Collection: East By East West

The story behind the label began with a little girl growing up in Korea.

When Sunu was young her mother and father (Eomma & Appa) had a business selling fabrics for traditional Korean outfits. The colours were so vibrant and the shapes so strong that it was like theatre to Sunu’s eyes. Clothing swirled in Sunu’s imagination at this early stage and it was enough to sustain her interest through school and on to University in Korea. Sometime after that she decided to embark on an MA at the London College of Fashion in London. Moving to the UK provided a completely different cultural landscape to Korea and a fresh source of inspiration that would shape her future designs.

In 2008 Sunu Lee founded EAST BY EAST WEST with the name echoing her experience of Korea and England. In the early days of the brand, Sunu worked on everything by hand, making toiles, pattern cutting and stitching the final garments to deliver to shops herself. As the label grew Sunu and her small team employed small-scale manufacturers to produce her designs, always aware of working conditions and fair pay. The label is now based in Frome, Somerset, UK and continues to work as it has always done, with a love of natural materials, timeless design and quality. Manufacturing takes place in the UK, India and S Korea.