The Butik is an online retailer that connects customers with both emerging and established designers from all around the world that have not been introduced to this region before. According to Faye Al Ismail and Futtaim Beljaflah, founders of The Butik, their aim is "to uncover hidden talents from all around the world, to bring to our clients stories and experiences, and to connect them to the people behind the sewing machines." The Butik has partnered with Khaleejesque to promote the designers, which will be uncovered in a series of video interviews and articles. The third installment of the "The Butik Interviews" is that of designer Kim Hongbum.
The Musical Notes of Cres E Dim from The Butik Dubai on Vimeo.
By the time Kim Hongbum graduated from Fashion Design at Sejong University, a prominent art school in Seoul, Korea, he had already made his mark in the fashion industry by winning a number of prizes and awards such as the Korea Fashion Contest.
He launched his brainchild Cres. E. Dim. in 2008, shortly after winning the Doota Venture Designer Award in 2007, and was selected as a Generation Next designer and participant in Seoul Fashion Week a couple of years later where his FW’10 marked his debut on the catwalk and took everyone’s breath away with his cutting edge designs.
Cres. E. Dim. is a direct reference to the musical terminology of "crescendo e diminuendo" meaning getting gradually louder/stronger and gradually softer which is a theory Kim Hongbum applies in his designs and his fashion philosophy: “To create a shape and split it up, place a color on the broken shape, then let it naturally flow like a running river.” This underlines his entire thought and creation process that is evident in his use of continuous silhouettes, overlapping the human body with fabrics of varying texture, colour and shapes. These musical dynamics are conveyed throughout his collections and play an integral role in his identity as an artist.
More recently, Cres. E. Dim. has appeared on the runways for New York Collections, when he was handpicked as one of five designers to represent Korea for SS and FW 2013 by a program named Concept Korea which is organized by both the Korean and American government. In addition, his pieces of art have already enjoyed the limelight of the runways of Tokyo and Paris yet he still says “I am still working hard to expand…” which highlights the very essence of his enthusiasm and passion to become an extremely accomplished and well-recognized designer, which is clear to anyone who meets him.
His sources of inspiration are architectural influences and general street life, which is apparent in his use of immaculate angles and lines, asymmetrical hemlines, leather skinny pants and loosely draped jackets. Soft leathers (such as lambskin), silks and cotton are manipulated and formed into his cutting edge creations.
“When I see the outcome of my new collections finished and presented to the public, it gives me a feeling of thrilled passion and only makes me strive harder.” Kim believes that that if one is truly passionate and in love with fashion and design, even the long hours and painstaking attention to detail, and perfection, is precious and becomes well worth it.
When asked what he thought of Seoul’s fashion scene, Kim says, “Although there are trends, Seoul fashion changes quickly. I feel a big revolution coming soon”. With the government moving to support young, emerging and talented fashion designers, there are already many prominent designers within the Generation Next category seen at Seoul Fashion Week every season.
His current collection is inspired by extreme weather conditions such as thunder and other disastrous events, glimpses of which are depicted onto the details of his designs and needless to say, Cres. E. Dim. is for those who seek an elite elegance but with an edge.
You can browse and shop items from Cres. E. Dim. at www.Butik.ae
Images courtesy of The Butik
