sign in sign up
<<
Home , French fashion

PRESS KIT What is SMK ?

S M K was launched in August 2014 in Seoul, Korea. The brand creates dancewear & collections also suitable for daily life.

S M K stands for the initial of the designer: Sandra Meynier Kang. In the logo, the initials are displayed with a symmetrical M, echoing the number “11” which has a symbolic meaning: force, vitality, femininity. These are three distinctive features of the brand.

Sustainable development is a natural upper priority of the brand: the pursue of eco-friendly textiles and zero waste production led S M K to be creative, not only in design but during the whole creation process.

Each collection is a new challenge to carry on with sustainable creation. / 2014 / Launch of SMK in Seoul, Korea

/ 2016 / Woman & OnTimeShow in Shanghai

/ 2017 / SMK becomes a dancewear brand

/ 2018 / Collaboration with Sonata Dancewear

/ 2019 / Collaboration with Eballetshop for the Korean National Ballet & Universal Ballet Company offi cial company jackets S M K x Yoos Ballet conservatory S M K x Blue orb swimwear line

/2020/ S M K x genie x prima ballet studio Who is SMK ?

Sandra Meynier Kang is a French fashion designer who graduated from Atelier Chardon-Savard in Paris. After her study and her fi rst job experiences in , Sandra Meynier Kang decided to come to Korea where she is now working permanently, in partnerships with Korean suppliers and ateliers, in order to create S M K items in the most sustainable ways.

You can follow Sandra’s upcoming collections through her website or social networks.

/ Paris 2008 / Graduated from L’Atelier Chardon-Savard

/ March 2009 / SU 75 PARIS Designer & Overseas marketing manager

/ October 2010 / Commercial agent for several french fashion brands

/ March 2012 / Placjeans Overseas marketing manager

/ November 2012 / DOOTA contest «Top Designer» 8th fi nalist

/ December 2012 / Cres. E Dim Overseas marketing manager

/ August 2014 / S M K brand launching Our PHILOSOPHY

Animal protection Eco-friendly The brand S M K is 100% vegan and engages S M K selects available and local materials upon itself into animal protection activism. their composition which should be human-friendly or eco-friendly to create the collections.

Clear and local production Share Everything composing the collections is made, S M K engages itself to donate 1000KRW per bought & manufactured in Seoul, Korea. clothes sold to a Korean animal protection association (KARA).

Recycling Circularity S M K recycles left over textiles and materials S M K accepts returns of old S M K items in from production to create original plastic free exchange of an eco-coupon. The clothes packagings, hangers and shopping bags. returned will be upcycled into new unique pieces or as packagings. Our women DANCEWEAR collection

The inspiration of our new collection mainly comes from the outfi ts worn by ballet dancers.

We created a full range of items – from underwear to warmers – in order to bring to your dance outfi ts a new esthetic breath, through a strong engagement into eco-friendly & innovative textiles.

The core idea of this collection is the result of an in-depth research about the materials we used. Organic cotton, tencel®, repreve®, creora®, jurasil® and regenerated nylon (ECONYL®) are the roots of our new designs.

Since the beginning, S M K stands for ethical practices, cruelty-free fashion and low-waste production. The values we try to support toward fashion are the main infl uence on our creative process. The new materials we experimented for our collection embody our desire to make fashion more and more sustainable & respectful of the world we live in. Our men DANCEWEAR collection

We present our first ever menswear line made of Unisex hoodies, high waist ballet short and organic cotton leggings. For this new step in the brand, we hope to bring to men dancers the best of eco-friendly & innovative textile that we already propose in our women dancewear line. Our junior DANCEWEAR collection

This January 2020, we have launched our first junior line. For teen dancers, rhythmic gymnasts or gymnasts, we have down-graded our best items from womenswear to offer them to our younger customers. Our CLIENTS / Men’s dancewear 10% /

Men are also concerned about dancing clothes and that’s why we started creating / Women’s dancewear 70% / men’s line. Comfortable apparels and easy to wear products for dance classes. 25 to 50 years old. Centering the target for 30-340 urban and active women who like design, in need of comfortable clothes matching their lifestyle. / Junior’s dancewear 15% / Women looking closely at the quality of their garments and the values they carry. Junior’s dancewear is a very new line that is Those women are also amateur dancers or available for girls from 14 to 16 years old to professional ones, in search of functional, buy S M K dancewear in tinier sizes. casual, easy to wear and elegant clothes matching their practice and their lifestyle.

/ Accessories 5 % /

Every type of women willing to highlight their outfi t with a casual/elegant bag. Amateur dancers or professional ones willing to have the perfect bag matching with their activities and lifestyle. Our COLLABORATIONS

/ SONATA DANCEWEAR / Sonata dancewear is the leader distributor of dancewear product in Singapore, SMK developped a capsule line made of warmers and accessories. For this collection Sandra Meynier Kang created a logo inspired by New York city Ballet dancers representing a “couple grand jetté” embroidery design. The textile used are matching with the values of S M K.

/ EBALLET-SHOP / During the fall of 2018, our fi rst Korean partner E-ballet shop (N°1 Dancewear distributor in Korea) asked us to realize a mutual project: Create warm up vests for all the dancers of the Universal Ballet Company and the Korean National Ballet. After many months of work, in March 2019 we have been proud to release the collaboration and send the vests with the national dance companies. / GENIE BOUTIQUE & PRIMA BALLET STUDIO/ For this new beaginning of 2020, we will have the pleasure to release our new collaboration with Taiwanese shop GENIE BOUTIQUE & PRIMA BALLET STUDIO. We are developping for them jumpsuits in organic cotton & warm up vests.

/ YOOS BALLET CONSERVATORY / This Fall 2019, we have collaborated with the YOOS BALLET CONSERVATORY to create the students warm up vests. Our OBJECTIVES

Our mission is to create quality dancewear clothes for contemporary men and women, for their daily life dance class or just to relax at home. From the conception to the production, our products always have a casual, urban and elegant style. For our clients, our wonderful team members always keep in mind these statements.

/ For our clients /

. Functionality and maximum comfort for each items / For our brand / . We are what we wear: sustainable, attractive & quality dancewear . Ready to wear and quality dancewear. . Rise awareness in nowadays , . The team is involved 100% from the beginning to the incorporate an ethical approach to the creation, the end of a product creation. ( Every product is tested by production, the schedule and supply chain process. our CEO during dance class before the fi nal production) . Several Collaboration (bags, limited editions, artist . Reach a network of customers willing to match their featured...) with partners worldwide. lifestyle (dancers, vegan community, yogists, respecting . Open studio with personalized shopping approach. the environment, organic products consumers...) Also . Superior customer experience. (each customer can implied in what they wear. easily communicate with our team and request anything) . Defends our values: animal protection, proximity with the manufacturers. . Develop and engage the brand with associations, and communicate about strong sustainable topics that makethe brand alive through fashion and pacifi c activism. . In depth research of eco, recycled or innovative textiles that could be used for sport activities. Press Press ASIA/OCEANIA

23

Samia Liamani Blogger and co-owner

Blogger at mialiamani.com and co-owner of minandmia.com

Alex Finch

Street Fashion Photographer imalex nch.tumblr.com

& FASHION SHOPPING

Although Samia rst came to Seoul with her boyfriend, Min, after a chance meeting back in Canada, her links to Korea had begun long before. “I was the Montreal correspondent for Korea’s Cracker Your Wardrobe,” she says. “I’d always been heavily into the blogging scene, and photography. It made sense to continue my passion here.” Samia’s rst foray into online fashion sales was during her nal year of graduate studies, Alex found himself drawn to after being rst The Fashionable when she set up a temporary online store as a marketing experiment. encouraged to shoot street style by friends in 2014. When he’s not “When I came to Korea, I decided to start afresh, collaborating with Min on photographing lookbooks and street editorials, Alex can often be spotted a new online store selling Korean products abroad.” It’s not easy, she says, around Seoul – especially Garosugil – scouting out, and capturing, Crowd to keep up with Korea’s fast-moving trends. “Korea’s the leading country the best styles. “Often brands or models will contact me and propose a for – as soon as something is seen on the runway, Koreans collaboration. Mostly, it’s my pleasure,” he says. Alex lists his favorite Korean latch onto it. Everything happens so quickly: they’re made, they’re bought, brands as 87MM, 13Month and WooYoungMi. “People have told me that they’re worn on the street, then two months later, they’re gone.” fashion industry Koreans follow trends too closely and don’t do anything original, but I Meet the expats making waves in Korea’s fast-moving don’t think that’s true,” he says. “I think the scene here is only going to get Rhiannon Shepherd bigger, with more fashion people making the trip over here to collaborate. Alexa Roquemore Written by Seoul will de nitely get a lot more attention than it currently Fashion Illustrator and Editor at IFBK Seoul does.”

hen trends catch on in Korea, they catch on fast, and the fashion industry is no exception. Clothing trends go by in such a blur in Seoul that it’s often hard for outlets and distributors to keep pace. Local designers also lament the dire lack of Sasha Owen-Longfellow and Model Recruiter W sashaowen.com quality and originality at shopping hotspots such as Myeong-dong, or Dongdaemun. Nonetheless, Seoul Fashion Week is now among the most talked about in the world, with Korean models, idols, and designers spotted in many a front-row seat of international fashion weeks. But what about the foreigners battling it out en-vogue in Korea’s fast-moving fashion scene? We meet five Seoul expats who’ve stood the test of time. Julian Woodhouse Designer and Owner, Woodhouse woodhouseocial.com

Sandra Meynier Kang Designer and Owner, SMK sandrameynierkang.com

An oil painter since college, Alexa found herself inadvertently thrown into Korea’s fashion scene in 2014, when she attended Seoul Fashion Week purely to sit and sketch the attendees. “While I was sitting, I actually met a lot of really interesting people, and one person in particular gave me a ticket to a show. It changed everything for me; from that day I began .” Alexa currently works with IFBKSeoul – a fashion- Sasha was the rst foreign model to sign to Korean entertainment giant, based blog and webzine that introduces Korean fashion to people from YGK Plus, having arrived in Seoul in 2009 after working as a model in around the world. She lists a few of her favorite Korean fashion brands Tokyo. “I couldn’t believe it at rst,” she says. “Everything in Japan feels as Centaur and Pale Turquoise. “I feel like designers and clothes in Korea so calculated, but in Korea, photographers and artists take risks. I love are a lot more relatable than at home. You generally won't nd really the energy.” Despite having spent the last 15 years modeling clothes for super avante-garde art pieces here, but designers always have really solid lookbooks and editorials, Sasha says she doesn’t care much for shopping concepts with lots of fun clothes.” Alexa is in the process of making her in Korea. “I like the Korean brand Resurrection, and my friend's new label Julian’s transition into fashion was far from ordinary. A long-time fashion rst piece - a faux fur coat - as a foray into more collaborative work. “My Pragmatic has a red letter jacket I wear almost every day. Aside from that, I illustrator, blogger, and business graduate, Julian was deployed to Korea ultimate goal is to work with designers – so rst I need to show them what could spend a few hours living in the aisles of Olive Young.” While planning as a soldier in the US Army. “My rst taste of the industry here was at Seoul I'm capable of!” her retirement from modeling this year, Sasha reects on the future of Fashion Week in the fall of 2013. I dressed as I normally would to an event Korea’s fashion scene. “I wish everyone would let go of the hyper-trend- and ended up getting a lot of press.” Julian began to work as a model and focus and try to let loose. Everyone seems a bit trapped in the government- a stylist, but he says his main focus was to learn. “Being a designer came Sandra rst came to Seoul while working for French leather-jacket brand SU sponsored world though, so it’ll be interesting to see what develops over later, as a byproduct of a friendship. I found a solid team, and our hard 75 Paris, having graduated from the prestigious L’Atelier Chardon Savard in the next few years.” work paid o last year when we presented at New York Fashion Week F/W 2008. Sandra fell in love with the city, moved here in 2010, and worked for 2016.” His brand, WOOD HOUSE, is a menswear label which provides its several Korean fashion brands before competing on the popular TV show wearers with “options.” “To really be a successful designer, one needs to “Top Designer.” “I didn’t speci cally want to be involved in the ‘Korean discover a style that is strong, a price point that matches how the industry fashion scene,” Sandra says. “I started my second brand, SMK, in 2014, views the brand, and a vigorous marketing technique to stay relevant and with the speci c aim of exploring fashion alongside sustainable growth.” consistent. Korean brands have great style, but they still have some way to Sandra is passionate about sustainability; all SMK collection materials are go before they dominate all three.” bought and made locally, and each collection sees a percentage of sales go to charity. But to what does Sandra owe her drive? “I think working part-time in a restaurant taught me just as much as fashion school! I had to be fast, to synchronize my movements, to think all the time; I learned a lot of very valuable business skills.”

Press USA

AGBA GREEN BEAUTY // SUSTAINABLE & ETHICAL

SUMMER 2016 SUMMER

20.99 CANADA 20.99

$

DISPLAY UNTIL OCTOBER 1, 2016 1, OCTOBER UNTIL DISPLAY

18.99 US | US 18.99 $ Retailers Offline

Seoul, South Korea

Singapore

Seoul, South Korea

Seoul, South Korea

Taiwan City, Taiwan Retailers Online

Marseille, France

Hiroshima, Japan

Seoul, South Korea

Seoul, South Korea NOTICE & TERMS

/ Used defi nitions /

Vegan: a person who does not eat any food that comes from animals and who also does not use animal products (such as leather) / Copyright / Sustainable: involving methods that don’t completely use up or destroy natural resources. The pictures, videos and logos belong to S M K and Ethical: of or relating to moral principles or the branch of partners credits are compulsory. The copyright of the knowledge dealing with these. pictures, logos and videos are protected contents which Athleisure: style of clothing worn as athletic apparel but cannot be modifi ed without agreement. also suitable for casual, daily wear. Dancewear: clothing suitable for dance classes and rehearsals, such as tights, leotards, and bodysuits. / Suggestion of Hashtags / / keywords / #sustainable #ethical #eco #greenfashion #sustainablelifestyle #sustainablefashion #vegan / ethical fashion / eco-responsible / #dancewear #casual #organiccotton #intelligenttextile human friendly / animal friendly / animal protection / #balletwear #비건 #오가닉 #개주얼 #댄스웨어 #발레복 casual / dancewear / ballet wear # 에스엠케이 #성인발레 #smk #sandrameynierkang

/ Authorized logos / Contact us

/ FOR BUSINESS INQUIRY / [email protected]

/ FOR DESIGNER INQUIRY / [email protected]

/ FOR PRESS INQUIRY / [email protected]

+82 10 4062 6920 / FOR ONLINE SHOP INQUIRY / [email protected] BH building 3FL, 191-6 Jangchung-Dong, Jung-gu SEOUL KOREA

www.sandrameynierkang.com