Creative Director of the prestigious French fashion house ‘Maison Smalto’,Young Chong Bak is the daughter of South Korean parents, and grew up in Switzerland. Following her formal education there, Bak decided that her interests lay in the world of fashion, and thus moved to Paris to study at the prestigious ‘École supérieure des arts et techniques de la mode’, or ESMOD for short, a private fashion and business college that has been the training ground for some of the biggest names in fashion.
Bak joined ‘Masion Smalto’ after her graduation from ESMOD at the age of 22, and worked as an apprentice under Franck Boclet, the well-respected Creative Director of the label. Bak learned a great deal from Boclet whilst working as his assistant, but in 2007 Boclet decided to leave ‘Maison Smalto’, which left Young Chong Bak as the obvious candidate to fill his shoes. This she did, but if anyone expected the brand to continue exactly the same as it was under Boclet, they would be wrong. This isn’t to say Young Chong Bak set about a revolution, evolution would be a more appropriate description. Subtle changes underpinned its collections, with lighter colours and softer silhouettes and shapes portraying a more metrosexual image than previous.
As one of the more traditional French fashion houses, ‘Maison Smalto’ took a risk in appointing Young Chong Bak, but her evolution of the label has seen it retain its place on the world fashion map and should go from strength-to-strength for many years to come, under her very talented and watchful eye.
Website: www.smalto.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/smalto-paris
Facebook: www.facebook.com/maisonsmalto
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