For the Spring Summer 2025 collection, Wooyoungmi explores the multifaceted identity of the American-born Korean (ABK), a cultural archetype of South Korean heritage and American lifestyle. The collection draws inspiration from the wardrobe influences that ABKs experience, ranging from the laid-back coolness of California and Hawaii to the sporty prep of Ivy League institutions and the rustic charm of America’s Western heartland. This cross-cultural exploration extends into various style domains, such as yuppie sartorialism, collegiate prep, surfer bohemian, agricultural utility, and the classic baseball uniform.
The collection’s centerpiece is a series of designs inspired by Far-East Asian cowboys, where lean silhouettes are accentuated with cummerbunds featuring crisscross lacing reminiscent of early baseball jackets. This baseball uniform sensibility is woven throughout the collection, evident in laced suede jackets, denim waistcoats, knitted varsity jackets, and structured baseball trousers and shorts crafted from leather, suede, cotton, or denim. A notable piece is the satin baseball jacket with a WYM logo, hand-painted in the style of South Korean seoye calligraphy.
A wild, wild East theme emerges in the durable workwear suits and cargo trousers made from drill or denim, along with topstitched denim suits, knitted polo shirts, and plaid shirts. The inclusion of bojagi shirts, constructed using the South Korean art of knot tying, adds a traditional touch to the collection. This organic and crafty aesthetic is further explored through magnified wooden surfer necklaces hand-painted with orbital WYM logos, knitted surfer beanies, and knotted mixed-material trainers. The collection also features woven leather loafers, hand-crocheted dresses, tops, and shorts, and coats and jackets veiled in netting, all displaying Wooyoungmi’s minimal and graphic sensibility.
The Great Plains of South Korea are immortalized in trucker suits and bags with images of ancient South Korean landscape paintings. This rootsy atmosphere is projected into the future through a zigzag graphic inspired by the geometry of historical South Korean patchworks. Drawn by hand, this motif produces an organic yet futuristic form and appears on nylon bombers, reversible blousons, poplin shirts, surfer tops, linings, cummerbunds, and bags. This light sci-fi element is consistently appearing in the garments, complemented by the hi-tech appearance of speed-inducing Oakley sunglasses.
Wooyoungmi’s journey through time captures the relaxed yet formal yuppie tailoring of the ABK businessman, highlighted by shirts and neckties. This traditional business attire is transformed by the collection’s bohemian attitude, materializing in billowing silk suits and coats. Constructed with the sensibility of oriental temple cloths, these pieces combine simplicity with ceremony. The collection’s soundtrack, composed in the spirit of the South Korean Mantra of Light and featuring monastic singing bowls, enhances this cross-cultural narrative. Take a closer look at the collection in the Gallery below:
