Forme d'Expression – Italian-Made Menswear & Quiet Tailoring
FROM MILAN AND NEW YORK TO UMBRIA: KOEUN PARK
Forme d'Expression is the label of Koeun Park. Born in Seoul, she built her pattern making and draping skills at the École de la Chambre Syndicale in Paris, then began her career as a menswear designer at Giorgio Armani in Milan (1998 to 2002), followed by two years as a designer for the Donna Karan Collection in New York.
In 2004 she returned to Italy, where craftsmanship is still alive, founded her design company Factory of Faith and launched the label as Forme 3'3204322896, pronounced Forme d'Expression. The company is based in Umbria, close to Perugia, and every piece is made in Italy.
A LIFE SPENT ON PATTERNS
To this day, Park cuts every pattern for the collection herself. She collects vintage journals and handbooks written by cutters in the UK, America and Germany, and uses them to explore different methods of metric pattern making, especially for men's tailoring.
Production is personal too. Park cuts her productions by hand, and fuses, marks and prepares each garment one by one before it is sewn.
SYMBIOSIS: THE CLOTHES AND THE WEARER
Alongside pattern making and garment treatment, the collections rest on a philosophy Park calls Symbiosis. She thinks first about the person who will wear the clothes, and about a mutually beneficial relationship between garment and wearer: living textiles, and clothing as an extension of the self.
That is why the pieces are made to become more personal the longer they are worn. Coats, shirts, trousers and hats are developed to be layered across seasons, and a palette of carbon, anthracite, asphalt and off-white makes them easy to combine.
QUIETNESS AS A PRINCIPLE
The brand's language is restraint. Fabrics are chosen for drape and handfeel, colours stay muted, and complexity sits in the construction rather than in ornament. In Park's own words, she wants to make timeless and easy pieces. Familiar garments are shifted rather than reinvented:
• skewed trousers and hats whose lines turn slightly off centre
• sutured cotton shirts in slim, clean cuts
• wool, linen and cashmere blends with a dry, natural hand
• outerwear from short mess jackets to double-breasted chester coats
FORME D'EXPRESSION AT ORIMONO
Orimono carries Forme d'Expression's menswear, with a focus on tailoring, shirting and headwear. Our selection includes:
• cropped wool linen mess jacket, semi double-breasted car coat and wool cashmere chester coat
• baggy skewed wool linen pants and wool field pants
• slim sutured cotton shirts and the wool pop shirt
• skewed derby hats, field caps and Argo wool scarves
• pieces that pair with Ziggy Chen, Marc Point, Masnada and Y's
Read more about quiet, material-led tailoring in Ziggy Chen, or explore Forme d'Expression at Orimono.
