HAUS: You’ve lived in many different cities across multiple continents. To what extent has your constant change in location and environment influenced you?

KL: I do possess an extreme multi-cultural point of view when I approach certain ways of thinking. Sometimes, I am European. Sometimes, I am Asian. And sometimes, I am American. The constant change in my environment was inevitable. In many ways, I’ve always felt the need to reshape my surroundings to create the most conducive atmosphere, solely for my work, my brand, and myself.

When I moved to South Korea after leaving Switzerland around the age of five, I struggled to adjust to Korea’s pervasive culture of standardization. This culture carries both strengths and shortcomings, but it can work quite negatively against those who insist on different perspectives.

That experience sparked a growing sense of skepticism toward the idea of trend. While I do acknowledge the relevance of trends in both art and business, particularly in the context of the 21st century, I’ve never felt a compelling need to align myself with them. This mindset, however, came at a cost. It led to a period of intense bullying during my youth, which ultimately pushed me to seek out places like New York, Paris, and Antwerp, environments where individual voices are more welcomed, or at the very least, heard.

However, as I evolve into my thirties, I find myself increasingly interested in the heritage my parents came from in the culture in which they were born and raised. There’s an enduring affection embedded within me, one that feels both personal and ancestral. My intention is to explore how this connection can be more consciously woven into my work through researching more Korean culture.

HAUS: Part of crafting a successful fashion house is based on world-building and communicating a vision through design. What was your path to finding a unique voice within the medium of clothing?

KL: The brand name Einzelgänger paved the path toward establishing its current identity. Rather than aligning with the prevailing artistic climate, the brand unintentionally and inevitably positions itself in quiet opposition to those trends. This counterintuitive approach allows Einzelgänger to cultivate a truly independent creative identity.

Since the fashion industry revolves around trends, clothing becomes the ideal medium through which to express this concept. While the brand embraces the future and leaves space for open exploration, every direction is guided by a strict sense of intuition. That intuition is sustained through continuous, in-depth research into historical and cinematic references rooted in specific time periods.

To preserve this clarity, the designer often distances herself from contemporary media during the creative process, though not entirely, as understanding the current landscape also has its value. This intentional restraint helps avoid the risk of unconsciously echoing others. The character of Antwerp has provided an ideal backdrop for this approach, and it remains not just a conceptual stance, but a lived practice. The intention is not simply to move forward, but to do so without ever compromising the brand’s core identity.

HAUS: Who has been your greatest inspiration?

KL: Mr. Kubo Tadashi, from Yohji Yamamoto Inc.

HAUS: How does the art you consume impact you?

KL: I tend to become obsessive with my own research, almost manic at times. What I choose to engage with says everything about my intuition and aesthetic. 

I cut out what doesn’t resonate with me, not out of arrogance, and not because I reject, but to get closer to what I genuinely care about. It’s about finding myself. 

I want to understand why I’m drawn to something and just as importantly, why I’m not. I consume art to discover my true thoughts, so I can create something that speaks clearly enough to convince others.

HAUS: What was your experience working with Yohji Yamamoto and WILDSIDE?

KL: This collaboration taught me how meaningful teamwork can be, and why it’s so important to learn from others. There is so much to learn through other people’s perspectives, experiences, and ways of thinking. 

For the first time, I truly felt like I understood how to connect with others toward a shared goal and that felt incredibly fulfilling. 

Even though I’m promoting the image of Einzelgänger, it’s been powerful to meet other Einzelgängers and create something together that reflects the same perspective and message. That sense of connection has been deeply motivating, and it’s become one of the key reasons I continue pushing myself to create, again and again. 

You are a Einzelgänger, but you are not alone. How cool is that. 

HAUS: Experimentations and subversions with tailoring seems to be a large focus of your design language; how do you balance working within tradition while simultaneously trying to push boundaries?

KL: When garments appear unstable, the wearer inherits their unease. Disorder in dress becomes a portrait of the one who wears it. 

I find it frustrating when unfinished garments with raw edges are presented as an untitled art these days. To me, this approach feels irresponsible and unresolved. It lacks the discipline and intention I believe clothing should carry, and it simply does not resonate with me.

For a garment to hold its value, it must meet three essential criteria: it must be wearable, stable, and washable. These are the principles I always return to, whether I’m selecting a piece for myself or creating something for a client. They are not constraints, but foundations. Tradition holds significant meaning in my practice. I see it as something worth honoring, even while challenging its boundaries. Structural precision matters, keeping a proper center front, ensuring seams are clean, finished, and thoughtfully pressed, these details are what give a garment its integrity.

HAUS: As a multidisciplinary artist, do you see conversations between your works in different mediums?

KL: Fashion becomes deeply uninteresting when we stop experimenting with other mediums. Without that engagement, it risks collapsing into repetition. I have always felt a strong connection to Jean Tinguely’s reflections on creative stagnation, which I first encountered on the cover of one of his books. His thoughts on reaching a point where a single medium can no longer carry the message resonated with an experience I knew intimately. He once said: “I painted and painted and painted [...] I never managed to finish a picture; it was like I was paralyzed and I hit a total dead end. I just couldn’t see the end and didn’t know when I was meant to stop painting [...] So I started working with movement. Movement offered me a way out of this paralysis, offered an endpoint. Movement allowed me to say, OK, now it’s done.” — Jean Tinguely, 1976 

That stayed with me. After reading it, I returned to painting, conté drawing, sound research, film, and particularly nude photography, mediums I had explored extensively throughout my teenage years and early-20s. Reconnecting with them made me actually progress in my 30s, and making progress has always been my dream. 

The process of garment-making demands precision, material sensitivity, and constant decision-making. It can become overworked, saturated to the point of mental exhaustion. In those moments, stepping away and engaging with another medium becomes essential. 

This cyclical rhythm is integral to how many artists work, regardless of discipline. 

For me, fashion is not a standalone form. It is interwoven with other visual practices. It cannot exist without them.

HAUS: What do you struggle the most with? 

KL: One of the most enduring challenges in my practice is accepting the constant presence of failure. I rarely arrive at a result that feels entirely complete. There is always something unresolved, something I continue to chase. It is difficult, at times, to live with that dissatisfaction. 

But maybe that restlessness is necessary. Maybe never being fully satisfied is what keeps the process honest.

HAUS: Favorite Bauhaus chair? 

KL: It would be great to see them all together to make a genuine judgment.

Learn more about Kié Einzelgänger below