Beauty and the meest

This is the new Ann Demeulemeester store in Seoul, Korea. Designed by Korean architecture firm Mass Studies, the reinforced concrete structure incorporates an amazing living facade to amalgamate nature and artifice.

It is the perfect setting to showcase the garments of Ann Demeulemeester, one of the 'Antwerp Six' designers, whose refined taste has her residing in Belgium's only Le Corbuiser house.

Staying true to her long, lean androgynous silhouette, she is a firm believer in an evolutionary process of her work rather than simply riding trends, and she speaks pragmatically of her clothes as "certainly not art... You make clothes and they have to be worn. They have to fit on a body. They are not just made to be beautiful. I think art is much freer. With clothes you're not free - you are making something for somebody. It doesn't mean you cannot add your soul to what you're doing, but in the end, the best thing about it ends up in someone's wardrobe and becomes part of someone's life".

The overlap of clothing and architectural philosophies - in which they both must have a practical function not merely of art, and her 'free of fad and influence' supposition, make Demeulemeester an icon of pure style, both in her garments and where she displays them.

Visit Ann Demeulemeester online where you can view her collections

Visit Mass Studies online