ddp design fair

Zenny Closet is a name that arouses curiosity.

It is an eco-designer brand that pursues a slow life and suggests values and individuality for the era we live in now. We believe that the journey matters more than the outcome, and we create sustainable products that interact with nature, find balance and strive for recovery.

The first thing that catches my attention is the unique logo.

I wanted to tell a story about how to live rather than how to wear through our logo, which represents the philosophy of the brand. I was thinking of ideas for our logo, and one day while I was mending clothes, the hook on the waist of a pair of pants looked like a deer. At that moment, I thought I could use this hook for our logo to embody my resolute determination and vision to make the world beautiful, giving new life to discarded things. The deer logo designed through the upcycling of buckle hooks and yokes represents our brand's philosophy, incorporating the source of life of nature and humans into our products.

How did the brand start? Is there an interesting story behind the origin of the brand?

I opened an atelier with two sewing machines and several clothes hanging in a small space less than 20 square meters. I had no customers for a while. One day, a lady cautiously stepped into our store and said, “Will I be able to get this repaired? I have this leather coat I’ve been wearing for long time. It’s one of my favorites, so I want to get it repaired and wear it again.” So, I started working on the piece, taking the old worn leather apart one by one and patching it with new leather to make it look like new, and the response was overwhelming. Then, by a coincidence of fate, someone asked me if I could upcycle used hanbok, and I turned it into a chic hanbok blouse, the only one in the world. All of a sudden, the empty store of Zenny Closet started to be filled with jeans, jackets, dresses, jumpers and other old worn clothes from other people’s closet .

I am looking forward to what you are upcycling these days.

There are a lot of fabrics thrown away in our everyday lives. We are developing a wide range of upcycled products since we signed an exclusive MOU with a digital printing company that does not use water. We also signed an exclusive MOU with the golf company Golfzon and released tote bags and mini bags by digitally printing on discarded fabrics used for golf impact screens. In addition, we launched the ZC Line, which introduced the luxury brand Goyard’s coating technology to print on discarded jeans.

What recent trends do you find to be most interesting?

The trend of “upcycling fashion”, which has been attracting a lot of attention for a long time, holds great significance to many of us, but I think the trend that designers should pursue is to think about innovative technologies and the seriousness and gravity of environmental pollution and suggest ways to solve problems from the manufacturing process. That’s why we aim to be 100 percent eco-friendly while we make products and started to use digital printing technology that does not use water.

What are you most looking forward to through your participation in this DDP Design Fair?

My greatest desire is to eliminate the prejudice against recycled and upcycled products. One of my missions is to break the stereotype that people feel uncomfortable to use a product upcycled from something that has been used by others and repurposed items have poor quality. I hope that Zenny Closet’s booth provides an opportunity to break such prejudice and stereotype, and I would like to convey the new value of upcycling and recycling through the exhibition.