Man’s Baeja

Sean Lee: "I designed the baeja with a silhouette of a line falling from head to shoulders inspired by sseugae skirt, the headdress worn by women during the Joseon period. Sseugae is one type of traditional clothing covering the head and shoulders when women went out. It was ornamental and also kept women warm. I thought it was similar to the hood of a modern jacket, so I applied the silhouette of sseugae skirt to the hood part of baeja in designing my works for this exhibition. I attached a reversible zipper to the hood, which is zippered to the body shell so that it can be easily put on and taken off. Lined with faux fur to emphasize warmth, this piece is reversible, one of the basic features of baeja, and it shows various combinations of different materials. I used the elastic thread quilting method to produce a naturally flowing image of cracked land from the hood down. I used black as the main color to evoke a modern feeling. Through quilting, I intended to express the delicate feeling of texture imparted from black fabric.
The second zip-up baeja for a man was inspired by traditional baeja. I tried to match an abundant sense of volume and beauty of curves seen in hanbok with the beauty of straight lines of modern design. I also express the understated decorative beauty of Korea by using typical details of traditional baeja such as slits, asymmetry, and irregular creases. I used neutral and black colors. This piece is made of waterproof polyester to be worn on rainy days."