My History with Dylan

A few months ago, I had a friend request on Facebook from someone named Dylan Ryu. I'd never met her before, but we had one friend in common whom I trusted enough where I thought, if this person knows her, she must be okay. So I accepted the request. (Have you done that before - accept an unknown on the one friend rule? I digress...)
Since then, I would occasionally see posts from Dylan and I began to learn that she was an artist and her medium was bags - mostly vintage, mostly high fashion bags, and she called her work History by Dylan. I was intrigued. Last week, I saw that she posted about her new exhibit at a gallery. I really loved everything only it was all in a foreign language, so I couldn't tell exactly where the exhibit was. A little sleuthing led me to her gallery in Seoul, Korea and to her website where I learned more about her.
Then I emailed her to more formally introduce myself and ask her if I could blog about her. She consented and said that she's lived in Paris and New York and now currently lives in Seoul. She's very inspired by classic French cinema (Goddard, Truffaut and Rohmer, she named a few) and music. Her elements have a distinctive western nostalgia, whether it be in the vintage family crest patches she uses or metallic old car logos she attaches to her bags. All of the embellishments she uses are vintage materials she's found in flea markets and antique stores in Paris, London and New York.She uses only "real" vintage bags, no fakes, so her works have an inherent value to them.For her new show, she dressed 48 Dean & Deluca bags in ribbons and patches and crests, the result being a very nautical vibe when you see them all together.
The Chanel wall...cute! Judging from her very impressive press pages on her website, Dylan is quite a rising star in Korea, I wish I could read the articles!
I can honestly say I think she truly improved these Dior bags. J'Adore - if you will. She's done what I think is so cool, which is taken a cliché "it" bag and made it individual - it's not a groundbreaking idea, but I appreciate how she does it with a great eye instead of in a subversive way. Not that there's anything wrong with subversive ;) just that she doesn't need it.
Above are more scenes from her work as part of the "That Seventy's" show currently at the très chic I M ART gallery (which is sandwiched between the Hèrmes and Marc Jacobs boutiques to give you and idea of the neighborhood) in Seoul until August 28, 2010.

All images courtesy of Dylan Ryu.