Italian luxury fashion house Ferragamo collaborated with Korean artist Lee Sea-hyun for its collection of silk, cashmere and wool accessories.
Lee is known for the “red landscape” images that depict North and South Korean scenes in delicate washes of crimson orange, reflecting Korea’s sociopolitical reality. His paintings have been exhibited internationally in the U.K., Switzerland, Amsterdam, New York and Seoul.
The first partnership between Ferragamo and Lee began when the brand’s Asia-Pacific CEO began to search for the artist whose works have been one of his favorite collections of art.
Artist Lee Sea-hyun poses at Salvatore Ferragamo’s flagship store in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul. (Salvatore Ferragamo)
“Ferragamo’s signature red somehow goes hand in hand with Lee’s crimson-orange paintings,” said Lucia Choi, director for promotion and marketing of Ferragamo. “We thought about which product would best present the images, and that was the silk scarf,” said Choi.
For the project, Lee created a new work for his “Between Red” series, featuring friendlier landscape images compared to his previous works. Images he used for the scarf print include a scenic pavilion in the coastal town of Sokcho, Gyeonghoeru Pavilion in Gyeongbokgung Palace, a venue for royal feasts, and beautiful islands on the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula.
Lee’s previous works featured images of the Demilitarized Zone, the border line between North and South Korea and depressed rural landscapes to reflect the division of Korea. He drew Korean landscapes exclusively in red as seen in images observed through the visual and visible light detection scope used by the military.
“I hope this partnership will be a chance to let more people know my work and facilitate more partnerships between fashion brands and Korean artists,” he said.
The scarves are available in different fabrics such as silk, cashmere and wool in red, purple and blue. The prices range from 320,000 won to 1.65 million won ($292-$1,507).
By Lee Woo-young (
wylee@heraldcorp.com)
