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The French luxury apparel brand Smalto made an unexpected decision this year. "Everyone said it was news. I said it was only a natural decision." So says ethnic Korean Bak Youn-chong (29), who was appointed chief creative director for Smalto in late January. The 40-year-old brand is famous for dressing celebrities such as former French president François Mitterrand.
The fashion world was shocked, but Bak herself was quite calm. In an interview at the Smalto office in Paris on June 30, she said "I may be a young Asian woman, but I believe there's no one who could lead this brand better than me." With her small face, she looks barely out of high school.
Bak was born in Switzerland. She didn't plan to be a designer -- a tomboyish girl, she liked art and knitting. But when she graduated from high school, she suddenly enrolled in the Ecole Supérieure des arts et techniques de la mode (ESMOD) fashion institute. Her tardy start in fashion meant she was more passionate than others. "Whatever I did, I did it faster than others,¡± she recalls. ¡°Sewing, designing ¡¦ everything was so interesting."
Graduating from ESMOD, she applied to work for Smalto. The firm¡¯s then chief creative director Franck Boclet gave her his full support and made the artistically talented Bak, who was fluent in Italian, German and French, his assistant. In less than three years at Smalto, she became the vice chief creative director and another four years later she is chief director. Even for the fashion world, that was a rapid rise.
Did she reach the top too fast? "It¡¯s really disconcerting when people just think of me as a young student." It¡¯s still not unusual for newly cast models to approach her and ask for the chief director. To supervise a large staff, Bak had to train herself to speak briefly and firmly. "It was necessary to let people know that I am the chief creative director. But I would also sew and do odd jobs on my knees whenever necessary."
The Smalto spring/summer 2008 collection showcased in Paris on July 1 was supervised by Bak from beginning to end. Thirty-two new outfits were introduced. Bak has transformed Smalto's hitherto masculine style: shoulder angles are smoother and beige, gray and lighter colored stripes replaced black. ¡°The suits would best fit someone like British actor Jude Law or Korean singer Rain,¡± she says. ¡°My clothes are manly but also smooth and tender.¡± She is determined to expand Smalto into a global brand well beyond its high-end image.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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