During his design career, Alfred Sung has garnered significant attention, acclaim, and recognition in Canada and around the globe for his classic styling and timeless elegance. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his fashions and industry accomplishments.
The rich and dynamic illustrations of Alfred Sung's career are celebrated completely and exclusively, for the first time on OpenSea. This October, Mimran Group Inc. has opened the Alfred Sung archives to offer historic sketches of designer Alfred Sung's famed 1980's women's collections to digital buyers.
Starting with a group of 78 individually hand-drawn designs from his Spring 1982 season.
Alfred Sung, the artist, is lesser known than Alfred Sung, Canada's most well-known fashion designer. In detailed pencil and marker illustrations, Alfred's imagination is revealed. Who is the woman Sung dresses and how does he envision her? Perfectly groomed, casually elegant, and polished. The vision lies in his art, the starting point, and the spirit that inspires. His imaginary mannequin reflects the trademark Sung style: classically romantic, yet contemporary - and tempered by disciplined, clean lines.
When designing, Sung is writing a narrative with his clothing, in color, shape, texture, and cut. He is not just designing clothes, he's composing a story not unlike the timeless romance of an Audrey Hepburn movie or a love song by Cole Porter. The story begins with the woman. Who is she? What is she doing? An entire world is created around her and the photoshoots and advertising campaigns bring her world to life, capturing the essence of her confidence and beauty through the clothing.
Unknown to most, Sung has long held a reputation as a top-notch fashion illustrator who once worked freelance for Canada's Style and Chatelaine magazines. "It's naturally the part I enjoy the most" says Sung. "I've always loved to draw." Each outfit is coordinated down to the last detail - accessorized with sunglasses, watches, hats, belts, stockings, gloves, bags, shoes, even the shade of her lips. It takes over six weeks of sketching to complete each seasonal collection of groupings.
His details paint the picture of a whole lifestyle. Ideas come from a variety of sources and sometimes, it's a singular inspiration that can spark the excitement to create an entire collection. One vintage black and white photo, one crisp white shirt, and the designer has enough information to start constructing an entire world from his imagination.
