Madame Woo might be the only fashion designer alive who doesn’t use the internet. The 66-year-old is fortunate enough to have a competent team who keep her plugged in, but her own world is free from AI slop, doomscrolling and Instagram-induced dopamine issues. “I do go online very rarely, but I live quite an analog life,” she said.
Maybe that’s why her inspirations for Wooyoungmi feel so rooted in the real world. South Korea’s freezing winters served as the starting point for this cozy outing, which took place in the Salle Wagram and was soundtracked partly by the whistle of a steam train. At a preview, Madame Woo explained that she had been thinking about the lost elegance of travel, and South Korea’s first ever railway, the Gyeongin. “At the time of the Gyeongin, traveling was a very precious opportunity,” she said.
Evoking the old-world glamour and romance of winter travel, there was a strong showing of faux astrakhan that appeared on the collars of plush evening coats, as well as bright and dandyish velvet suits that were nipped in elegantly at the waist. Reversible faux fur bombers and shearling-lined jeans with leather straps at the ankles brought the practicality, while nylon tracksuits were softened with strips of velvet to toe the line between the contemporary and the classic.
The Nordic sweaters, complete with silver clasps, also incorporated dancheong, decorative patterns that are used in Korean temples—a synergy that celebrated Woo’s own culture and gave it a global slant. There were also button-up shirts printed with cute sketches of Korean iconography such as temples and vases.
Leaning into these Korean details is relatively uncharted territory for Wooyoungmi, and it adds a new dimension of authenticity and endearment to the brand. Getting there has been a journey of its own: as hers was the first Korean label to show at Paris fashion week back in the early 2000s, Madame Woo was initially keen to fit in with the Europeans. “I tended to hide my Korean culture because I had kind of a complex about it, but as time goes by I’m more confident about my roots,” she said. “Now, I’m diving into it more.”
