Perhaps soon all professions will be like this, but the part that designers have to work the hardest on is interviews. Making is a conversation with the user, and making clothes is about fulfilling the wearer's life and desires. I've met many gentlemen over the years. I've sat down and shared my thoughts with them, looked into their eyes, and observed how their bodies move. If design is just a simple work on shape and size, it's an unnecessary process.

The most frequently asked question is, "How can I become cool?" It is a vague and difficult question. Perhaps the background of this question is the idealism that ^juxtaposes the body and the appearance as a 'shell' to emphasize spiritual values. However, there is no exterior that exists separately from the interior in the world, and there is no interior that does not leak out. They are only conceptually separated.

I have long thought that the ultimate goal of being cool is to 'create your own atmosphere'. An atmosphere can naturally develop over time, but it is never easily resolved. You can show off your rare hobbies and dress up in luxury with expensive items, but if that were truly 'cool', such questions would not have arisen. What is the atmosphere of existence?

Umberto Eco, 『Storia della Bellezza, (2004)』

Umberto Eco, 『Storia della Bruttezza, (2007)』

We live without atmosphere

It is refreshing, but there are so many different kinds of beauty in the world. Proportion and harmony, light and color, elegance and reason, sublimity, romance, natural beauty, mechanical sophistication and abstraction, patterns, textures and physical properties of materials. Beauty is not exclusive to good and good things. There is beauty in sadness and gloom, and even in the tragedy of everything being disqualified. We even find some beauty in ugly and evil things. Beauty transcends material and conceptual.

Our psychological senses sense beauty incredibly quickly. The moment we first encounter an object, space, or person, we experience a momentary rejection, an immediate understanding, and a spontaneous emotional response. With a little training, we can sense the small differences in the whole, grasp the essence at once, connect the nuances, and savor the poetic atmosphere within. These first impressions are instinctive, intuitive, and very human.

I call something that triggers such complex connections in the aesthetic realm 'atmosphere'. At this time, I think that atmosphere can be described as a dominant emotion that permeates the subject. Even ordinary objects, when dressed in the atmosphere, show a special presence as if they were made by alchemy, but on the other hand, no matter how expensive the material is and how famous the name is, if there is no atmosphere, it will not attract attention.

So, the prerequisite for feeling beauty in an object is atmosphere. However, rather than being interpreted, it is not well recognized in itself because it allows the object to be savored with emotion, causing an immediate and deep impression. There are so many different beauties in the world, but this is why we live without atmosphere as much as we think. It is difficult to find unless we think carefully.

In the impatience to possess something, they just blindly collect symbols and preferences by focusing on a part. When various emotions are mixed on one subject, it is difficult to distinguish between this and that. It is just a complicated form. When they feel a sense of relief surrounded by people dressed similarly with widely distributed commodities, that becomes their atmosphere. You will not feel a subjective uniqueness or mystery from such a person.

To become a beautiful being, you must live with an atmosphere. It is not enough to simply possess beauty, but to become a beautiful being yourself. You must select individual elements that evoke emotions and make them your own emotions. There is no objective right or wrong here. This is valuable in its own way, and this is valuable in its own way. Because 'what kind of atmosphere is it' is the answer to 'what kind of person is he?'

(1)

"Architecture is a form. It is physical and existential. I am interested in actual buildings. Drawings or virtual screens do not arouse my interest. Perhaps I feel a sense of wonder in the presence or atmosphere of a space surrounded by a specific material called a building."

- 『Les Thermes de Pierre (2001)』

(2)

Peter Zumthor, 『Atmospheres: Architectural Environments. Surrounding Objects (2006)』

Architect ^{Peter Zumthor} believes that architecture must be experienced ⁽¹⁾ , and despite his fame, he has not published many books himself. He has, however, published two short books, one of which is Atmospheres (2006)』. It is interesting that the most important word that an architect, who seems to do the most systematic and logical work in the world, has compressed throughout his life is the ambiguity of 'atmosphere'.

For Zumthor, atmosphere is a concept that encapsulates the essence of architecture. He wrote, " Atmosphere is a kind of abstract feeling created by countless individual elements of space and form. Each seemingly ordinary small element must be carefully tuned and made into a single emotion . " ⁽²⁾ This is how atmosphere works.

Architecture and people are surprisingly similar. Buildings interact with their environment and blend in, or influence the people who live in them. Architects only shape materials, handle structures and details, and something with its own emotions and atmosphere arises. If you can delicately select and shape everything that affects the five senses, you can influence perception and relationships.

The human mood is much more demanding and delicate. If architecture deals with materials with fixed states, properties, and locations, we are very complex beings living our lives. People move, react, relate, and change endlessly. Emotions and thoughts react to the external environment at every moment, and are immediately expressed through facial expressions and words and actions. In relationships, our self-consciousness changes repeatedly.

One emotion on one topic

Such complex architecture cannot be easily solved with the materials of the past, the style of a commercial brand or a celebrity. Perhaps it is a process closer to growth. Atmosphere is a story about essence and identity, and it may be a question to confirm what kind of person I am.

First, put one emotion into one subject. Your subject is ultimately you. It takes practice to acknowledge yourself, select all the details, and weave them harmoniously with you. If the elements are delicately combined to create consistency, and the completeness of the whole grows to the point where it can impress someone, then your own atmosphere will be imbued.

Our bodies and minds are designed to form a unique atmosphere for each individual. The body is gradually refined by life and thoughts, and the thoughts are moved by perspectives and values. The essence of a person, even a poetic atmosphere, is derived from daily food, clothing, shelter, and countless choices. Life itself is your design.

Written by Kim Dae-cheol