Siki Im was selected as the winner of a Creative Promise Prize in Fashion for his menswear designs that draw inspiration from architecture, culture, politics, and psychology. Im is the fashion designer behind SIKI IM, a line of luxury menswear, and DEN IM, a denim and basics extension line.
A former architect, he is interested in the intersections of culture, theory, and psychology within the design process. Sold in stores worldwide, each of Im’s collections centers on a theme (from immigrants and xenophobia to The Lord of the Flies), which he researches in depth to build into a collection of draped, often unisex pieces.
He seeks to grow his company into a multi-focus creative design studio that also works in architecture and product design. Siki Im was born in Germany to Korean immigrant parents.
SPRING 2018 MENSWEAR
The designer had been thinking about Georgia O’Keeffe, in particular the pre-eminent painter’s exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum (one week left), which sheds as much light on her personal, recreational style as it does on the monumentality of her work. That she wore ordinary clothes—blue jeans, stripes, color—in her off-time, while reserving her dark, imposing, monastic wardrobe for her public persona, fascinated Im. “She had a secret attire, a sort of double life,” he said. “I feel like I’m on the same path.”
FALL 2017 MENSWEAR
His signature dramatic draping and clever use of black, indigo, maroon and gray hues with unexpected pops of bright pink are balanced in the form of asymmetrical outerwear, blazers, hoodies and more. The overall theme injects various cross-cultural references as a mix between S.E. Hinton’s Ponyboy character from The Outsiders, is fused with looks from urban cowboys and Buddhist monks.
SPRING 2017 MENSWEAR
The clothes are amazing as usual. I adore that trench coat, which is 100% wool, but apparently waterproof. The collection also has fantastic use of layering and angles. “That comes from my architectural training,” Im told me. “I love good proportions, good scale. It has to have a certain proportion, for me. Scale and mass, like a building.”
Siki Im
