ORNATURE Decorative, elegant interior design and fashion, with an edge of quirkiness
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2014 S/S Edition
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content 04
textile watch
couple fashion
Looking at the patterns of this month.
non-matching couples of this week.
street fashion
interesting interiors 28
Getting a small taste of history, looking at one of the most well-know textile designers.
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A breath of fresh air from the usual couple fashion being completely matching from clothes to hair.
Taking to the streets, making note of those fashionably dressed around us.
Bringing a little history in to interiors.
looking at how Rococo furnitures can work in modern spaces and really rock their surroundings.
This week’s collection of best-dressed females going about their daily lives.
08 Welcome to SEOUL Priced and popular fashion hot spots in this bustling metropolis Our Lynn Yaeger takes you around the Seoul Metropolis, sharing her experiences with designers and stores.
09 - parkchoomin Park Choo Min?
Giving insight into who this Park ChooMin is.
15 - kwonmunsoo Kwon Mun Soo? quick bio of designer Kwon Mun Soo.
16 Who’s That Girl? Taking a look at a rising star with a voice much like the powerhouse Adele.
Lee Hi is YG’s little sister, unconventional in her forming and completely new.
the voice 19 - behind an interview (
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Behind the music and voice; meeting Lee Hi.
We interviewed Lee Hi and gained insight into her life and discovery.
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textilewatch
The Arts and Crafts movement was momentus for textile design and as such, in this issue we would like to give it the attention it deserves and dive into how you can utilize one of the most influencial textile designer’s patterns for your every-day living.
First and foremost, what exactly would you like to get out of fabric that you choose to identify yourself with? Take a look at time periods, designers, and the likes whom you find intriguing. One fantastic designer to look at, who was
most certainly a pathfinder in the ways if textiles was a gentleman by the name of William Morris.
Morris was truly a master of his trade and
his textile patterns are still used to this day. It can help any room take on a more refined, regal, and decorated look. When used correctly, the patterns are truly exquisite.
In the first example, you see an example of a Morris screen. Such a piece is a fine example of how Morris’s patterns were and are used. Meanwhile,
something more interesting to note is that although Morris’s distinct style of imitating nature in an organic flowing way is not the only way to handle floral patterns. Example three takes on a somewhat more impressionist look which also works. Depending on how you want to address floral, either looks nice and has its place, it is in how you use them.
Another winning combination on textiles is pink floral on a soft blue background. 4
Often times, the more pastel the pink the better. It all depends on how it is handled. When you combine the two, there is something very satisfying in the outcome that really speaks to elegance and ornate daintyness. If you love your cutesy objects and what not, then that type of pattern will work for you, although other variants exist such as pink floral on an orange-beige or soft cream.
The best advice
I can possibly give is to simply collect swatches of colours. Decide which colours you love and which you can apply to your life. Once you have done that, it is simply a matter of finding things in those colours or those closely related to said colours. If you can’t find things in the right colours, then simply fall back on your collection of patterns that you love. Mixing and matching to the best of your ability will leave you satisfied most of the time and ready to go onto the next step which is dealing with furniture and larger scale items. Have fun with duvets and bedsheets, since those can make or break your morning and bedtime moods. Nobody wants to see a gross pattern when they wake up or go to bed, so why should you have to?
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streetfashion This week’s street fashion features mor elegance Our first look is at a lovely lady sporting a spring outfit. and class. Pairing a more conservative Somewhat conservative and toned down, but using a red accent through an overshirt that you see in her hand as well as the red shirt with a flowing skirt can be a winning from her shirt and lipstick and toenails has begun to show a bit of combination, while the reverse is also true. personality. It is alright to accessories in colours from your outfit. Conservative skirt with flowy shirt paired In this case, you can see the colour of shoes match her shirt while purse matches her skirt. Fantastic really, done up with a simple with a ribbon or bows of some sort makes for her hairstyle and earrings has perfected her image in a classic and a very cute but also quite sophisticated look professional way. on any woman. Just make sure to dress for The second lovely lady is sporting a more Parisian your body type. What looks good on some will style of clothing while integrating typical Seoul fashion into not look good on others. It is always good to her overall look. It is a wonderful look that uses a contrast between dark and light for another elegant every-day type know what body type you are so that you can look. Accessorizing her hat to the accent colours of her dress for your type and always look your best. fitted dress shows a level of understand of how to match. All Once you have your look, make sure to use finalized with a cute hairstyle and a slightly heavier makeup accenting accessories that will fully round out Ruffles, bows and miniskirts are the topic of conversation with girl number three. Choosing black and soft your outfit.
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pink as her pallet of choice. It works well with the hair left down in loose curls and a simple hair bow to match the shirt while choosing a handbag with a stitched pattern but in one solid colour. All in all, nicely done. The material of the shirt works well with the nylons she is sporting and her make-up although mostly likely caked on, is plain which matches her unpainted nails. Overall, Ten out of ten.
themselves, but this would have ajhummas everywhere screaming and chasing after her with brooms calling her a whore. In fact, the only time you will find young girls flaunting their shoulders and chests are when they have had breast augmentation surgeries which leads one to wonder... hmmmm....
Stylish, and sexy are number four’s words of the day.
and hey, that’s fine by me. Loose shirt that allows for airyness in the smouldering Seoul summer heat is always good while those whites stop the outfit from absorbing too much heat as well. Everything about this outfit is light and comfortable. The fashionable Botticelli angels’s colours are reflected in her loose hair which gives a nice contrast to the white of the rest of the ensemble. Her hat and dufflepurse work as cute and sporty accessories, leaving one feeling like this girl is probably pretty laid back and easy to socialise with. Makeup has a bit of a red flare but all in all, everything’s working well. Kudos.
Out and about in a dress that almost seems more like an evening wear style outfit. Even so, she does well to style it down by using flash shoes, simple accessories, and leaving her hair down. Also, since this is no Corey Hart song, her sunglasses also work to make this outfit more day-accessible. Truly there is only one thing I see wrong with this outfit, and it goes along with Korean culture and things that are normally socially acceptable versus those that are taboo, and that is, this girl’s shoulders are showing. For anyone that has been to South Korea and has maybe experienced this for
Sporty and comfortable seem to be Five’s motto,
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Welcome to 8
SEOUL Seoul, the plucky capital of South Korea is quickly claiming the spotlight as Asia’s style central. With the help of some plugged-in denizens, we discover the Korean fashion hotspots you’ll want to know in this sprawling metropolis. 9
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floor windows of my room at the Park Hyatt, itself a design triumph by the Japanese firm Super Potato: Seoul is silvery and soaring rather than conventionally pretty. But what it lacks in a unifying aesthetic it makes up for with a spectacular commitment to what’s next in art and architecture. Evidence that this is Seoul’s moment? Everyone from Phillip Lim to Tory Burch can’t seem to open gigantic, ambitiously designed outposts fast enough; Prada collaborated with Rem Koolhaas’s OMA to create their Prada Transformer, a 66-foot-high steel structure that drew an international coterie of gawkers at its debut in 2009; and perhaps most telling of all, Rain, the floppyhaired Korean pop phenomenon and style icon, recently topped a Time readers’ poll of the 100 most influential people in the world.
orty years ago we were still wearing traditional Korean clothes! These days it’s a Uniqlo T-shirt and a Chanel jacket with a Fendi bag. Seoul has become a very, very trendy city, and everything is changing so fast,” Korean fashion designer Demi Choonmoo Park tells me as we sit in her showroom in Apgujeong-dong, surrounded by racks of her abstract, architectural creations. Park, who has fingernails painted black and sports a modified mid-period Liza Minnelli hairdo, has been a famous avant-garde designer in South Korea since the early 1990’s. It’s my first day in Seoul, and she is explaining the local mores to me, ably translated by her 30-year-old son and business associate Mo Choi, snug in a black tee and dark Tom Ford sunglasses.
Margiela and Libertine; Gareth Pugh and Vionnet— all are displayed
Some observers have compared Seoul’s obsession with high-end products, fueled by new money and a burgeoning upper-middle class, to the Japanese hunger for cool consumer goods, dubbing Seoul the new Tokyo. And Seoul does indeed boast a staggering 9 million–plus citizens (spread over 235 square miles), many of whom appear to be on a continual prowl for Rodarte and the Row. An array of goods allows even the least distinguished merchandise to seem suddenly desperately desirable.)
They decide to take me on a quick tour of their neighborhood before we settle in for lunch at Grano, a fashionable Italian restaurant (Italian food is everywhere in Seoul, I will soon learn) with a Beverly Hills–worthy outdoor patio. In fact, Mo describes the neighborhood as Los Angeles (the terrain; the wild mix of building styles; the valet parking) meets Tokyo (long, treelined shopping boulevards; an insatiable appetite for designer labels).
“It’s Boon the Shop—you know—like Felix the Cat,” Kyungho Ian Kwon, the store’s creative director, explains, giving me a
First impressions, based on an evening spent staring out the 21st-
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parkchoomin (Biography)
Fashion designer choonmoo park was born in kimje, a small town in the southem part of korea, where her family owned a children’s apparel company. a happy fixture in her father’s factory and showroom, park was fashinated by transformative and reflective nature of clothing and hence, her love of fashion was born. After her famaily moved to seoul, park attended hong-ik university, where she majored in industrial design, followed by the kookje fashion school where she studied fashion design. Her industrial design roots are evident in her fashion designs and have derined her compeling aesthetic. Demi Park has been at the forefront of Korean avant garde design since 1988, when she launched her label DEMOO PARKCHOONMOO. Subsequently, she launched her eponymous line, PARKCHOONMOO. Responding to high demand,the designer opened her first retail store in 1988 in trendy Apgujungdong and expanded quickly into other Asian markets. Since then, Demi’s designs have become iconic of a modern, architectural and yet fluid style. Underlying her edgy but wearable designs is an artistic sensibility and superb fit derived from couture roots translated into ready-to-wear. Demi favors the striking impact of monotones such as black and white, punctuated by counterpoints of color, and layering to create new combinations that have become a signature of the PARKCHOONMOO aesthetic.
Endless barrage of designer handbags.
quick tour. Margiela and Libertine; Gareth Pugh and Vionnet—all are displayed around an atrium dripping wvith a vast sculpture by French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel called, suitably, Ivory Double Necklace. “This store is not about Chanel and Dior, not about what other people wear,” Kwon says, and, indeed, in an area he dubs “Confident Day Life” I see a Marni coat that is elegant despite seeming to have been made of woven straw. Kwon, resplendent in slightly floppy Rick Owens corduroys, a Chrome Hearts chain looped around his neck, takes me on a short stroll to visit Boon the Shop Men’s Store, on the way passing the Seoul branch of Chrome Hearts, a sexy/goth extravaganza so massive and seductive that, he informs me, Japanese shoppers regularly make pilgrimages there. In Boon’s men’s store I admire a faux-leopard backpack enhanced with mirrored tiles by MCM, the German accessories house that was recently bought by a South Korean company and is experiencing a spectacularly successful second life. Kwon and I hop in a taxi—cabs are plentiful and cheap, a good thing in a town that is so spread out—and go to Dosan Park, a long street anchored by Hermès and Rick Owens. (Owens, for some unfathomable reason, put a larger-than-life statue of himself in his
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Paris store. Here, at least, it’s only a bust.) Any assumption that one Hermès is like every other is dashed when you arrive at the store’s lower level, where a mesmerizing display of archival Hermès pieces—riding crops and clocks; gleaming boots and silver cups—is arranged in Joseph Cornellesque tableaux and hidden in the windows of treelike columns. (So haunting are these arrangements that, in my fevered, jet-lagged state I will dream about them that night.) The writing on the walls may be in Korean, but the objects speak the universal language of desire. Dosan Park is the Madison Avenue of Seoul, if that street were lined with architectural experiments. Kwon describes the shops here as being “like matchboxes thrown together.” At the Ann Demeulemeester store, for example, the exterior is covered in grass. You descend a steep stone staircase between two mossy walls to Tom Greyhound Downstairs, an underground recess awash in beaded Ashish minidresses from London and clear Perspex wing-tip shoes. At Daily Projects, a Ping-Pong table greets you at the entrance (which is on the second floor); inside, there are purses shaped like giant silver lips. At this point, even the least astute shopper will have noticed that Korean fashion lovers have an obsession with the finest and most rarefied of European and American labels. But did you really travel all this way to purchase Céline and Chloé at even higher prices than in the United States, albeit displayed to magnificent effect? In search of homegrown brands, I head for Garosugil, which Kwon assures me is delightfully trendy and full of local boutiques. As with every other destination I will seek out during my time in Seoul, I arrive by car (personally, I am not inclined to master the metro on such a short trip, though it is by reputation excellent) and have to hand the taxi driver a slip of paper with my destination written on it in Korean. This system has distinct drawbacks: if you are headed for, say, the Hyundai department store and decide halfway there that you’d rather hit Supernormal, you have no way of conveying that fact to the driver.
the stunning array of goods allows even the least distinguished merchandise to seem suddenly desperately desirable
Because Kwon has insisted that everyone on Garosugil will speak English (“You’ll be fine!” he says), I am surprised by what I find. Perhaps something about me is deeply intimidating, but for whatever reason, no one in any shop will utter a word of my native tongue, and in some places they even refuse to hand over a business card. This total lack of communication does not prevent me from enjoying Garosugil, a fun area of outdoor cafés, vintage shops, and street vendors selling everything from hippie jewelry to pastel-colored soaps shaped like bunnies.
No one speaks a drop of English at the chic shirt shop Victoria Bay, despite the fact that scrawled on the wall is: “In the traditional sewing technique of dress shirts we are making for women, we are doing our best to make the best shirts.” And indeed the blouses, soft and floppy and with interesting twists
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and details, are lovely. At Les Choix de Caramel there are champagne-colored tanks with beaded necklines; at Mogool millinery, a blue-and-white-dotted hat, halfway between an oversize baseball cap and a cloche, is around $130. Behind a restaurant courtyard I discover the resale shop ILMO, where that rarest of birds, Azzedine Alaïa on sale, is spotted— it’s not Korean, but at 50 percent off, a sleeveless maroon skating dress is too good to pass up. (Or is it? Alas, it is still around $2,000.) Any number of Korean fashion boutiques offer what appears to be this season’s version of the national dress—a frock with a cotton knit top and a long tulle tutu skirt— usually for less than $100.This item shows up in abundance at the unfortunately named Sophie Powderrooms Paris (a moniker that nevertheless pales in comparison to the faintly disgusting, completely nutty. Though I am told this neighborhood is even cooler at night—and a lot of the stores are open until 10 p.m., another plus for the acquisition-minded—I am back at the Park Hyatt by eight, delirious with jet lag but nevertheless greatly anticipating the day ahead.
streets of Myeongdong
On Saturday, I meet Michael Reyes and his partner, Aidan Cowling, at the stone fountain outside Shinsegae, one of the only department store buildings still standing from the prewar period. The pair, both in their late twenties, came from Toronto to teach English for a few years. “There was nothing for us in Canada,” Reyes, an aspiring arts writer who has a black stud in each ear, tells me as we set out to explore the jewelry department. I fall in love with an $8,000 pendant by the South Korean house Minetani, a combination of diamonds and white sapphires arrayed in a floral plaque reminiscent of early Cartier. The spectacular elegance of this necklace stands in stark contrast to our next adventure: a stroll through the gaudy, densely packed Myeong-dong, a pedestrian shopping area where the occasional car nevertheless barrels through and threatens your life. It’s an exuberant streetscape bursting with kids and laden with tables groaning with faux Fendis and pretend Pradas. Suddenly, Cowling asks a guy in a Garfield costume for directions—it seems there’s a cat café nearby, a quintessentially South
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Korean institution the boys think I need to see. It’s on the fourth floor of a building, and I am satisfied to merely peer through the glass at this place, where you can bring your feline friend to frolic with other animals while you sip a coffee. (There are also dog cafés, Cowling tells me, and they are a lot more frantic.) Then he confesses that his own favorite ironic watering holes are the uniquely South Korean restaurants known as Ann House, whose whimsical cottage décor is said to evoke Victorian-era dollhouses crossed with Anne of Green Gables. (It turns out that the novel’s plucky orphan heroine, “redheaded Anne,” as she is called here, has an enduring popularity in South Korea to rival that of Jerry Lewis’s in France.) Alas, there’s no Ann House nearby, so we head to Samcheong-dong gil, a boulevard near the Gyeongbokgung palace, where we visit a shop called Korean Traditional Folk Dress Museum that is not a museum at all, but will custom-create and ship to you a traditional hanbok,Korea’s high-waisted, spunsilk version of the kimono. Elegant wood cabinets bearing bolts of every conceivable hue and heft of silk line the shop, and a photo of Hillary Clinton adorns one wall. But this old-fashioned place is an anomaly in Sagan-dong. Far more typical is a shop like MenuNsauce, where a bright orange cotton dress is around $400, or Z. I. Gallery, from the South Korean actress Zia Kim, which this season has applegreen silk coats with orange trim and muslin blouses that close with tiny beaded buttons. Reyes and Cowling favor an exhaustive if exhausting pace, so we visit a rough-hewn spot called Korea
A display at the Comme Store Paper, in the Insadong neighborhood, where sheaves straight off the bark are for sale, as far from cool South Korea as you can get but somehow cooler still for it. Our next stop is the supremely ratty but fascinating Dongmyo folk flea market, near the brand-new Zaha Hadid–designed Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park, whose bright roof is ultragreen in both senses of the word. At the outdoor
Choonmoo S/S Runway Show
market, antique ink brushes decorated with jade and turquoise are an insanely cheap $10 (I buy a bunch for gifts, but as of this writing have not been able to part with any of them). Cowling wants to show me Cheonggyecheon Stream, a sunken-riverbed version of Manhattan’s High Line, where couples stroll. Am I nuts, or are a lot of these pairs dressed alike? The fellows laugh and tell me that, yes, this is a supremely South Korean phenomenon—for people in love to dress like twins, and it even has a name: “couple-look.”
on Sunday at the Rose Bakery in the awe-inspiring Comme des Garçons store in Hannam-dong, Seoul’s newest rediscovered neighborhood, which has been described as the equivalent of Manhattan’s Meatpacking District five years ago. (To wit, across from Comme, a building that houses a firm called Dada Associates has a pink pig on its roof.) Kwon lived in the United States and worked for a number of designers; now he’s come
he is impossibly handsome in Comme diaper trousers and a cutaway jacket.
I want to go to the famous Dongdaemun night market, which, as I understand it, is really rocking at 2 a.m. Though it’s only nine, the market (actually a series of huge, warehouse-like malls crammed with everything from shoes to suitcases, camisoles to coats) is hopping. Here among the supercheap clothes I select my own version of Seoul’s tulle tutu with, fortunately, a drawstring waist (clothing here runs small), that costs around $54, from a booth called Primus.
home to start his own line.Today he is impossibly handsome in Comme diaper trousers and a cutaway jacket.
The Comme Store (seven floors connected by five tunnels) is just in front of the Leeum, the Samsung Art Museum, whose three buildings have been designed by Mario Botta, Jean Nouvel, and Rem Koolhaas. But there’s no time to enter this renowned temple of contemporary art! Instead we taxi back for lunch (Italian, what else?) at the Galleria, Seoul’s answer to Bergdorf Goodman.Though we have a bit of trouble finding it, Kwon insists that I must see Space Mue, and he is right. A vast screen on the wall imprints fleeting pixels on a beige Lanvin coat; a cardigan from the British cult
“You’ve picked a hot spot!” says Mun-Soo Kwon when we meet
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brand Marcus Lupfer sports gold sequined lobsters on its pockets.
kwonmunsoo
After cutting his teeth under the tutelage of such names as Robert Geller, Helmut Lang, Thom Browne, and culminating with 5 seasons as a designer at Andrew Buckler, MUNSOO KWON has launched his very first collection for Fall/Winter 2012, in New York. MUNSOO KWON attempts to steer clear of the traditional saturated menswear market, and build his designs based on neatly tailored modern silhouettes that are practical; yet maintain his own distinctive design. His aesthetic is faithful to proportions and carefully designed for an impeccable fit, while still using his unique detailing. Rather than overtly branding his pieces, MUNSOO KWON uses his signature split-open details on the back and special pockets on shirts to create a coherent brand representation.
On my last day in Seoul, I am finally being treated to a Korean luncheon courtesy of Kuho Jung, whose line, Hexa by Kuho, I had the pleasure of seeing at the Park Avenue Armory during New York Fashion Week. Mr. Kuho, as everyone calls him, is carrying an electric-green schoolbag that he just bought in Hong Kong and has thick nerd-chic spectacles. He lived in New York City for years, and we reminisce about Manhattan in the 1990’s.
Kuho and I drive over to Mapo-gu, an area near Hongik University with a bevy of small shops specializing in leather and jeans to serve the local student population. It’s a low-rise quarter, far from the glassy towers that typically define Seoul, and the boho residents could pass for Williamsburgers, but for the surfeit of Vuittons—real? fake?—dangling from their black-clad arms. We visit Market M, a store famous for its simple wooden furniture. At Mee, the rough-hewn cement entrance gives way to a plethora of plaid trousers and oversize argyle pullovers. When it’s time for a break, I shyly suggest an Ann House— I’d love to see one before I leave, I say, and am astonished that Kuho has never heard of it. But persistence—and help from a smart phone—locates a branch right in the heart of this unlikely hipster neighborhood. Ann House turns out to be a study in saccharine perched on the second floor of an office building. “We call this Princess Style,” Kuho tells me. All the other patrons are teenage girls; we sit on pink-and-white floral sofas and eat sugary cakes—offered free with the sugary drinks— in our own little room, where a pink Mickey Mouse fan buzzes on the table and illumination is provided by a chandelier dripping with purple plastic crystals. As we gaze out the window at the passing scene—young lovers exuberantly dressed in couple-look; trendsetters with choppy haircuts—Kuho muses that places like this are fast disappearing in a changing landscape of upwardly mobile, sleek Seoul. “Every time I walk down a familiar street, there are new stores, new restaurants I’ve never seen before,” he says. “You go away for a few weeks and Seoul completely changes.”
(Biography)
I know that Mr. Kuho wants to take me to 10 Corso Como, and it has required all my strength to avoid entering this temple of mercantile delights earlier in my trip. At last lunch is over and we are ready to pass through the store’s polka-dotted portals. I have been to the Milan flagship, and it is justifiably famous, but this... well...this is something else. The all-white interior is the perfect backdrop for merchandise both obvious (Alaïa, Marni, et al.) and less familiar—Kuho’s clothes are here, including an abbreviated jacket with a thick rubber back belt. I am besotted by a series of vintage crocodile and alligator purses by a designer called Dylan Ryu, who finds Chanel and Dior bags at the Porte de Clignancourt market in Paris and Portobello Road in London, then artfully embellishes them with ribbons and badges.
“You go away for a few weeks, and Seoul completely changes.”
Lynn Yaeger 15
Who’s That Girl ? Getting to know the girl who broke the mold and proved that simple talent can sometimes be better than years of training. 16
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In
the evening of Arbor day, Lee Hi came 30 minutes earlier to the studio than the arranged time. She had a distinctive sleepy look on her face yet she greeted me with a calm voice. “Hello Unni?” ah, I’ve been in this scene before. Suddenly, I remembered that day last year and it felt like a deja vu. Even though she didn’t win the audition program, this little diva received more attention than the winner and hence given the chance to be interviewed (last year). We met early in the evening, all the staff in the studio fell in love with her and it didn’t feel like much time has gone by. She wore a yellow t-shirt just like an elementary school student, her voice was toned down and she kind of stuttered a little bit but she had a sincere look on her face and her makeup suited her which made her sleepy eyes looked different. She spoke just like in her first performance of ‘Bust Your Windows’ where she wore a sweater with pumpkin pants. After the shooting ended, we went to beef house and the chocolate chip bread was really delicious and it must be just like what mothers and fathers would feel on Children’s Day interview. During ‘K-Pop Star’ broadcast, Lee Hi mentioned that her ideal type was TOP and she wanted to be just like CL, her meeting with them was exciting but she was nervous and couldn’t express herself. Hi’s elder sister said to her mother, “It would be really nice if you would allow Hi to be a singer. There are only thousands kids who can sing as good as Hi.” Later that evening, Lee Hi savored and stuffed fully her small mouth with sashimi for dinner and it was a pity that the editor couldn’t eat meat and didn’t get to see this cute side of Lee Hi personally. Exactly eleven months have passed (since her previous interview). The one accompanying her was not ‘K-Pop Star’ writer anymore but YG Entertainment manager and even though there was not much difference, she wasn’t called ‘Character Figure (previously, when searching for her on Naver this title would come up next to her name. Some websites still put up this title when introducing
her ideal \type was TOP and she wanted to be just l ike CL
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TV audition contestants)’ anymore, and it too didn’t cross our minds that this girl once starred in an audition program. Just like her previous single ‘1,2,3,4’, the songs from her new studio album ‘First Love’ dominated all the music charts, if 2NE1 Park Bom was to describe this she would say ‘The best among the best’. Lee Hi who arrived earlier than the staff waited in the powder room. She was wearing a black top, body fit denim pants and a pair of UGG boots and accessorized with a bag that was twice bigger than her face. Even though she was slimmer than before, it was a relief that her chubby baby face was still there. She gladly received the bee shaped pillow as a gift from the editor with both hands. She got excited just like a young kid and that appearance was no different than a young innocent girl. We searched on our smartphones for the article on Lee Moon Sae who stated that he wants to do a collaboration with Lee Hi. The girl who was mentioned by the senior singer felt it was an honor. “I think Lee Moon Sae (sunbae-nim) must have thought that I didn’t know him that well. Actually, I’ve mentioned before that I really like his songs.” On the other hand, she was asked which singers she personally wanted to collaborate with, Lee Hi said CL and Taeyang. Lee Hi was singing to the lyrics of Jasmine Sullivan song as soon as it was played in the studio. I was curious which song she has been listening to these days. “Recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of songs by Kimbra. I also listen to Rihanna’s latest album and sometimes Rita Ora as well.” When the dinner time had come, the girl looked like she was hungry. Her manager came and brought her just plain yogurt. I asked her is it because of diet that she’s been eating like that, she said she had eaten a small portion of rice earlier before coming to the studio. She said that she eats pumpkin soup that her mom prepares everyday and meat sometimes, then pretended that she was plump by patting her stomach with her hand. I asked her what’s the good thing of being a member of YG, “I can’t really explain it by words. Actually, being in the same family as the great
Behind the Voice an interview with Lee Hi
This is the story of a girl who got 1st runner up in last year’s SBS Kpop Star. When K-pop Star ended, Lee Hi signed a contract with YGE company. She debuted last year October with “1,2,3,4” and it placed #1 in all major music charts, showing her successful debut. Now, she once again has her songs placed in top positions in all music charts with her debut album “First Love”. We met Lee Hi on the 11th and she was wearing a big coat and a pair of sports shoes. Except for her dyed blonde hair, she looked just the same with any teens. She is a kid like this who was able to belt out jazz and blues tunes with her matured voice, which is why her album was being praised and compared to as “Korean Adele” by Billboard. Lee Hi answered humbly: “To be compared with Adele is really an over-compliment for me. Adele’s voice is very expressive. I am still a rookie, it is more important for me to sing with only a style that belongs to me.” Continued...
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“I’m reassured that I belong to a family of many artists.” 20
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artists itself is a plus.” Then I asked, can she now converse with her ideal type TOP naturally? “Actually, I don’t meet any of the artists as often as I expected. When I meet him I would greet carefully, ‘Hello sunbae-nim?’ and he would just reply ‘Oh, hello.’” It seemed like her fashion sense had changed. YG stylist mentioned that for Lee Hi’s album jacket photo shoot, a total of 10 costumes were prepared and the headpieces were personally chosen by Lee Hi, raising my curiosity. “At times in between the schedules, I would go to edit shop with manager oppa and these days I really enjoy that time. Especially Daily Projects, they have a lot of pretty clothes. Just like Joyrich and Fleamadonna, the clothes are a mixed of girly, cute and even hip hop and I think that kind of style suits me. One time I asked, ‘Unni where is this?’ It was in the basement and it felt like Alice in Wonderland, we had to pass by some grasses to get to the shop (she was probably referring to Tom Greyhound Downstairs) and a lot of pretty clothes were there.” The staff started to arrive at the studio one by one. Then we were told that the stylist had arrived and we went to hide behind the curtain to surprise her. However, when the powder room door was opened, the one who went into the room
You performed your comeback stage on K-pop Star 2 yesterday (10th), do you feel that you have really became a true singer?
The judges (Yang Hyun Suk, Park Jin Young, BoA) were all in front of me again, I felt very nervous. I was unable to make eye contact with them. It is a different type of nervousness as compared to being a contestant. I was like this as well during last year’s debut performances, compared to feeling “wow, I am really a singer now”, I felt more interested in my surroundings, I felt a little blur and confused. It seems like you lost a lot of weight?
I lost my weight during practice, I am actually concerned with my weight. When appearing in music programmes, the other singers are all taller and slimmer, so I felt really small. I want to show that I am really exercising and I want to do self-management seriously.
You seem like the most successful one amongst those who has debuted via audition programs.
Previously, I thought that once K-Pop Star S1 has ended, everything will have ended as well, however it is actually just a starting point.That is the most important competition in my life. The company grasped my special points very well, and they created songs that the public liked, which is why there is such good results. What I have is only a voice that is not supposed to suit my age, the company helped me find my other charms. Although my music is different from other idols, and some people might find it weird, however this could be the main reason why people would want to listen to me. What is the reason behind choosing YG amongst all the other companies now?
I was the first runner up, I did not have the option to choose betweenYG, SM or JYP as that
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is a right for the champion. I wanted to go to YG badly, but YG came to me first as well. It has been close to a year, I have never regretted choosing YGE. YG provided you an apartment?
As my house is further, so the company provided me an apartment as my dorm. I am intending to stay in the apartment with my mother. The company actually does not focus on training for me so much.After attending music lessons, I will then learn piano which is required to compose songs, it is different from the other trainees. After learning how to compose songs, I want to become a singer-songwriter. Dance practice is still tough for me right now. Your album this time contains mainly jazz and blues; do you normally listen to songs in this genre?
My elder sister’s profession involves vocals and different instruments and she recommended
wasn’t the stylist but actually photographer’s assistant. With a disappointed expression, Lee Hi went to apply her makeup! The photo shoot started at about 9pm. The clothes that stylist had prepared for Lee Hi were lovely and unique in order to match the concept and were of variety of lively pink. As soon as the photo shoot started, the editor came to realize that it is not the girl Lee Hi that she knows. I was a bit puzzled that she knows how to pose in front of the camera confidently without much help from the photographer, she wasn’t the shy Lee Hi and came to notice that this is her another charm. I playfully asked her what had happened in that period of one year, then she was back to being the shy high school girl. “It’s just that every time I go to hair salon, I would work hard and focus on reading magazines.” During the break in between the photo shoot, she asked the makeup artist to give tips on makeup like, “I apply BB cream to brighten up my skin but there was a couple of times that it made it looked darker, why is that?”, “Which one is a better foundation color for me? Cool tone or warm tone?” This was not all. When moving on to the other cuts, she personally applied nail polish of different shades of pink. “Well, well! It’ sad
songs from all genres to me so I am interested in jazz and blues normally. I particularly like soul from blacks, I know that I suit music like “Mercy”, which I performed during K-Pop Star S1. Also, Yang Hyun Suk boss has also introduced many unnies who are good at doing music of these genres to me, so I have learnt a lot. Also, “OneSided Love” lyrics are actually my one-sided love story during middle school period. Are there any differences between Yang Hyun Suk in K-Pop Star and in the company?
He is totally the same. I take time to warm up so I am still feeling awkward, haha. However, no matter when is it, he is still very caring and detailed. He is like a father who is kind but awkward around his children. He tells me often that when I am on stage, I have to show the audience my most natural and comfortable image.
lovely and unique in order to match the concept and were of a variety of lively pink.
In the album, Tablo helped to write the lyrics. The help from the same company’s artists has attracted attention. Did you learn anything from the seniors in the company?
The seniors really perform as though they are playing while on stage, which is something I am still lacking, so I will learn while watching. Tablo sunbae gave me many suggestions and advice during the recording process. About Big Bang’s TOP, I still like him as a fan. My friends are all curious about YG’s artists, and they think I am very close with them, but it is actually still awkward for me, haha. What are the type of songs that will be released on the 21st March for the second part of “First Love” album?
In general, it is the same as part 1. However, in part 2, “Rose” the title track has a different style. “It’s Over” is a song that matches my age which portrays my cuteness while “Rose” is a song that is more mature and heavy.
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Do you feel like venturing overseas just like your senior in the same company, Psy?
Psy sunbae is really amazing. Before debuting, when I see foreign people jamming to Psy’s songs, I feel really proud being a Korean. If I have the chance, I would want to stand on a world stage too. I think I have to learn English seriously before doing that. I am very satisfied with my name now. When I was young, my father gave me this name. I was being teased because of my name, now I think my name is easy to remember and has simple pronunciation; this name seems to be of help to my future events. What type of singer would you like to be?
When I was young, I regarded Beyonce and Rihanna as my idols, I will watch their videos frequently. Although I change idols often, it is also because of Beyonce and Rihanna that I want to be a singer. I would like to be somebody’s idol in the future.
“I want to be a singer. I would like to be somebody’s idol in the future.”
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that I should paint (my nails) prettily but instead I applied them too well.” It was almost one clock in the morning and there was only one cut left when Lee Hi came to the powder room. Her manager brought in the new albums and name panel. 30 minutes later, Lee Hi started to sign the albums and even wrote the name of each staff personally including the photographer’s assistant. She drew hearts and even wrote some comments on the sweet Laduree macaron box-like albums. Lee Hi remembered that the editor had mentioned previously that her father is a fan of Lee Hi, so Lee HI even prepared a separate album just for the editor’s father. After the photo shoot ended and it was time to go home, I noticed that Lee Hi hadn’t come out of the powder room and it seemed like she was looking for something. She looked anxious and very serious. So the editor asked what was the problem. Lee Hi said, “Unni, the Hello Kitty and My Melody sticker that had my lip marks, did you throw it away?”
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J ung Soo-hyun
couplefashion
Couple culture in Seoul is fascinating. From how they dress to how they style their hair. Everything is pushed to the extreme. The “twin look” is quite common. However, the focus of today is couples who are not afraid of breaking out of that trend and simply complimenting each other’s looks.
Artsy couple number one
is displaying their more daring side... well, to put it eloquently, boyfriend here is a bit daring in his choice of socks. Although it is not something I would pick out for my man (or even let him leave the house wearing), I suppose the blue stripes match his hat colour? Well, even so, this lovely couple is here because his girlfriend has saved the day with her daring and quite interesting (in a good way) shirt. I imaging it to be like that thin foam used as dividers with many electronics these days, although I am sure it is a more conventional material. Her choice in skirt, hat, shoes, and even bra compliment the white of her shirt and her purse well, while her simple bracelet and necklace work in unison without detracting from the outfit. Her hair is very cutely done up in braids which work with the material of her shirt. The texture of the shoes, skirt and purse are all rather similar which again works in her favor. The hat, although different, is the perfect amount of quirk to top off the image. All in all, the artsy fashionable look of girlfriend matches awkward “I’m totally cool” fairly normal looking boyfriend in a strange way that is still really cute. Good job couple number one.
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Blue shirts, but not matching. Nothing matches with
to categorize them as “couple fashion” participants. Girlfriend has wonderfully interesting sandals that match her skirt, shirt details and of course, sunglasses while her white shirt keeps her monochrome and that is completely fine. Her bracelet is simple and neither detracts nor adds to her overall look which worls in her favour. Boyfriend here seems to focus more on his hair since it seems rather styled, and even his fitted shirt is fine. but then you see his sweat pants and sneakers and wonder if the top half and bottom half are mis-matched from two different torsos... are the bottom of his pants went or is that simply a design that went terribly wrong? Either way, he looks very casual and I suppose that is their overall theme.
couple number two which is what works in their favor. They compliment each other quite well and it makes you just want to go “aweee”. This couple is simply normal. Decently dressed boyfriend is wearing a button-up denim shirt which matches his hat, while his black pants are matching his backpack and bracelet-style accessory. His shoes give a flare of colour and match his watch. Good. Fashionable without much effort. Girlfriend has simply gone with a gorgeous blue sweater, delicate ornate skirt and tomboyish boots that match her satchel. Simple and comfortable, letting her hair down just tops the overall look. Together they are just so comofrtable that you can not help but feel as if they would be the same in their relationship as well. Overall, full marks for lovely couple number two who make it look so darn easy to look good and fashionable.
Who wore it better?
Couple number one’s matchmismatch, Two’s Easy Going look, or Three’s casual look? Although It is evident who our favourite is, it is good to look at all the couples and find inspiration in certain parts of their wardrobe, even if not everything is to your liking.
The epitome of “Casual Fashion”,
here is couple number three. This couple has chosen to partake in being mildly “matchy” with their sunglasses but overall, that is not enough
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interestinginteriors
Going out of one’s way to have their room Where do we begin? Simple. We begin by determining what it reflect their personality can often times is you want to say with your interior design choices. Looking at things be tedious. At these trying times, it is you like, things you don’t like, and why you feel the way you do. Get to the root of what makes you tick, everything after that will be nice to be able to have a go-to source of down a lot easier. We promise. inspiration that will allow you to break free and accomplish what it is you would How do you want to portray yourself to those who come into your home? As soon as you have figured this out, it like to say about yourself.
will become much easier to take what you need from these ideas and make them yours. It is completely alright to not want to look like something straight out of a Martha Stewart catalogue. Conventional is alright, but finding your true colours is better.
Poshness can be achieved by using simplicity, while choosing minute embelleshments that work to enhance the space since everything around the furniture is rather subdued and conservatice. By contrasting greyscale furniture with off-the while, quirkier colours, you can achieve a visual harmony that is rather striking while not being too over the top or eccentric. Flowers can aid with this, although beware of fake flowers, they can work, but most of the time appear old fashioned and a bit gross. Find the fine line and don’t cross it unless you want to channel your inner granny. One of the best time periods for interior design in terms of embellishments was the Rococo period. the easiest way to
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understanding of interior design.
describe this period is by simply saying “Marie Antoinette”. Lots of frills and decorations during this period. No, you do not want to be over-the-top which too much Rococo style furniture will do, but you can work wonders by using one or two simple pieces in combination with more modern furniture. Perhaps a coffee table? The point is, it must be balanced out by more toned-down pieces to maximize its overall elegance. You can’t enjoy the grandeur of a piece of furniture when everything around it is also screaming at you for attention. Although it looks ridiculously tacky and pretty much tells your guests that you have an outdated
Finally, by pairing gorgeous Rococo furniture like the bed in the image above, another nice way of toning down the royal look of the furniture to fit it into a modern world can be done by colour pallet. Here we see an ornate bedframe, combined with a matching set of drawers, shag carpet, and muted green duvet that matches the colour of the walls. The colour pallet is soft and only contains two colours but works wonders.
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Pig and Pepper (wow! wow! wow!)
‘Speak roughly to your little boy, And beat him when he sneezes: He only does it to annoy, Because he knows it teases.’ ‘I speak severely to my boy, I beat him when he sneezes; For he can thoroughly enjoy The pepper when he pleases!’ -Lewis Carol
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