Fashion designer Lie Sang-bong visions Monami to become lifestyle brand

Designer Lee Sang-bong is explaining to a reporter pointing to a sketch in the shape of a Monami ball pen drawn in the collaboration of “Monami x Lie Sang-bong” [Courtesy of Monami]

South Korean fashion designer Lie Sang-bong, who refers to himself as a lifestyle designer, envisions more collaborations with Monami Co., a household name for pens and pencils in Korea.

In June, Lie and Monami unveiled the “Monami x Lie Sang-bong” collaboration edition for the first time, reinterpreting the black-and-white look of Monami ballpoint pens. The two also recently expanded the concept to other products for the fall season, which include jackets and cardigans.

“There are no other small and mid-size enterprise brands than Monami that are well known to the Korean people,” Lie said. “I was thinking about how to keep this national brand alive regardless of the ups and downs of the stationery industry, and thought the answer was fashion.”

Lie noted that he thinks Monami should become a leading Korean brand that transcends generations and borders.

“Writing instruments are stationery but they are also daily necessities, and just as Versace makes crockery and Louis Vuitton clothes, Monami should expand its scope to the entire lifestyle,” Lie said.

Lie added that he has regarded himself as a lifestyle designer since the 1990s.

“Fashion is the closest thing to everyday life, and I think, conversely, furniture, crockery, and everything in day-to-day lives besides clothing can be fashion,” he said.

The designer has designed not only fashion but also bowls, furniture, mobile phones, and interiors, among others.

Lie proposed the collaboration idea to Monami after the passing of the company’s Founder and Chair Song Sam-seok.

The Monami look is a fashion style wearing a white shirt and black pants, and it is named such due to its resemblance to the Monami ballpoint pen.

“The Monami look represents a black and white, basic style, but adding color with a scarf or hankies gives it a different style,” Lie said. “Once the Monami brand takes its place in fashion, I would like to work with it to add color to the Monami look.”

The designer also noted that Monami could expand its brand into other areas such as architecture.