Wooyoungmi Opens Flagship Multi-Cultural Space in Itaewon, Realizing Its Philosophy Through Light, Space, and Music

- Wooyoungmi’s Universe Completed by Light and Sound; A Multi-Cultural Space Blending Fashion, Architecture, Gastronomy, and Music
- Brought to Life Through Creative Collaborations with Artists such as Choi Dongwook, designallee, Alain Ducasse, and ANDO PROJEKT

Luxury designer brand Wooyoungmi will open its first standalone flagship store in Korea, "Wooyoungmi Itaewon," on October 29, 2025. This marks the brand's third standalone flagship globally and its first in Seoul. The space is conceived as a multi-cultural venue encompassing fashion, architecture, gastronomy, and music, allowing visitors to experience the brand's philosophy and lifestyle in one place.

"Wooyoungmi Itaewon" spans four floors, featuring menswear and womenswear boutiques, a brand-inspired Cafe de Wooyoungmi, a rooftop garden, and a restaurant. The architecture was designed by Swiss firm Stocker Lee Architetti, achieving Wooyoungmi's signature restrained aesthetics through a fa?ade that combines concrete and glass blocks, finished with mineral painting.

Rooted in the philosophy that "the floor plan is functional, and the vertical structure is emotional," the architecture organically intertwines fashion, architecture, and emotion to offer a new experience. This philosophy permeates the space's form, proportions, and material combinations, creating sensory tension and balance within structural simplicity. The restrained structure and subtle details harmonize, culminating in the core aesthetics of elegance and delicacy. The architect found the source of spatial inspiration in "the flow of movement" and "vertical depth," concepts that are expanded throughout the building's structural design.

In particular, the application of a skip floor structure naturally connects the levels between floors, providing a seamless visual and physical experience. This connectivity forms an organic relationship between exterior and interior, architecture and people, nature and emotion, infusing the entire space with an inclusive energy.

On top of this structure, "light" and "sound" complete the emotional depth. Although invisible, these essential elements define the atmosphere and mood of the space, realized through glass blocks and concrete. As each material receives light differently, the interplay of light and shadow creates rhythm within the space, while sounds reverberating along the high ceilings add sensory density throughout the building.

The exterior, composed of concrete and glass blocks, leaves a striking impression with curves and asymmetrical lines inspired by Itaewon's terrain. The entire building is finished with mineral painting, a technique rarely used in Korea, allowing the texture and color of the surface to change subtly according to the direction and time of natural light. This organic surface reflects the designer's philosophy of harmonizing nature and humanity, architecture and emotion.

Each of the building's four floors maintains an independent character while forming a unified organic flow. The metal entrance object and metallic fitting rooms were created in collaboration with ANDO PROJEKT, led by artist Ahn Dohyun, following their work at Manmade Dosan. The first floor features a lounge and menswear boutique, showcasing a furniture collection co-created with artist Choi Dongwook.

The second and third floors serve as womenswear boutiques and exhibition spaces for key looks from the Paris collection, highlighted by the contrast between glass block walls and massive red curtains. The fourth floor houses Cafe de Wooyoungmi, which extends the brand's aesthetic through signature drinks and desserts.

The rooftop is a city garden designed in collaboration with Hyunmi Woo and Kyungmi Woo, principals of designallee, adding the rhythm of nature to the gray architecture through sculptural mounding and grasses. At the end of the year, a restaurant in partnership with Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse is scheduled to open in the basement.

To celebrate the store opening, customers who make a purchase will receive a Wooyoungmi nylon string bag on a first-come, first-served basis. This reward was created to allow customers to experience Wooyoungmi's minimal design in everyday life. Additionally, a variety of regular programs, such as DJ performances, will blend music and fashion, establishing the venue as a new cultural space.

This flagship store opening marks an opportunity to expand the brand's vision-established in major global cities including Paris-to Seoul. "Wooyoungmi Itaewon" will become a symbolic place where the brand's identity and the city's energy intersect, embodying Wooyoungmi's aesthetics in a spatial form.