing the essence of real people, wearing real things. 'What I find really interesting is how they accessorise their garments,’ she says as she points at one of her inspiration pictures - a casual photograph of a man wearing his sweater around his neck, much like a scarf. Going back to her upbringing in Seoul, design has always been imbued in her life. ‘My sister studied fine art and sculpting, so I always knew I wanted to do something creative,’ she explains as she reminisces about her childhood. Studying in an art-focused high school, she then bought a book about tailoring to teach herself how to sew. ‘My first design was a suit,’ she reveals. Though she might not openly admit it, her shy smile says it all about the outcome of this first sewing trial - undoubtedly a proper fiasco!

Seunghee during final fittings

When asked about inspiration, one specific group of designers is apparent to the trained eye. ‘I am very into nineties minimalism’ Nam reveals, ‘I started randomly collecting images and it happened to be their works’. The ‘They’ Nam refers to are a myriad of legendary designers from AF Vandevorst to Helmut Lang. However the young creative is pushing minimalism to a new extreme: ‘I prefer all my pieces just as it is, on a hanger, rather than on people...'. This approach to her completed designs is surprising to say the least, especially in the context of a fashion label. However Nam is creating a new genre for her work; one that is developing from her high school background in fine art, and her love for minimalist fashion. The designer elaborates, ‘When you browse the internet, you can see a lot of archive pieces just on the hanger, not just on the body or the model’, This detachment of the human body from the clothes allows Nam’s pieces a degree of neutrality, a freedom to not conform and go against requirements of commerciality. An avid collector of archive pieces she keeps on a rail at home, the designer is paving a path for her own archivable label following the footsteps of whom she admires. The designer shows us a piece of her work that compliments her ‘non-wearing’ ethos. ‘I really like something flat,’ says Nam as she displays a photo of a large camel-coloured fabric draped on a fence with a singular fold, the designer flicks over to the next page to a model now wearing the piece: ‘I tried to make this that can then be worn on the body’. Her approach to her work is sculpturesque. The garments on the rack seem to be entrenched in modernity, echoing a ‘please don’t touch’ attitude, even when it’s incredibly tempting to wear.

Meticulous attention to detail and layered practicality are Nam’s trademarks. ‘I want people to feel comfortable,’ she explains. Her final lineup features six looks - four leaning into womenswear, and two tailored ensembles - each unveiling complex and unique layering possibilities. The precision of her lines might make her a remarkable tailor, but what elevates Nam to the ranks of a true designer is her capability to continually surpass expectations. In her tutor and Menswear BA pathway leader Ike Rust’s words, ‘Your lines are formal, but this is a surprise in your collection. It’s refreshing,’ as he congratulates her during her final crit on a bias-cut midi dress with a slight boat neckline, which she accessories with a thin linen scarf. Favouring cotton for its softness, and linen for its sheerness, the fabrics allow Nam to playfully conceal or reveal as she pleases through the layering and styling of her garments. There are small scribbles in Korean on her toiles, marking precisely the placement of each button to be attached. ‘I always incorporate small details like buttons that are unnoticeable at first, and make my garments wearable in many different ways,’ When we ask her about how layering relates to her initial inspiration, she explains: ‘It is key to visualise the idea of something bringing the same comfort as when you’re in your bedroom.’ First drawing her sketches on paper, Nam then likes to refine them on her iPad. Despite choosing to work digitally during the initial conceptualisation phases of her design process, Nam is categorical about resorting to other technological tools, such as laser cutting, to craft her collection: ‘No. I prefer to do a lot of hand-crafted things. I want to remain authentic.’ An unexpected take for a Helmut Lang admirer, as the Austrian designer himself was at the forefront of technology in the late 90s, choosing to post the looks of his AW98 collection online and through a specially conceived CD-ROM, rather than showing on a traditional runway.

Nam is in the midst of forging a name for herself, through deriving from minimalism and combining it with an interest in fine art we see a unique designer in the making, Curious to know what Nam plans for the future? The designer has a plan, ‘I want to go back to Paris or Milan to gain more experience’, Nam elaborates further ‘I’m not going to be a normal designer brand doing collections, I’m thinking of doing loungewear or even like homeware, bedding’, The designer looks at the pile of work laid neatly in front of her, ‘something like that’ she utters. Nam is in the midst of growing a brand not just to be worn - or hung - but one that encompasses all aspects of design that does not overlook comfort but instead marries it with an avant-garde approach - something that is arguably rare in today's industry. ‘I want everyone to look at my clothes very closely, not just from the show but instead I want my wearer to actually see the pieces and feel the small details’, Nam concludes: ‘They can decide how to wear them.'