There is such a thing as the right place at the right time. There are many stories of success where the initial bond between the parts was born from an unexpected encounter or a casual conversation, but when said place is a foreign country for everyone involved, and one not as usually talked about as Kazakhstan, it is safe to say that destiny and odds were working extra hard that day. From the collision of different worldviews that unite in a shared passion for creation, nature, and freedom Fuzzz was born, a brand we had the chance to meet during the past season of Visa Fashion Week Almaty, and that, after stealing the attention in the local scene, is gearing up to widen its horizons. We learn more about it with Fuzzz’s director and CEO, Chihoon Jeong.
We discussed Kazakhstan's creative scene after our inspiring visit last October. It is a country with an immense cultural and creative heritage that has managed to stand the test of time and translate traditional codes and pieces into the modern day. However, when seeing many shows with a common underling thread amongst them, the sudden shift in gears with techno music, flashing lights, and models bumping into each other almost running across the runway made our attention lock in on whatever was going on in front of us, and wonder who could possibly be behind such a disruptive proposal in a generally traditional setting?
The answer is long, as it generally happens in most creative ventures nowadays, where everyone is from a different country and no one lives in their birthplace anymore. Vasilii Voinov, Eliz Slesareva, and Felix Sokolov from Russia and Chihoon Jeong from South Korea found each other in Almaty by chance, and from their joint forces, Fuzzz was born. A brand that jumped from aiming to be a bedding set brand — hence the zzz and the comfy vibe their name evokes — to experimenting with some headgear to finally landing as a full-on clothing brand, presenting fashion shows and creating drops, collections, and more. 
The comfortable aspect of it all, which was one of the main raison d'être of the project, remains one of the core objectives of every piece made by them, but many aspects relate to nature, the outdoors, utility, and these aesthetics helped to shape the brand's ethos. Speaking a language that aligns perfectly with the needs and taste of our current generation, Fuzzz is taking a chance and gearing up for their first Paris pop-up, happening from January 31st to February 2nd at Balcony Paris, and while preparing for it, we sat with Chihoon to learn more about what Fuzzz is all about. 
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Hi, Chihoon! First of all, I had the chance to witness the show and meet you guys, but for our readers who don't know you, how would you define Fuzzz?
We call ourselves an outdoor brand. Our motto is In Motion; we want to be constantly moving, meaning we want to seamlessly marry comfort and utility. We focus on three components: the stylistic component, the practicality, and the comfort, while we also embrace a sustainable ethos. Freedom is also important, not only in our way of creating but also in our working culture; in our team, there's no order or hierarchy; we are always freely talking to each other and sharing our thoughts. We don't limit ourselves in terms of materials or resources, so we are always coming up with new ideas. Nowadays the outdoor brands are super dominant and popular; they are really comfortable, and you can wear them casually in your daily life, but can't you really wear them when you go to a party, for example. We like to implement this idea, where outdoor clothing can be very unique and functional and also very stylish.
I know the core team, including yourself, comes from very different cultures, and somehow you all found in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the right place to start this journey. Can you let me know about the background of each member of the team before Fuzzz?
Me, I'm the director and CEO of the brand. I find the direction for the projects and where we should go. I am also the main investor of this project. Originally, I'm a visual artist and a painter, and at the same time, I'm an entrepreneur and traveller. I also created a food and beverage business that is not solely about the food; it's more about community and connection, creating more of a spot where people come together and mingle and bring the synergy to create something new. If I had to say three concepts to define all my projects, they would be artistic experience, human connection, and sustainable future. My vision for life is to make the world more joyful than the day before.
Vasilii Voinov is our creative director and designer. He has a master's degree in costume design, and he's from St. Petersburg in Russia. He has completed courses in computer graphics and also five years studying in Hermitage Lecture Hall. This experience has helped him develop a unique vision in creating things; he loves nature, and that's an essential part of his life and work. He's a very, very creative guy, and he loves people. He's our main core creative, a concept source for Fuzzz. We have another head designer, Eliz Slesareva, also from St. Petersburg; she and Vasilii are a couple. Eliz has a bachelor's degree in costume design; she's also a fashion model and has studied drawing and painting. She's in charge of a lot of our 3D programmes, like Clo 3D, and she's into all things technology. She's the one who basically, if we have an idea, can visualise it and transform it into the real product within a very short period of time. She's really good at optimising complicated ideas into a product.
And how did the first contact happen?
That's a very interesting story. I was in a coffee shop, and one of their friends saw me and asked where my shoes were from since she liked them. I knew they were not from here since in Central Asia this kind of interaction is not common, so I asked where they were from. They told me they were from Russia and they were helping with the graphic design for a friend who has a brand. I saw their Instagram page, and it was really cool. I immediately knew that it was my style, but back then they only had very few items, maybe headgears and two or three clothing items. I thought maybe we could collaborate with my modelling agency, Boost Talents, I never expected they would need funding; I thought they were a set brand. Then I learnt that they moved here at the very beginning of the war; they are very progressive and open-minded. When Russia invaded Ukraine, they were the first people who didn't want to be there. That's why they left their own country. I also left my home country, so we met here. None of us Kazakh citizens; we're all from outside.
I felt the click after our meetings. Of course, when you invest, you have to see their financial performances and all the things, but I saw their unique designs, and I saw that it was completely different from what other brands did. They're actually so nice they were even afraid of selling their products for a fair price. They were selling like really cheap to their friends; that's why the business was not really sustainable. So I wanted to be involved, and they were really happy with the idea. I had zero experience in the fashion industry, but I've been in business for many years, and I know fashion; I love art, and I love nature just like them, so maybe we can create some synergy, so, that's how we started working together.
What role did fashion have in your life before starting the brand, and how has it changed after it? Has your outlook on the industry changed now that you’re part of it?
Well, it's funny; when I decided to invest, I was there thinking maybe I won't spend a lot of money now on clothing because I have my own brand (laughs), but it's completely the opposite. I actually spend much more money now because even though you're not going to wear it, I buy a lot of samples for our team. I didn't know that the fashion industry was so dynamic and challenging with so much competition. At the beginning, I thought if you had a good designer, and good production, then you're good to go, but there's a whole spectrum of supply management, production management, marketing, sales, B2B relations, B2C relations, and then all the finances. It was beyond what I was imagining; of course, it's challenging, but I think my strength in that sense is that I am not the type of person that usually gives up. I love challenges.
Even though I'm an investor, my investing budget is very limited compared to other brands that have a big budget, so we're trying to think about how we can be sustainable and how we can go in a different direction. The fashion show is one of those things that everyone does, but when participating in Visa Fashion Week, our goal was not only selling our collection but also getting to know other industry people and doing our best to learn all that we can. I see it as a beautiful challenge for me personally. We made a lot of mistakes at the beginning; we wasted a lot of money for the past two years, but as of now we have learnt a lot, and I think there are more things to be learnt, so we are more excited to explore more; we want to surprise the market with our solutions.
How is Kazakhstan's fashion industry for creating and starting a brand like Fuzzz?
It's definitely very challenging. The infrastructure here is very poor. First, there are not many fabric options. They don't even give us swatches here; there's no one to ask about the percentages or compositions of the fabrics. Even if they're selling them, they have no idea. We buy fabrics, then we produce, and when we sell our stock and go back to buy more, they don't have that fabric anymore.
Number two is the production is very poor compared to other markets; we have to visit them all the time to do quality control. Some of the jackets we return them like eight times to finally get the proper finish. It's also difficult to build relationships with the suppliers; they know us, they know how we make our clothes, but then the next time we go back to them to order more, they double the price. So we have to find another production site because our website has the prices set. If the production costs suddenly increase, then we have to eat it. So then it's not really sustainable for us.
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Have you thought of a solution for this? Do you have an alternative for sourcing fabrics?
Yes, we found a good solution recently. When I was in Korea, I decided to go to the fabric market, and I literally came back with a suitcase full of swatches. I brought them, and my team was shocked. They have all the information about the fabrics; there's a good amount of samples; they can feel it; they can see it. We can call the suppliers, and they can pack it and ship it to us. Of course, it's a bit more expensive, but it's more viable for us. And about production, we will divide it in three different countries. One is Korea, where we can produce maybe between fifty to a hundred pieces per item, not big but quality production, then we also found a Chinese production that has really good quality, but the minimum order is like 200-250 per piece, which is quite a large amount, so we want to do with them something like t-shirts, more simple items. And in Kazakhstan we will produce some unique pieces, a maximum of ten to twenty per item, so we can watch over the quality.
Congratulations on your new collection! You already have experience on the Almaty runway, but how was this last experience different from the last one?
This time was much better. The first time was challenging because ten days before the show, our former partner left. We were in a hurry; we had a very short period of time because Visa asked us to participate suddenly, and they gave us three weeks to prepare. We were sleepless every night and every day, which is crazy. I was also supposed to fly back to Korea on the same day we were having the show, and then the show was delayed about an hour, so I almost missed my flight. It was our first time, and especially for Vasilii and Eliz, it was very challenging and emotional. It was an achievement being there.
This time we knew that we would participate, like two or three months in advance, so we were planning it from the beginning, and even though we still didn't sleep a lot, it was much more technical, not so much emotional; we were more relaxed, more confident. On our first show we participated in the fashion week to meet other designers as well, but we didn't meet anybody. We were the last brand to show, so we couldn't see anything or anyone. This time we were more relaxed, so we went to the lounge where we met you guys; we partied, we drank, so it was much more fun and relaxed, and we got to know more people this time. It was a much better experience.
How about the audience reaction and attention? I felt a lot of hype surrounding me during the show with the models crashing into each other, the music and the images shown on the screen. Did you feel it as well?
The first time we surprised the audience because they really didn't know us; this time around they were expecting something from us. We received really good compliments after the show. The runway lasted a little bit more than three minutes. I think it was very short; it was very, very fast. Shows often last fifteen to twenty minutes. Some people see the first part, maybe film some, and then they start talking to the person next to them, not really paying attention to the clothes and details. We wanted everyone to see it all in three minutes.
We came up with the idea of bumping into each other because we saw that the runway, the previous one, was a circle. This time it was an X. So our question was how models should walk not to bump into each other, and we realised, wait, why don't we just let them go bump into each other? At the beginning, people might think it was a mistake, but then it makes the audience focus more on the show. We got a lot of people and media who came to our backstage to congratulate us. We also saw some people who didn't know about us before treat us differently suddenly, even if we met in the lounge prior to the show.
From the silhouettes Fuzzz presented on the runway, I could feel the intention for the pieces to be worn outdoors; they seem to fit really well in natural environments. What is your relationship with nature, and how does it translate to the brand's creative vision?
Nature is pretty much part of our brand identity. We all love nature, especially hiking. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have amazing mountains. We live in the city, and we always complain about the lack of nature. There are only concrete buildings, but if you go to the mountains, you feel connected to the nature, connected to the more spiritual side of things. But we believe that in every city, people are the nature, so we always are interested in human connection as well. That's why we want to represent a new lifestyle, being a trendless brand so that people are choosing us not based on the trend but based on their personal preferences. We have new seasons and new collections, but it doesn't mean that old collections are outdated. We like uneven shapes for our patterns, mostly from water and elements in nature that are big references for us.
Can you give me an example of a particular piece or innovation you've worked on with nature and the environment in mind?
In the collection we are creating now, we thought about how a winter jacket is always fluffy, big, and heavy. We don't have a really heavy jacket in our brand because it's an impractical, uncomfortable clothing item. Outside you have to wear it; you go inside, it's hot, and you have to take it off and carry it around; it's heavy when you travel. So we came up with an idea: there's a fishing vest that is insulated and that has an actual electric heater inside that runs with a battery. So getting inspired by it, we want to make our winter jacket look like a fall and spring jacket, and then we will add this electrical part on the chest and then back. And then there's a battery that can last for eight years. You can control temperature for three different settings. So you go out, and then within a minute you get warm. We found that this is an amazing solution that actual fishermen use, and it seems to be very useful.
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How about with humans in mind?
We always wanted to participate in social issues. There's a lot of people who have a lack of sex education here, so a lot of people don't use condoms, for example, and that generates very serious problems. So, we want to partner with big condom producers, and we would like to create some trousers that have a special pocket for condoms. It's a kind of interesting but small change that gives a message to the community.
There are a lot of pieces that involve covering the face of the wearer, from knitted masks to these t-shirts without neck holes that completely cover the head or even a Batman mask we could see on the runway. Is this an aesthetic choice, or is there any meaning behind it?
The face covering, the t-shirts, and these things are definitely inspired by the bazaars in the city. You don't really see people wearing burkas here, but if you go to the bazaar, it's a more conservative environment; you see the women wearing them all the time. We're not religious, but we are curious about others experiences because that's what we see every day; these are the people we talk to and the women from whom we buy our fabrics, so in a way it's a callback to that. These markets are exotic to us, and since we are all not from here, we feel we had to fit into this country and this culture, so we collected all these different but similar feelings and put them together into our collection. The Batman mask we found in the bazaar, and we thought it would be cool to let the model wear it instead of the sunglasses.
You’re always on the move, and aside from fashion, you’re also involved in other very diverse businesses, like Flask Coffee, Chicken Star, and Boost Talents. Is there a point where these widely different outlets collide in some way?
At Flask, there are a lot of baristas, and since the beginning, it was very important for me what they should wear. I didn't want my team to wear something that feels like a uniform, but I also didn't want them to not be stylish, so we had two ideas: one is the cap and the other one is the apron. The apron looks like a skirt that you can wear on top of your jeans and pants; these days this style is popular. We created them with a lot of pockets, with Fuzzz identity and the Flask logo in it. People don't feel that this is an apron, so then they don't have to take it off when they go out to smoke or whatever it is; they can just wear it, and it looks like a fashion item. The other idea was the hat. It is not a completely new idea, but somehow it gets ignored. When you take off a cap, it's always weird; you don't know where to put it, people lose them all the time, and it's really uncomfortable. The hat we created, you can completely fold it and put it in your pocket, put it in your bag, and always have it.
Eliz came up with the apron and Vasilii with the cap idea. His father was into hunting, and they had a similar hat, really ugly but foldable on one side, so we made the two sides foldable. We made it with cotton, so it was not so heavy and not so light. We didn't have this one in the collection at first; it was only for the baristas, but we heard so many people loving it, so we had to create a new one and add it into the collection. We updated it, we changed the material, and we installed the BOA system. We still call it The Barista Cap. It's our first case where we create something for another industry that then we transport to our collections because all the reactions were very positive.
I'm curious about Fuzzz's future. What is a short-term goal you have for the brand?
Oh, I love these kinds of questions because I'm a very futuristic person. Short-term goals: we're a bit nervous about our showroom and pop-up at Paris Fashion Week. It was my short-term goal last year when I went there as a guest, and I came back to my team and said, We're going to be there next year, and we're going to have a pop-up, and they were like, “Do you have any connections? Do you know anybody?” I said, I don't know how, but we will, and now it's happening. So our short-term goal is to have a very successful pop-up and then a very successful collection so that we set our business model on a more sustainable channel. We want to get a good partner or investor this year so then we can do more. We are using a very tight budget, and we are able to do this kind of collection, this kind of show, so I'm curious about how much we can do with proper investment.
And long term?
We want to be one of the most fun, innovative, and surprising brands in the world. We're not targeting to be the biggest or the best. Best is a very subjective concept. So our aim is that we really want to deliver our message to the community. This is what we want to do, but not politically or socially biased. We want to address the questions; we don't want to give them an answer. We want to really enter all the major markets with good partners, and we want to collaborate with different, well-established brands, and we want to be the brand that everyone wants to work with. Kazakhstan is where we started and where we faced a lot of challenges, but where we learnt a lot. This is our base, so maybe in the future we want to create some kind of form of fashion institution that allows us to give back to the country where we met. If we are able to do such a project here, that means Fuzzz has become very successful, so I would be very happy.
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