“The more I make clothes, the more my style tends towards simplicity” - Alt Ki, founder of Bastong - Déclic #11

(Cover photo credit: Alt Ki / Bastong)

If you are familiar with our columns, this is probably not the first time that you have come across the name Bastong on your road. If not, what is it? From a Korean clothing brand founded in 2011 and based in Seoul, with a statement of style and a passion for materials as we like them . Its founder is called Alt Ki and for practical reasons, our exchange will only be by e-mail. As surprising as it may seem, he already knows our work.

No matter the apparent language barriers: fashion has something completely universal, even if the notion of style varies from one country to another. In Seoul you can find exciting brands and clothing, with a decidedly unique style proposition. So much so that we can now speak of Korean style .

If you are a cinema fan, this point will probably not have escaped you: the aesthetics of South Korean films play on both the decor and the clothing , and we can no longer count the examples of inspiring outfits discovered in the cinema of Hong Sang-soo, Park Chan-wook or Bong Joon-ho.

How to explain this phenomenon ? Alt Ki won't really give us the answer. But we guess from reading it that it is probably a marriage between local specificities and external influences . How did clothing come into his life? He tells.

First memories with clothing

“I took art classes from a very young age. I dreamed of becoming a painter . I was a calm child who loved to draw. I could draw for hours and I remember how nice it was to receive compliments on my drawings.

My mother usually decided what I should wear when I was little. She paid attention to the way I was dressed and she had good taste .

There is a little story that I still remember. I was playing near the house when a classmate passed by. I can still hear him say , “He usually dresses nice in class.” I almost didn't recognize him in that old t-shirt." I wore a slightly outdated pink t-shirt with stripes and I never wore it again after that. It was at this moment I think I understood that fashion was important. »

Adolescence and the arrival of foreign brands

“Looking back, Korea was not culturally very rich because the country was poor after the war. In my early teens, Korean culture was mainly influenced by the United States and Japan . Nike was the most admired brand and Michael Jordan was the biggest children's idol.

Korea experienced a huge influx of foreign culture when I was in middle school, around 1994. Many international fashion houses entered the domestic market, for example. Brightly colored European brands such as Benetton , Head and Fila, and American brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, with bold lines, have opened stores in Korea. It was an exciting time.

Each brand was in its own way shocking and refreshing at the same time. It's like we're thrown into a whole new world . At that time, I saved all my money and spent every penny on clothes.

I was madly in love with fashion and clothes . I once even threatened my parents that I would leave the house if they didn't get me the shearling leather jacket I wanted. I wasn't a very smart teenager, but I fully appreciated the arrival of foreign brands and new things. It was very stimulating. »

The transition to the fashion profession

“Fashion came later, once I was an adult. It was a small affair at first. I opened a small retail business around 2008, I was a style consultant. Each time it was a great joy to satisfy customers with the outfits I offered them . The business grew through word of mouth, but I started to feel frustrated after a few years. I was less and less satisfied with the clothes available on the market .

When I liked the design, the quality wasn't up to par and when the quality was good, it was the design that was wrong. I kept telling myself “I should make clothes myself” and finally decided one day to really give it a go.

I started visiting fabric markets and garment factories every day. It cost me a lot and I had my share of failures with this first experience. But the more I learned, the more I loved this work. This is how my desire to create a lasting brand, which was as solid as a rock, was born.

Bastong has been around for 11 years now and the brand continues to grow . It is now a fashion house, with its own workshop. It's as if the brand has just finished school and is now ready to take on the world. »

The style, the cut or the fabric?

“Everything is important to me. I think you can say you have a beautiful piece of clothing when all three combine to perfection. There are priorities, of course. During the design phase, for example, I used to think first about the style and colors, taking inspiration from films, documentaries and magazines .

Today, I invest more time in studying fabrics. I've even come to believe that what's most important is considering the color, feel, and unique thickness of each fabric . By designing a garment based on this understanding, you never miss your target. »

5. Personal style: simplicity above all

“My favorite looks are the ones you can see in the Bastong lookbooks. This is really the style I aspire to. Strangely, the more clothes I make, the more my personal style tends toward simplicity . I no longer particularly care about being well dressed every day. I mainly focus on how my clients dress, their style and their clothes.

For my part, I dress very simply for work. There's nothing particularly fun about my style today. One thing I always take into account, however, when it comes to dressing for a special occasion, is to favor simple colors . I don't mix more than three colors in an outfit and I try not to play with more than two different color shades. »

6. Centers of interest: sport, decoration and architecture

“Fashion was my only goal for a very long time. I even considered it a race. All I cared about was becoming a fashion expert . It was only in the last few years that I realized that I needed to look around me, see and understand more of the world around me.

This helps me grow my clothing brand . Since then, I've been much more open to trying anything that piques my interest. I like tennis and cycling. I love interior design and architecture. Architecture in particular is a captivating subject that I enjoy delving into more and more. »

Style and Koreans

“Bastong does not represent the most common Korean style. I think most Koreans like to keep things simple, clean and tidy . They care about cleanliness and are concerned about dust or wrinkles on clothes. They also like to buy new clothes.

Take for example the author of Gangnam Style, Psy: his hair is so well straightened that not a single strand sticks out. Most Koreans tend to prefer polite, simple and clean styles. Oversized looks, dropped shoulders and wide-leg pants are all the rage right now.

But Bastong is a brand with a strong identity, which is only slightly influenced by the comings and goings of trends . I'm keeping an eye on it, but I would need to study the current trends a little more to be able to comment on them. »

Natural materials: the future of fashion

“I spent a lot of time thinking about the future of fashion . Technical fabric clothing offers convenience and versatility. But the comfort and satisfaction provided by natural materials are still incomparable to this day . For the Earth to be better off, we would have to completely stop producing and consuming, but is that even possible?

The best we can do is promote durable clothes , those that we wear with pleasure for years, rather than ephemeral clothes that we quickly tire of. In the end, wouldn't clothes made with natural materials be better for the world? »