Creative Director Jay Song on Songzio Defining the Avant-Garde for a New Generation

Songzio is one of the most recognized names in Korean fashion since its iconoclastic design with artisanal appeared on the scene in 1993. Since then, its unique identity through its creative process has resonated internationally and has carved its place on the Paris Fashion Week Men’s lineup with Songzio Homme where their abstract and conceptual aesthetic meets utilitarian merging with classical techniques.

In 2017, Jay W. Song took the helm of the brand and became the Creative Director at Songzio Homme, bringing the legacy house with thirty years of history to a new generation. Born in Seoul, raised in Paris, and a graduate from Columbia University, there is so much for us to get to know about Jay. We spoke to Jay not only on the opening of the brand’s new Flagship boutique in Paris, but on the creative process and the creative philosophy that makes Songzio one of the most avant-garde brands in the contemporary fashionscape.

In 2017, you took over the Creative Direction of the brand, what was your vision?

Embracing our unique identity while simultaneously seeking for what is new. I strongly believe in the authenticity of Songzio’s own style, as well as our very sincere and pure artistic and creative process. I wanted to expand and deepen our creative universe and modernize the brand.

Your father was the founder, what were you like as a child and how would you describe your childhood?

I grew up with the brand, and every moment of my life was shared with the brand- vice versa. The ateliers, the factories, show venues, drawings, fittings…etc were very much a part of my life. Running a fashion house is like cinema, a very total art form where you have to be in touch with countless artistic and daily inspirations; music, arts, photography, videography, clothing, literature…etc. I think growing up as part of a fashion house made my childhood very rich and inspirational.

Do you remember how you dressed as a child? Were you naturally drawn to black?

I was always dressed in Songzio, and only in Songzio, so yes very black.

I love that! Would love to see more kids dressed in Songzio, we need to break the barriers of pink and blue.  How would you describe the Songzio universe?

Artistic, Elegant, and Avant-Garde.

Can you explain your creative philosophy?

Songzio finds its unique identity through its creative process, paint on black. Every collection begins on a black canvas where the collection’s foundational art piece is created. In our multi-layered paintings, the vertical strokes represent the object while the horizontal strokes represent its emotions.

A sense of order and disorder permeates through Songzio’s art and collection. Sculptural in stillness, yet fluid in motion, we create a unique avant-garde elegance through oriental silhouette, experimental design, and artisanal applications of our original artworks.

In doing so, we reimagine the pursuit of ideal beauty from the past while infusing modern and avant-garde dynamism into our collection with a unique aesthetic that resonates simultaneously with classical ideals and contemporary energy.

Congratulations on the opening of your Paris Flagship in the Marais! We have been covering your collections during Paris Fashion Week for several seasons and were excited to be there for the store opening. Why is Paris important to you personally, and what do you enjoy doing in the city when you aren’t working?

Paris is Songzio’s creative home where Songzio has been presenting its collections during Paris Fashion Week for close to 20 years. Paris is also the city where I grew up and therefore, it was the most natural choice to open our first international flagship here.

I most enjoy walking in the very quiet streets of Paris very early in the morning just before the sun rises.

Music plays a strong role in your runway mood, would you say that translates to your collections? What music are you drawn to?

In fact, the music is very important to our collection and runway, and I take a rather important part in composing the music with our musicians from the very moment we start designing the collection. Therefore, the music and the collection mutually inspire each other. I am drawn to music that can completely and somewhat surrealistically alter the sense of space and time.

I am very excited about the music for our FW25 collection in January. We will be introducing avant-garde musicians who will be performing live for the show to create a holistic sensory experience.

Earlier in the year you opened Galerie Noir, your new Flagship in Dosan Park, Seoul. How is the in- store experience in your Paris store and Seoul similar? And what are some unique differences?

The two share the same design and architectural concept. They are in different cities but both embody Songzio’s creative philosophy.

We tried to create a very subtle distinction using different application methods and “finitions” of the same materials. Same concrete, black concrete, black oakwood structured, but cut, and varnished in various methods. Seoul flagship was constructed with a more modernist approach with the finest textures, while the Paris flagship was constructed with a more naturalistic and antique texture.

In terms of experience, while the Paris Flagship Store displays our own collection and my own artworks that I created in the process of creation, the Seoul Flagship Store also has a completely independent gallery space inside – hence the name, Galerie Noir – that exhibits and promotes young contemporary artists in Korea.

Your collections have an avant-garde edge, did you find that renowned Paris architecture studio HYPNOS XP could translate that into your boutique? What was the starting point of the discussion?

We first collaborated with Hypnos XP for a pop-up store in Printemps Haussmann in Paris early this year and built a natural connection and chemistry for our mutual love for brutalist architecture. Hypnos XP is also a very Avant Garde architecture studio with a very distinctive and different aesthetic from most Parisian architectural firms and therefore felt quite right to take on our quite unusual store.

What was your favourite part of the store design process?

Using Light. I have designed over 80 stores, but this was the most challenging one having to preserve the very old structure of the original space. In doing so, every time I faced structural, spatial or design challenges, which concerned me as they would often cause the space to feel too closed, too narrow or too heavy, I used light to overcome these challenges.

Although the very prominent features of concrete and black wood seem to be the main design aspects of the store, it is light that elegantly engulfs the space and creates depth, subtlety, and warmth to this very stoic space.

Do you find inspiration in interior design and or architecture?

Very much so. Besides designing our collection, designing our spaces is where I spend most time.

What would you say is the Songzio signature piece that will continue to be timeless?

Our Black Long Jacket.

Finally, what are you most looking forward to now that the boutique has opened?

I’m now most looking forward to our next boutique.

Looking forward to seeing you and the next collection in Paris in January!