“Tie dye is a cultural symbol of freedom and peace, and so many of us find those when we’re doing what we love."
Designer, artist and tie dye collector Tae-hun Kim goes deep in his archives to paint the canvas of a packable furniture collection.
There are people who love tie-dye. And then there are people who LOVE tie-dye.
Designer, artist and tie dye collector Tae-hun Kim is among the latter. For years he’s been waiting for shipping containers of vintage gear to arrive in Seoul so he could rifle through it all and pull out the true gems - perfect works of tie dye shirts that reflect the freedom, peace, and love of the 1960s and '70s.
Kim is also a product designer at Helinox, a brand that makes packable outdoor furniture and is known for its long list of collaborations with the likes of Patta, Filson, Pendleton, Stüssy, Alpha Industries, Medicom Fabrick, BAPE, Danner, Burton, NIKE ACG...you get the idea.
And when it was time to create a tie dye collection that spoke to a world slowly resurfacing from a year+ of COVID lockdowns and uncertainty - with gatherings, music festivals, and fun on the horizon, and it looking like the "spring" might be back to spring and the "summer" back to summer, Kim was on it.
"I set out to make the spiral patterns look as natural and as beautiful as a rainbow, because it's the color that comes to mind when thinking about tie dye," said Kim. "I referenced our collection of heritage samples to create our own design, to stay true to the colors and patterns of the original."
“Tie dye is a cultural symbol of freedom and peace, and so many of us find those when we’re doing what we love."