Global expansion is in the cards for Songzio. The Avant-Garde South Korean fashion house, founded in 1993, is one of the country’s first ever designer brands, and continues to serve as a bridge between East and West over three decades later. A lot of the brand’s ethos is rooted in duality, highlighting the balance between tradition and avant-garde, Korean innovation and European sophistication and the deliberate exuberance of the west and the raw fluidity of the east. “We create a unique look between form and function, symmetry and asymmetry, perfection and imperfection,” Creative Director Jay Songzio tells Hypebeast.

Brought up in Paris surrounded by paintings, sculptures and artisanal obsessions, Songzio quickly understood that “every garment was a canvas and a work of craft.” He applies this understanding to the brand’s dichotomies and views them holistically, converging the dualisms to create an undivided narrative. Songzio’s animating principle is also evident in the brand’s second Paris flagship, which is dedicated to womenswear and opened its door shortly after their men’s flagship last November.

Designed by the Creative Director himself, the space spans two floors and brings a striking Korean modernism to the Parisian landscape. The architecture is founded on the concept of duality, where opposites coexist. The exterior features a neo-brutalist concrete facade that boldly penetrates the traditional Haussmannian building. Inside, brut and textured concrete is paired with refined black oakwood, creating a stark contrast with the perfected garments on display.

The monolithic and sculptural furniture pieces are by Belgian designer Arno Declercq, whose works, inspired by African ritual objects and brutalist architecture, emphasize purity of form and the depth of materials like Iroko wood and blackened steel. The store, which officially opened on September 11, not only displays the collections but also the brand’s artworks and creative process.

At the end of the day, Songzio wants the clothes to emit the feeling of “powerful yet contemplative.” He continues, “When someone wears Songzio, I want them to feel the weight of intention — every stitch carries purpose. There’s a duality: the garment should provide armor, a protective second skin that amplifies presence, while simultaneously allowing vulnerability and introspection.”

“There’s a certain gravity,” Songzio shares, “a quietness that comes from wearing something architecturally complex yet emotionally resonant. It’s not about comfort in the conventional sense—it’s about the confidence that comes from knowing you’re wearing something deeply considered.”

How do you define Songzio’s style and inspirations?

Avant-Garde Elegance. It is born from dualism: order and chaos, strength and fragility, darkness and light. We create pieces that are powerfully tailored and sculptural, yet possess a dark, poetic romanticism. You’ll see sharp, precise lines that suddenly collapse into sculptural drapes, bold volumes transforming into fluid silhouettes. Our design is about precision balance, creating simplicity with complexities, where bold surfaces conceal meticulous structural details.

My primary inspiration is the process of creation itself, always beginning with paintings and drawings, which evolve into garments as sculpted objects. Each collection is an exploration of an internal feeling, externalized through silhouette, texture, and form.

What kind of man and woman do you envision wearing Songzio?

They are creators and thinkers who dress for an audience of one. I design for individuals who live intentionally. They’re creators themselves —  artists, architects, musicians, thinkers — people whose professions or passions require deep engagement with craft. They understand process, appreciate the invisible labor behind visible beauty. Our man appreciates the precision of a perfectly constructed shoulder while understanding the poetry of an asymmetrical drape. Our woman embodies strength through subtlety — she’s not announcing herself loudly but commanding space through considered presence.

As Korea’s first-generation brand, how do you see your role in today’s world with much attention to Korean culture?

We’re not riding a trend — we’re part of its origin. Both in Paris, where we have been present for two decades, and in Seoul where we laid the foundation of what it is to be a designer brand. Our role is to elevate our culture, presenting enduring craft and original thought beyond trend cycles while also a new generation of Korean artistry on international stage.

While Korean culture showcases dynamism, we represent the fine art undercurrent—depth, authenticity, and masterful craftsmanship. We’re proving Korean design’s voice isn’t fleeting, but a permanent fixture in the international conversation.

You’ve appointed two new ambassadors this year, tell us about them.

We’re honored to have Seonghwa from ATEEZ as our first global ambassador and Choi Hee-Jin as our first womenswear ambassador. Both embody Songzio’s ethos — they’re artists who appreciate craftsmanship, architectural design, and cultural synthesis. Their influence spans music, performance, and fashion, aligning perfectly with our interdisciplinary approach.

Together, they embody cultural substance over visibility, artists who personify restraint, discipline, and modern elegance. They’re connoisseurs who understand our process, artists with distinct creation narratives.

Tell us about your Spring/Sumer 26 collection Polyptych, which you presented during last men’s fashion week in Paris.

Polyptych is our most radical collection yet, a constructed chaos of contrast. Just as a polyptych painting reveals full resonance only when viewed as a whole, this collection dissects traditional architecture and reassembles it into daring, asymmetrical formations. We sliced Korean hanbok and Western armor into abstracted shards, recontextualizing them not to erase history but to innovate — creating traces of the past layered beneath bold forms of the future. Influenced by Korean art theory where negative space is presence, not absence, volumes swell and recede, refusing to flatter the body. Instead, the wearer becomes sculpture in motion — garments orbit the body through bias cuts and vertical cascading panels that form ghostly veils.

Tell us about your brand’s latest flagship store in Paris. What does it mean to your brand?

The consecutive opening of our Paris men’s and women’s flagship was a pivotal moment for our brand. After years showing at Paris Fashion Week, this permanent home marks our transition from guest to resident. It’s a living gallery for collections and artisanal pieces, signifying our commitment as a global house with direct connection to international clientele.

Designed by myself, this neo-brutalist store located in le Marais brings a striking Korean modernism to Paris. The store is the embodiment of Songzio’s creative concept of dualism coexisting in Order and Disorder: symmetry and asymmetry, light and darkness, curves and angles, mass and division, finitude and infinitude, bold yet peaceful, complex yet quiet, classical yet avant-garde.

“Paris is our second native language — its couture rigor and culture of critique sharpen our pursuit of newness. Seoul is our heart: velocity, experimentation, raw energy where identity is forged.”

Why Paris? What does the city mean to your brand, and how is it different from Seoul?

Paris is our second native language — its couture rigor and culture of critique sharpen our pursuit of newness. Seoul is our heart: velocity, experimentation, raw energy where identity is forged. Paris provides precision and permanence, the global stage where we refine that energy into its purest form. The dialogue between them defines our cross-continental modernity.

Which artists did you collaborate with in developing the project?

We collaborated with a renowned Belgian Designer Arno Declercq. Aligning architecture to the brand’s canvas-to-tailoring creative continuum, we used raw, monolithic materials like concrete and blackened steel to create a space that feels both elemental and refined. His unique works blend sculptural form with functional purpose through which objects become more than just decoration, but a part of the space’s atmosphere.

How did you come about opening two stores in Paris, and where else are your collections sold?

The Marais flagship’s incredible response drove organic expansion. Globally, we’re placed with partners from high-end department stores to boutiques who respect our narrative — Printemps, La Samaritaine, Harvey Nichols, H.Lorenzo, Dantone, HBX to name a few. In Korea, our 100+ stores worldwide provide distribution backbone for artisanal product at scale, while maintaining brand integrity.

Tell us about your upcoming collaboration with Heliot Emil. How did you come to work with them?

The collaboration with Heliot Emil is a meeting of minds. I’ve had a great deal of respect for the work of Julius and Victor Juul. Their provocative, industrial, and highly technical approach to fashion is fascinating. We found common ground in our shared interest in architectural silhouettes and innovative materiality, but we approach it from different perspectives. Songzio comes from a place of dark romanticism and emotive construction, while Heliot Emil brings a sharp, Scandinavian, and almost scientific precision.

We connected naturally through Paris Fashion Week, recognizing a mutual ambition to push boundaries. This collaboration is a dialogue between our two worlds — blending our house’s artisanal draping with their technical fabrications to create something new and challenging for both brands.

The Global launch is set on the 7th of November.

You seem to blend art and fashion, how do you work with artists and how do they influence your work?

Through Galerie Noir, we’ve institutionalized our commitment to art-fashion dialogue. We view fashion as wearable sculpture and collaborate with artists who share our vision of blurring boundaries between disciplines. These collaborations inform our textile treatments, silhouettes, and conceptual frameworks.

What is next for Songzio?

Deepening Global presence while expanding our art-fashion initiatives. More womenswear and accessories, additional flagships in cultural capitals. However, the north star remains unchanged: pursue complete newness with integrity — architecting garments as enduring objects for a global audience increasingly fluent in Korean creativity. Solidifying Songzio as a permanent, multi-disciplinary avant-garde house with unwavering artistic voice.