Fashion Designer of the week : YESIMFRENCH by Sandra Meynier Kang - Interview

Remember the brand YESIMFRENCH when I introduced you to Young Republic ? If not don't worry here is an interview of its CEO, Sandra Meynier Kang. For this second Incognito's Fashion designer of the week post, I thought introducing you to a French one was a good idea. If you ask me why, well I would simply answer you that I'm French and I like supporting my peers, above all when like Sandra, they live abroad and have the occasion to show you their creations and their own perception of fashion from the place they are living. And as a matter of fact Sandra happens to live in a place I am in love with : Seoul, South Korea. 

YESIMFRENCH SS13 bra 

Name of the brand : YESIMFRENCH 

Founder : Sandra Meynier Kang

Site : www.yesimfrench.com

Facebook : YES I'M French

Twitter : @YESIMFRENCHsmk

1) Sandra, who are you ?

Well..I am Sandra Meynier Kang, I am from Paris and I've been living in Seoul for 2 years now. 

I am the designer and CEO of the brand YESIMFRENCH and the overseas marketing & communications manager for the brand CRES. E DIM.

2) How did you start YESIMFRENCH ?

Well, when I arrived at Seoul, I was a sales representative for french brands.

Having studied at Chardon Savard ( a french school for fashion), I missed a lot the creative side of fashion, that is why I bought a small sewing machine on gmarket.com and started wandering around Dongdaemun (the fabric market) to create a collection of 5 sweat shirts (I adore them !).

At that time I was really good friend with the designer of CRES. E DIM., Kim Hong Bum (that I am going to tell you about VERY SOON, editor's note), for whom I am working now. I invited him to come to my house to have a look at my small collection. He came, loved it and proposed me to help me launching my brand. He then secured me telling me he would be in charge of the production, something that was impossible for me to do because of my small level of korean. I didn't have any name for the brand since I didn't even think about launching one, then YESIMFRENCH, just came like that and has become the brand's name.

YESIMFRENCH SS13 white top, white tank top, blue shorts

YESIMFRENCH SS13 white tank top, grey skirt

3) Can you tell us about your last collection and the inspirations behind it ?

The last SS13 collection (seeing that I am very late for FW 13-14) relies on the principle sport/ feminine/ futurism.

No artist in particular inspired me, it was more about the fabric since I found techniques to superimpose clear plastic with net braided in squares.

The pieces of the collection just popped out of my mind so easily that I designed each of piece of clothe very naturally.

4) Describe us your typical working day.

SPARTAN ! My typical working day is like going for war like a spartan soldier ! 

Well if it's not a day I'm working for CRES. E DIM. , which means the korean typical working day from 10 am to 8 or 10 pm..it depends, I'm working for my brand YESIMFRENCH and start with ordering my fabrics at Dongdaemun and then go take them (knowing that this area is one hour away from my home), then I answer my mails. I prepare my patterns, do my samples, correct them, take care of my social media and blogs, then I go here and there on the web to find some inspirations, and finally I'm done. Nonetheless I must say that no day is like another because I am all alone working on the brand, I must take care of the design, the communication, the marketing and the sales..

YESIMFRENCH SS13 black dress

YESIMFRENCH SS13 black tank top, black shorts, black coat

5) Why did you choose to create and develop your brand in South Korea ?

To tell you the truth, I didn't decide to go to Seoul in order to create my brand. Like I said just before, YESIMFRENCH just happened like that.

6) Does your living in Korea influences your creations ? If it is the case, in which way(s) ?

I think it definitely does, since what I am seeing and hearing during the day enrich my creative mind. Because I am living in Korea, for obvious reasons it does have an influence on me, which one ? This I don't know. I think I could answer if I were living in Paris and had created my brand there. If it were the case I think I would be able to see the difference.

Then about the pieces , yes I put forward the korean woman who is not the same kind of customer than the french woman.

7) In your opinion, what are the differences between fashion in Korea and the occidental fashion ?

The big difference lies in the fact that korean girls don't wear low neckline but instead wear the tiniest mini skirt ever whereas french girls wear THE low neckline but not the micro skirt.

8) You recently participated to the programme DOOTA TOP DESIGNER Contest, what this experience brought you ?

A lot of things.

First of all, I improved my korean, which is not bad, because as you might have seen during the programme I didn't get a damn thing !

So to sum up :

1° I want to specify that my improvement was a tiny bit violent considering that NO ONE spoke english correctly. We didn't sleep this much nor ate a lot ( I lost 4 kg in 3 weeks) and we had no phone, no internet, no contact with the outside world and even with this lack of sleep and food, I had to understand and speak korean. It was so hard that sometimes I wished everybody to be silent.

2° One thing I appreciated a lot was the fact we had top-notch equipment to create. A beautiful place, the best sewing machines ever, this environment enabled me to make experiences with plastic and to realize top notch clothes.

3° I made friends, all the participants were fantastic ! They were really nice and engaging. We keep seeing each other, then it's also good to have friends who do the same thing as you, that lived with you (even if it was only for 3 weeks, it's already a lot).

4° The judges

There is one judge I became friend with and that I still see. His/Her advices are really important for me.

5° More popularity for YESIMFRENCH

Sandra on the right side with some of the participants of the DOOTA's contest

9)  Who are the korean or asian designers that inspire you the most ?

I am a big fan of  Yohji Yamamoto and his line Y-3

I like  Rei Kawabuko's path. When it comes to asian designers I prefer the japanese ones.

But there are brands at Seoul like CRES. E DIM. or PUSH BUTTON that I admire a lot.

Yohji Yamamoto Y-3

10) Which advices would you give to a european designer who wants to export his creations in Korea or Asia ?

To come and see and above all to protect your brand internationally.

CRES. E DIM. 

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I hope you enjoyed the interview and that it was interesting for both fashion insiders and outsiders (like me). I had a great pleasure reading Sandra's answers and really want to thank her for her kindness, time and availability. This said if you are a fashion designer, photographer, illustrator and desire to be featured on the blog just shoot me a mail at : shugavery@hotmail.fr

What do you think about YESIMFRENCH ? Do you feel the French fashion DNA in Sandra's creations ? Tell how do you feel !