KOR

Last Thursday we had our first interview for the blog and I have to tell you I was quite nervous. After spending my morning at a press presentation at the hotel Triest (a really nice design hotel) I was sooo tired that I had 2 redbulls and around 5 espressos, maybe that’s the reason for my jumping heart. ;) Anyhow,… Arriving at this rooftop atelier/flat Raphael the one half of the duo, offered us Colafläschen (a really strong bribe) and so we sat down and start talking about fashion, beauty, Japan and learned how a French literature student started to become a designer.

AW: Noriko is from Japan, you are from Austria, Raphael, tell us how did this collaboration happen?

KOR; I studied in Japan for a year and a half and had an internship in a fashion company. That’s when I met Noriko for the first time. I was really impressed by Noriko and the way she sees fashion. So we started thinking about starting our own brand and here we are -KOR!

AW: So you met in Japan: What is Norikos background?

KOR: She studied philosophy first but then found her passion for fashion.  After finishing college in Belgium she wanted to be more independent. So we started KOR.

AW: So are you a Japanese or an Austrian label?

KOR: For us, the nationality isn’t important. Our fashion lives from ideas and creativity not from the culture of our home countries. We are just a fashion brand!

AW: Philosophy is something totally different from fashion. How does philosophy influence your fashion?

KOR: Your collection is named "The Female in Aestheticism". Aestheticism is a genre in literature. It was established in the 19th century and defines beauty as the ultimate purpose in life. The individual has the freedom to choose his own definition of beauty.  Beauty for example could be romantic and sweet, as well as evil and bad. One can see the total beauty in a flower, another one in killing a human being. We give special attention to cut and body line to represent the concept of the collection.

AW: Why have you chosen Austria to start your career in fashion?

KOR: Austria is a small country with a small fashion scene. Because of that it is not that hard to get in touch with the right people. In cities like Paris or London the competition is huge so starting a brand is not easy at all.

AW: And do you like Vienna?

KOR: I really do like Vienna. All the people on the street have a smile on their faces.

AW: What are your next steps?

KOR: We hope that we can get in touch with a lot of people and build up our international connections to show our collections next year in Berlin and Paris.

AW: Do you dress up for yourself or for others? 

KOR: We think it is important to find the right balance. Everything is about expression and impression. Fashion means caring about yourself and for others. That is also the theme of your next collection: Finding the middle way between the inside and the outside!

AW: Who do you admire? Who influences you?

KOR: I really like Ann Demeulemeester, Vivienne Westwood and Yohji Yamamoto. But I actually take all my inputs for my work out of the books I read. While reading questions arise and I try to answer these questions through my work.

AW: Where do you produce your clothes?

KOR: We produce in Vienna and the fabrics are being sourced from local suppliers to ensure high quality in product and material. That makes our production more expensive but ensures the high quality.

AW: What’s your goal in life?

KOR: For me the most important thing in life is to surprise people and make people feel something. If you provoke through your fashion it is easy to get a feedback from people but if your fashion is simpler and clean it harder. You have to ensure quality and have a story behind your clothes to get a feedback.

KOR @ MQ VIENNA FASHIONWEEK 2009 Stand 113/ Showroom

WWW.KORFASHION.COM