Fashion L'amour

Leje | Feature |

By Keziah Reed

First created in 2017, Leje – meaning ‘The I’ in French – originated in Paris as a menswear fashion brand, and has since integrated womenswear into their collections, too. Leje’s work combines storytelling, traditional French draping, and modern elegance, embodying their own motto: ‘Unexaggerated yet bountiful beauty, regard it as a poem.’ In this interview, we speak with South Korean designers Je Yangmo and Kang Juhyeong to delve into their concepts, designs, and material preferences. We also get a glimpse at what’s to come for the future. Supplemented by photos exemplifying their work, this interview concisely uncovers the essence of Leje. 

Tell us about how Leje came about – what inspired it to be created?  

Leje means ‘The I (Self)’ in French. Looking through somebody’s ‘Self’ as well as our ‘Self’ is our greatest source of inspiration. And all this exploration process is to be incorporated into Leje’s collection.

Your website highlights how your designs are inspired by traditional French draping. Can you tell us more about this?  

We learned draping through practical experience at a fashion school in Paris and several house brands.  We were fascinated by draping as a process of finding the silhouette we were pursuing. With this series of draping works, we get a host of inspiration by either combining or destroying the silhouette we want to express.

Several of your pieces reimagine classic wardrobe staples, like the deconstructed cylindrical ‘L’ jeans. What inspired this unique and striking design?  

The ‘L’ pants are inspired by the structural features of Tin Man in 1946’s movie “The Wizard of Oz”. Through this distorted silhouette created by destroying the typical form of pants, we completed the design that would not be limited by gender, age or body shape. In other words, the ‘L’ pants, completed through the aforementioned series of draping processes, are showing the beauty that a disrupted silhouette may offer.

On your website, you state how technological sustainability is important to you as a brand. How do you incorporate this into your collections?

As a growing number of conventional technologies are losing ground in recent years, we strive to preserve these technologies every time in our collections. An example is the ‘Art Piece Edition’ created by collaboration with some artisans each season. While pursuing ethical sustainability through preservation of the disappearing conventional technologies, we are also seeking the practical sustainability that these technologies imply.

You highlight your love for ‘refined yet sensuous material’. Which fabrics do you enjoy working with – do you have a preference in terms of texture and durability?

We enjoy using fun materials that go along with each season’s story, such as rattan stems, buffalo horns, crystals, etc. Currently we have a lot of interest in the material called PET. Being non-toxic and harmless, PET does not require any separate certification. It has excellent mechanical properties with high durability and hardness, which makes it easy to cut and deform. In addition, it is quite easy to find around, with colors and materials more diverse than anything else. Ultimately, we wanted to redefine sustainability fashion with this material, by demonstrating that we can create colorful and luxurious clothes even with sustainable materials, thinking outside the box.

You originally began as a menswear brand, but have started to design womenswear, too. To what extent do you think this has created additional creative opportunities for Leje?

Many designers have constantly tried to break the boundary between men’s and women’s wear. We are also working for all the people who love our clothes, not just for a specific gender. However, we thought it was also necessary to understand the difference in the process. And if there was a story that we wanted to tell through the medium of men’s wear, we felt there was also a story that could be unfolded as women’s wear. We might say that if we had 1 drawing paper, now we have 2 papers. Undoubtedly there is more room to tell our story than before.

In light of covid-19, this past year has been very challenging, especially for creative industries. What have been the highs and lows for Leje?  

Covid-19 made us feel that the most ordinary days were the happiest ones, so we could have a meaningful moment to think more deeply about what we have done and what we should do in the future. However, it is regrettable that there are fewer stages to show our collection in person.

Your collections seemingly interweave mythology, literature and nature, and your SS20 collection ‘Afternoon of a Faun’ seems to be a prime example of this. Do you aim to tell a story with your collections, or link them to a particular concept?  

Like our motto, “Regard it as a poem”, the Leje collection includes one or more stories told metaphorically or straightforwardly. We hope it will not be just a collection of clothes, but a collection that tells stories.

In your latest SS21 collection ‘Full Bloom’, the designs are visibly complimented by bags of various colors. Are these for demonstration purposes only, or is it likely that Leje will make such accessories available to purchase?  

In women’s wear, especially bags are thought to be the perfection of the look. Though it was our first launch for bags, we were happy the response was fairly good. It will be launched in a wider variety of colors and materials, and you will be able to meet ‘Arch’ bags in 3 colors first on the official website in November.

How do you hope Leje will continue to grow in the future – what’s your ideal trajectory?  

We will continue to create ‘Lejeness (Leje Spirit)’. And we hope this would be a great excitement for someone to wait for, not to mention for ourselves.