Three years on since the launch of self-sustained brand, Danse Lente, designer, Youngwon Kim, has the style set at her feet. Season-on-season they (us included) are suckers for her architecture-inspired silhouettes that are purpose-built first yet equally delicious.
Continuing to experiment with the curves and clean lines of which she pools inspiration, for Autumn/Winter 2019, the Korean-born and London-based talent serves up an oasis of modern art, in a palette of bold reds, blue and fuchsia pink with pastel tones to contrast. Sculptural, playful and as Instagrammable as it gets, we foresee millennials and the rest of London alike snapping the styles up for the coming season.
Naturally, we were intrigued to get inside the creative mind and to learn what contributes to the soaring success that is Youngwon Kim – and so, we asked the designer to spill the beans.
Let us ‘Slow Dance’ (that's Danse Lente en Français, to you) with you Through the Lens of her day...
“I live in North London around Crouch End. It is very quiet and chilled during weekends but it can be a busy commute during the week! The picture that I have taken is our studio building – the second floor with the lights on is where we are. I snapped this after my evening yoga class..."
“This season presents how the future was viewed by those who lived in the early noughties. Key inspiration came from films that emerged in this era about the future, as well as the upcoming century with fascinating fabrics and colours.”
“Colour and materials were the key points for this season – using much bolder and stronger colour mixture, and it was the first time to use patent leather.”
“The most pleasurable process for me is colour and research. Colouring is more dependent on my intuition. It could be quite random, but there is always some story that I can find. I love the fact that there is a limitation, and I can draw a line to determine where my playground is, in terms of design…”
“With regards to my research, there is no boundary. It can be quite confusing at the beginning, but because of that it gives much more freedom at a later stage of design. I feel it's the first step in the creative process that I'm thrilled to jump in.”
“In our studio, I love our big windows (natural light is important!) and the old wooden floors throughout. The area near our pattern table is also a favourite – we have a sewing machine and lots of leather which allows us to make in-house mock-ups. In regard to music, I recently randomly tuned into a playlist of French electro-pop and I quite liked it!” 
“ For the last two weeks, I've been mainly focused on the campaign shoot so I wanted to share one of the images from the set. Mainly I work at our Dalston Studio, but also travel quite a lot, so, for me, the studio can be everywhere!”
“I do what I do because I am still passionate and fascinated by creativity. It was quite hard to found and manage the company myself, but it has allowed me to create things in my own way.”
Inject the fun into your Autumn/Winter accessory rotation with our favourite designs from Youngwon:
Also on Because Magazine:
+ Start saving your pennies, because this classic beauty is a timeless investment.
+ Uncover DESIGN & THAT’s Shoreditch-based world of interiors.
+ Take another walk Through the Lens – this time, with Danish native Nynne Kunde.