Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Kim Jin-min, Netflix’s ‘The Art of Sarah,’ also known as ‘Lady Dior,’ steps into the world of luxury and fashion with Sarah Kim, whose sole dream is to create the biggest brand in Korea. Things go completely south, however, when Sarah is found dead in the sewers, with only a handbag left to identify her. Even more troubling is the subsequent investigation, where Detective Park realizes that Sarah Kim is, in fact, not a real person at all. Her entire brand and public identity may just be the trickiest con that he has ever seen, and the only way to get to the truth is by digging into Sarah’s past.
It is in this endeavour that Park comes across the cosmetics brand Nox and the famous Samwol Department Store. While Sarah appears to have closely interacted with both, there is no way to know how much of it was sincere and how much wasn’t. As a result, the central mystery of this Korean psychological thriller show passes through both Nox and Samwol Store.
Samwol Department Store is Likely Built in the Image of Korea’s Most Famous Luxury Store
Samwol Department Store is the name of a fictional fashion and luxury store created by writer Chu Song-yeon specifically for ‘The Art of Sarah.’ Depicted as the most famous luxury retail store in Seoul, it forms a landmark of sorts for Sarah Kim’s journey into the world of elites. While she initially works there as an employee, Sarah eventually goes on to launch a Boudoir outlet within the store, further adding to its narrative relevance. Based on what we know about Samwol Department Store, its most likely source of inspiration is Seoul’s iconic Lotte Department Store, located at 81 Namdaemun-ro in the Jung District.
Apart from the similarities in the places’ names, Lotte Department Store also serves as the primary filming location for Samwol Department Store, at least when it comes to the exteriors. From the looks of it, the filming crew added Samwol-related signboards to the Lotte Store’s main building, which shows up on numerous occasions. Notably, Lotte Store is no stranger to serving as a filming spot, as it also features in Netflix’s ‘As You Stood By,’ this time as Lavie Department Store. Similar to ‘The Art of Sarah,’ here too the connection primarily appears to be limited to superficial references, as Samwol Store’s role in the larger storyline is strictly fictional.
Nox is a Cosmetics Brand Built From Scratch For The Art of Sarah
Much like Samwol Department Store, Nox is an invented cosmetics brand that only exists within the world of ‘The Art of Sarah.’ While it doesn’t appear on-screen as often as its competing brand, Boudoir, Nox is nonetheless fundamental to shaping the storyline. As of writing, the creators have not alluded to any real-life brands of a similar nature that may have been inspired by the creation of Nox. However, it is possible that it is a composite of existing big cosmetic brands in South Korea, such as COSRX, Laneige, and Innisfree. The word Nox even partially resembles COSRX, and while there might be superficial connections between the two, it is unlikely that any single brand or product serves as the basis for Nox.
One detail about Nox that stands out in the show is its collaboration with Boudoir and the subsequent entry into luxury fashion. While no direct antecedents for such a company exist in real life, it can be noted that the famous Korean cosmetics company, Tonymoly, made a similar move in 2018 by collaborating with Moschino, an Italian luxury company. However, the difference between this collaboration and the show’s plot beat is that the latter is specifically about the production and sale of handbags. This gives Nox a unique edge as an in-universe company, highlighting how it’s fictional in nature.
Read More: Is The Art of Sarah Based on a True Story?
