A Painter Named Song - Songzio - Men's Folio
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A Painter Named Song – Songzio

  • By Men's Folio

A Painter Named Song Songzio 3

Upon arriving for my interview with Zio Song, the designer behind Korean menswear label, Songzio, I was informed that he had been doing a great number of media calls since the break of dawn. “Don’t worry, he still has lots of energy to do a couple more interviews,” assured a public relations manager. I should not have worried. Zio is all about keeping his eyes open for beauty and inspiration. Even when asked about his dream holiday destination, he named Brazil, but not for the country’s famous beaches or street parties. “The Brazilians live life so vivaciously and it is seen in the way they dress. They are always so colourful making one feel invigorated just by looking at them,” he muses.

STARTING OUT

Getting his design credibility from the prestigious Parisan fashion school, ESMOD, he even went back to his alma mater to be a professor from 1989 to 1993 before starting his eponymous label in 1999. But it wasn’t till 2007 that he presented his menswear collection in Paris to critical acclaim, and has shown there every season since.

Dubbed Korea’s best designer of menswear, Zio Song has no airs about himself, even going as far to tell me that he feels that he still has a long way to go, “I don’t deem myself overly successful in a global sense yet. There are still many things that I wish to achieve that will take some time.”

Here last month for FIDé Fashion Weeks to show his Spring Summer 2014 collection for men, he only has praise for Singapore and the opportunities that we have presented to him. “Your country leads the way in terms of media coverage and it is such a melting pot of cultures here that I am always excited every time I visit.” His latest visit marks the third time he has shown Songzio here and he remembers vividly how it all started. “Three years ago, the chairman of FIDé Fashion Weeks, Frank Cintamani gave me a surprise visit in my office where he told me about the vision he had for the Singapore fashion scene,” he reminisces.

WELCOMING SPRING 2014

Zio explains that each season allows him to create a storyline which forms the foundation of the collection, “There is always an imaginary guy that is the protagonist to the tale. I would say he is a “young master” who possesses elegance, intelligence and an artistic flair. He dresses to the beat of his own drum in the face of the world’s love of ever-changing trends.” The designer goes on to talk about the restrictions most men place on themselves when they think about how to dress, “I find that most guys have a very controlled sense of fashion due to the fear of judging. If only they knew how much better they can look if they opened up more.

When asked about his attraction to the abstract prints that stood out in his latest collection, he reveals that he is an avid painter and tries to incorporate his artwork into his work as much as possible, “I go into this thought process where I paint my ‘feelings’ onto an acrylic canvas before transferring it onto silk. I tend to stay away from creating still-life images as these abstract art pieces already encompasses everything I want to say, which includes my current ideals and the daily grind of life. I titled the artwork for this collection, “Red Pine” and I like how it translates effortlessly into darker shades as they appear on the runway.

His clothes are so sought after that K-pop celebrities such as Cha Seung-won and Kim Hyung Jun have been seen wearing his pieces though he admits that when it comes to this, it can be a double-edged sword, “As many of them are singers and dancers, my clothes are comfortable enough for them to move fluidly on stage or when they are travelling between venues. I do get inspired by their music and personal style though there have been times in I have seen these celebrities wear them wrongly. It makes me want to go down and style them myself.”

So what does it take for aspiring designers who dream of showing their collections to international fanfare?  Zio says it is all about keeping at it and improving through the years, “If you are starting out, keep releasing collections that speak of your own identity and concept. Try to have a unique point of view which makes you stand out from the crowd. There are so many styles and reference points to choose from, but identifying one is a little trickier and might take awhile though it is all worth it and will enable you to propel your brand to greater heights.”

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THE ORIENT’S VISIBILITY

On the topic of the Asian wave, Zio explains that its influence did not just start but was sparked about 30 years ago, “Back then, anything oriental was considered a niche set of ideals and was shared among a select few around the European continent.” However, he says that with the development of the Internet and social media, the intricacies of the many cultures here became more accessible to the world. “Now is the time for Asian artists and designers to take advantage of the high level of interest and strive to show their work to the world,” he adds.