P R E S S K I T

S M K was launched in August 2014 in Seoul, Korea. The brand creates dancewear & athleisure collections also suitable for daily life.

S M K stands for the initial of the designer: Sandra Meynier Kang. In the logo, the initials are displayed with a symmetrical M, echoing the number “11” which has a symbolic meaning: force, vitality, femininity. These are three distinctive features of the brand.

Sustainable development is a natural upper priority of the brand: the pursue of eco-friendly textiles and zero waste production led S M K to be creative, not only in design but during the whole creation process.

Each collection is a new challenge to carry on with sustainable fashion creation.

/ 2014 / Launch of SMK in Seoul, Korea

/ 2016 / Woman Paris & OnTimeShow in Shanghai

/ 2017 / SMK becomes a dancewear brand

/ 2018 / Collaboration with Sonata Dancewear

/ 2019 / Collaboration with Eballetshop for the Korean National Ballet & Universal Ballet Company offi cial company jackets S M K x Yoos Ballet conservatory S M K x Blue orb swimwear line

/2020/ S M K x genie x prima ballet studio

What is SMK ?

Sandra Meynier Kang is a French fashion designer who graduated from Atelier Chardon-Savard in Paris. After her study and her fi rst job experiences in France, Sandra Meynier Kang decided to come to Korea where she is now working permanently, in partnerships with Korean suppliers and ateliers, in order to create S M K items in the most sustainable ways.

You can follow Sandra’s upcoming collections through her website or social networks.

Who is SMK ?

/ Paris 2008 / Graduated from L’Atelier Chardon-Savard

/ March 2009 / SU 75 PARIS Designer & Overseas marketing manager

/ October 2010 / Commercial agent for several french fashion brands

/ March 2012 / Placjeans Overseas marketing manager

/ November 2012 / DOOTA contest «Top Designer» 8th fi nalist

/ December 2012 / Cres. E Dim Overseas marketing manager

/ August 2014 / S M K brand launching

Our PHILOSOPHY

Animal protection

The brand S M K is 100% vegan and engages itself into animal protection activism.

Clear and local productionEverything composing the collections is made, bought & manufactured in Seoul, Korea.

RecyclingS M K recycles left over textiles and materials from production to create original plastic free packagings, hangers and shopping bags.

Eco-friendlyS M K selects available and local materials upon their composition which should be human-friendly or eco-friendly to create thecollections.

ShareS M K engages itself to donate 1000KRW per clothes sold to a Korean animal protection association (KARA).

CircularityS M K accepts returns of old S M K items in exchange of an eco-coupon. The clothes returned will be upcycled into new unique pieces or as packagings.

Our women DANCEWEAR col lect ion

The inspiration of our new collection mainly comes from the outfi ts worn by New York City ballet dancers.

We created a full range of items – from underwear to warmers – in order to bring to your dance outfi ts a new esthetic breath, through a strong engagement into eco-friendly & innovative textiles.

The core idea of this collection is the result of an in-depth research about the materials we used. Organic cotton, tencel®, repreve®, creora®, jurasil® and regenerated nylon (ECONYL®) are the roots of our new designs.

Since the beginning, S M K stands for ethical practices, cruelty-free fashion and low-waste production.The values we try to support toward fashion are the main infl uence on our creative process.The new materials we experimented for our collection embody our desire to make fashion more and more sustainable & respectful of the world we live in.

Our men DANCEWEAR col lect ion

We present our first ever menswear line made ofUnisex hoodies, high waist ballet short and organic cotton leggings.For this new step in the brand, we hope to bring to men dancers the best of eco-friendly & innovative textile that we already propose in our women dancewear line.

Our junior DANCEWEAR col lect ion

This January 2020, we have launched our first junior line.For teen dancers, rhythmic gymnasts or gymnasts, we have down-graded our best items from womenswear to offer them to our younger customers.

Our CLIENTS

/ Women’s dancewear 70% /

25 to 50 years old.Centering the target for 30-340 urban and active women who like design, in need of comfortable clothes matching their lifestyle.Women looking closely at the quality of their garments and the values they carry.Those women are also amateur dancers or professional ones, in search of functional, casual, easy to wear and elegant clothes matching their practice and their lifestyle.

/ Accessories 5 % /

Every type of women willing to highlight their outfi t with a casual/elegant bag.Amateur dancers or professional ones willing to have the perfect bag matching with their activities and lifestyle.

/ Men’s dancewear 10% /

Men are also concerned about dancing clothes and that’s why we started creating men’s line. Comfortable apparels and easy to wear products for dance classes.

/ Junior’s dancewear 15% /

Junior’s dancewear is a very new line that is available for girls from 14 to 16 years old to buy S M K dancewear in tinier sizes.

Our COLLABORATIONS

Sonata dancewear is the leader distributor of dancewear product in Singapore, SMK developped a capsule line made of warmers and accessories.For this collection Sandra Meynier Kang created a logo inspired by New York city Ballet dancers representing a “couple grand jetté” embroidery design. The textile used are matching with the values of S M K.

/ SONATA DANCEWEAR /

During the fall of 2018, our fi rst Korean partner E-ballet shop (N°1 Dancewear distributor in Korea) asked us to realize a mutual project: Create warm up vests for all the dancers of the Universal Ballet Company and the Korean National Ballet.After many months of work, in March 2019 we have been proud to release the collaboration and send the vests with the national dance companies.

/ EBALLET-SHOP /

For this new beaginning of 2020, we will have the pleasure to release our new collaboration with Taiwanese shop GENIE BOUTIQUE & PRIMA BALLET STUDIO.We are developping for them jumpsuits in organic cotton & warm up vests.

/ GENIE BOUTIQUE & PRIMA BALLET STUDIO/

This Fall 2019, we have collaborated with the YOOS BALLET CONSERVATORY to create the students warm up vests.

/ YOOS BALLET CONSERVATORY /

Our OBJECTIVES

Our mission is to create quality dancewear clothes for contemporary men and women, for their daily life dance class or just to relax at home.From the conception to the production, our products always have a casual, urban and elegant style.For our clients, our wonderful team members always keep in mind these statements.

/ For our clients /

. Functionality and maximum comfort for each items

. We are what we wear: sustainable, attractive & quality dancewear. Rise awareness in nowadays clothing industry, incorporate an ethical approach to the creation, the production, the schedule and supply chain process.. Several Collaboration (bags, limited editions, artist featured...) with partners worldwide.. Open studio with personalized shopping approach.. Superior customer experience. (each customer can easily communicate with our team and request anything)

/ For our brand /

. Ready to wear and quality dancewear.

. The team is involved 100% from the beginning to the end of a product creation. ( Every product is tested by our CEO during dance class before the fi nal production). Reach a network of customers willing to match theirlifestyle (dancers, vegan community, yogists, respecting the environment, organic products consumers...) Also implied in what they wear.. Defends our values: animal protection, proximity with the manufacturers.. Develop and engage the brand with associations,and communicate about strong sustainable topics that makethe brand alive through fashion and pacifi c activism.. In depth research of eco, recycled or innovative textiles that could be used for sport activities.

Press EUROPE

Alex found himself drawn to fashion photography after being �rst

encouraged to shoot street style by friends in 2014. When he’s not

photographing lookbooks and street editorials, Alex can often be spotted

around Seoul – especially Garosugil – scouting out, and capturing,

the best styles. “Often brands or models will contact me and propose a

collaboration. Mostly, it’s my pleasure,” he says. Alex lists his favorite Korean

brands as 87MM, 13Month and WooYoungMi. “People have told me that

Koreans follow trends too closely and don’t do anything original, but I

don’t think that’s true,” he says. “I think the scene here is only going to get

bigger, with more fashion people making the trip over here to collaborate.

Seoul Fashion Week will de�nitely get a lot more attention than it currently

does.”

Although Samia �rst came to Seoul with her boyfriend, Min, after a chance

meeting back in Canada, her links to Korea had begun long before. “I

was the Montreal correspondent for Korea’s Cracker Your Wardrobe,” she

says. “I’d always been heavily into the blogging scene, and street style

photography. It made sense to continue my passion here.” Samia’s �rst

foray into online fashion sales was during her �nal year of graduate studies,

when she set up a temporary online store as a marketing experiment.

“When I came to Korea, I decided to start afresh, collaborating with Min on

a new online store selling Korean products abroad.” It’s not easy, she says,

to keep up with Korea’s fast-moving trends. “Korea’s the leading country

for fast fashion – as soon as something is seen on the runway, Koreans

latch onto it. Everything happens so quickly: they’re made, they’re bought,

they’re worn on the street, then two months later, they’re gone.”

SHOPPING & FASHION

Meet the expats making waves in Korea’s fast-moving

fashion industry

Written by Rhiannon Shepherd

When trends catch on in Korea, they catch on fast, and the fashion industry is no

exception. Clothing trends go by in such a blur in Seoul that it’s often hard for

outlets and distributors to keep pace. Local designers also lament the dire lack of

quality and originality at shopping hotspots such as Myeong-dong, or Dongdaemun.

Nonetheless, Seoul Fashion Week is now among the most talked about in the world, with

Korean models, idols, and designers spotted in many a front-row seat of international fashion

weeks. But what about the foreigners battling it out en-vogue in Korea’s fast-moving fashion

scene? We meet five Seoul expats who’ve stood the test of time.

Street Fashion Photographer

imalex�nch.tumblr.com

Blogger and co-owner

Blogger at mialiamani.com and co-owner of minandmia.com

23

The Fashionable

Crowd

Designer and Owner, SMK

sandrameynierkang.com

Sandra �rst came to Seoul while working for French leather-jacket brand SU

75 Paris, having graduated from the prestigious L’Atelier Chardon Savard in

2008. Sandra fell in love with the city, moved here in 2010, and worked for

several Korean fashion brands before competing on the popular TV show

“Top Designer.” “I didn’t speci�cally want to be involved in the ‘Korean

fashion scene,” Sandra says. “I started my second brand, SMK, in 2014,

with the speci�c aim of exploring fashion alongside sustainable growth.”

Sandra is passionate about sustainability; all SMK collection materials are

bought and made locally, and each collection sees a percentage of sales

go to charity. But to what does Sandra owe her drive? “I think working

part-time in a restaurant taught me just as much as fashion school! I had

to be fast, to synchronize my movements, to think all the time; I learned a

lot of very valuable business skills.”

Sandra Meynier Kang

Designer and Owner, Woodhouse

woodhouseo�cial.com

Julian’s transition into fashion was far from ordinary. A long-time fashion

illustrator, blogger, and business graduate, Julian was deployed to Korea

as a soldier in the US Army. “My �rst taste of the industry here was at Seoul

Fashion Week in the fall of 2013. I dressed as I normally would to an event

and ended up getting a lot of press.” Julian began to work as a model and

a stylist, but he says his main focus was to learn. “Being a designer came

later, as a byproduct of a friendship. I found a solid team, and our hard

work paid o� last year when we presented at New York Fashion Week F/W

2016.” His brand, WOOD HOUSE, is a menswear label which provides its

wearers with “options.” “To really be a successful designer, one needs to

discover a style that is strong, a price point that matches how the industry

views the brand, and a vigorous marketing technique to stay relevant and

consistent. Korean brands have great style, but they still have some way to

go before they dominate all three.”

Julian Woodhouse

Alex Finch

Sasha was the �rst foreign model to sign to Korean entertainment giant,

YGK Plus, having arrived in Seoul in 2009 after working as a model in

Tokyo. “I couldn’t believe it at �rst,” she says. “Everything in Japan feels

so calculated, but in Korea, photographers and artists take risks. I love

the energy.” Despite having spent the last 15 years modeling clothes for

lookbooks and editorials, Sasha says she doesn’t care much for shopping

in Korea. “I like the Korean brand Resurrection, and my friend's new label

Pragmatic has a red letter jacket I wear almost every day. Aside from that, I

could spend a few hours living in the aisles of Olive Young.” While planning

her retirement from modeling this year, Sasha re�ects on the future of

Korea’s fashion scene. “I wish everyone would let go of the hyper-trend-

focus and try to let loose. Everyone seems a bit trapped in the government-

sponsored world though, so it’ll be interesting to see what develops over

the next few years.”

Model and Model Recruiter

sashaowen.comSasha Owen-Longfellow

An oil painter since college, Alexa found herself inadvertently thrown into

Korea’s fashion scene in 2014, when she attended Seoul Fashion Week

purely to sit and sketch the attendees. “While I was sitting, I actually met

a lot of really interesting people, and one person in particular gave me

a ticket to a show. It changed everything for me; from that day I began

fashion illustration.” Alexa currently works with IFBKSeoul – a fashion-

based blog and webzine that introduces Korean fashion to people from

around the world. She lists a few of her favorite Korean fashion brands

as Centaur and Pale Turquoise. “I feel like designers and clothes in Korea

are a lot more relatable than at home. You generally won't �nd really

super avante-garde art pieces here, but designers always have really solid

concepts with lots of fun clothes.” Alexa is in the process of making her

�rst piece - a faux fur coat - as a foray into more collaborative work. “My

ultimate goal is to work with designers – so �rst I need to show them what

I'm capable of!”

Fashion Illustrator and Editor at IFBK SeoulAlexa Roquemore

Samia Liamani

Press ASIA/OCEANIA

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AGBA GREEN BEAUTY // SUSTAINABLE & ETHICAL CULTURE

Press USA

Retai lers Off l ine

Seoul, South Korea

Singapore

Seoul, South Korea

Taiwan City, Taiwan

Seoul, South Korea

Retai lers Online

Seoul, South Korea

Seoul, South Korea

Hiroshima, Japan

Marseille, France

NOTICE & TERMS

/ Copyright /

The pictures, videos and logos belong to S M K and partners credits are compulsory. The copyright of the pictures, logos and videos are protected contents which cannot be modifi ed without agreement.

/ Suggestion of Hashtags /

#sustainable #ethical #eco #greenfashion#sustainablelifestyle #sustainablefashion #vegan #dancewear #casual #organiccotton #intelligenttextile #balletwear #비건 #오가닉 #개주얼 #댄스웨어 #발레복 # 에스엠케이 #성인발레 #smk #sandrameynierkang

/ Used defi nitions /

Vegan: a person who does not eat any food that comes fromanimals and who also does not use animal products(such as leather)Sustainable: involving methods that don’t completely use up or destroy natural resources.Ethical: of or relating to moral principles or the branch ofknowledge dealing with these.Athleisure: style of clothing worn as athletic apparel but also suitable for casual, daily wear.Dancewear: clothing suitable for dance classes and rehearsals, such as tights, leotards, and bodysuits.

/ keywords /

Sustainable fashion / ethical fashion / eco-responsible /human friendly / animal friendly / animal protection /casual / dancewear / ballet wear

/ Authorized logos /

Contact us

/ FOR BUSINESS INQUIRY /business@sandrameynierkang.com

/ FOR DESIGNER INQUIRY /designer@sandrameynierkang.com

/ FOR PRESS INQUIRY /press@sandrameynierkang.com

/ FOR ONLINE SHOP INQUIRY /shop@sandrameynierkang.com

+82 10 4062 6920

BH building 3FL, 191-6 Jangchung-Dong, Jung-gu SEOUL KOREA

www.sandrameynierkang.com