Wooni Jeong’s designs speak of introspection and team spirit

Born and raised in Seoul, Korea, she had been briefly sent by her father to Canada to get a better education, before moving to London to study at Central Saint Martins. Her family was key for her fashion growth, which arose from looking at her sister’s skill in drawing. “She’s five years older than me, so obviously whatever she did, I wanted to do it too. She used to draw things very well and I would literally steal her drawings because I was so jealous of her talent. I just followed her and that’s how I got into fashion, because I was drawing these imaginary people, like princesses and fairies, and I began dressing them in magic costumes,” she says. It is because of her mother – who used to work in the industry in Korea before Wooni was born – that she realised what she cared about the most in her drawings were the clothes. These two female figures forged her love for designing and shaped her personal style into what we saw in her graduating collection.

“My collection was about me being an introvert. My mom had this collection of furniture, so ever since I was little I had the desire to create my own space. I decided to make a space just for me with the things I like, and that’s how my collection turned out. I investigated Pierre Paulin, the French interior designer with a deep appreciation of curves and flowing sculptural shapes.”

When talking about this work, Wooni looks very inspired, although not all of her time in London was satisfying; her years at CSM were challenging both in a beautiful and in a sad way. She came to London because the school system in Korea was very restrictive. “I did a fine arts course, but it was not free as it is in Europe; they chose what you had to draw, the method to use and how to use it. So I was really looking forward to my foundation year in London, but as soon as I got here, the freedom I craved made me completely lost,” she says. The system was so different from Korea that such freedom was disorienting. After foundation, she started her bachelor’s degree at CSM because she got in and she knew it was a great opportunity. But her first year was hard and unsatisfying, so she took a gap year. When she got back, Wooni finally got into a project she really cared about and found her own way to make her personality fit with the environment.

“I was really looking forward to my foundation year in London, but as soon as I got here, the freedom I craved made me completely lost.” – Wooni Jeong

Wooni explains that, as it happens in the industry, the university creates a competitive context which she really didn’t feel she belonged to. “The thing I struggled with is that I enjoy being creative – I like the things I make and I enjoy seeing someone having the same thoughts I have – but it’s such a competitive industry that it’s hard to get collaborative and work for a common cause.”

She saw people around her struggling both with finding jobs and with working conditions. Apart from London, Wooni would love to go working in Italy, where most of her favourite brands are, first of all Sunnei, whose designer saw her portfolio, and sent her positive feedback. London has become a hard city, she says, because of the cost of living, and the fact that many times at the beginning of a creative’s career you work without being paid.

“I am really good at adapting and at cooperating with anything that’s given; I am confident in delivering my designs to real life.” – Wooni Jeong

Despite her declared introversion, she looks strong and confident in her chunky silver jewellery, her brand new eyebrow piercing and her black eye make-up. A positive regard for the future frames her words, as she says: “I am really good at adapting and at cooperating with anything that’s given; I am confident in delivering my designs to real life. You really have to believe in your capacities and that there is always a way to find a solution. Just don’t be upset if your first try didn’t work out well, because there is always a way.”