Meet the South Korean Designer Alexa Chung Loves
Image: Minju Kim
Anyone who watched Netflix’s Next In Fashion will know the name, Minju Kim.
Winner of the show’s first (and only) season, she the South Korean designer beat out seventeen contestants for a $250,000 investment prize and spot on the coveted e-retailer Net-a-Porter.
According to Kim’s own website, her brand is “built upon artistic creativity, fairy-tale imagination, and the art of craftsmanship.” And while winning a competition like this does sound like something straight out of a picture book, you can be sure that the designer is here to stay. No one-hit-wonder, Kim’s taste and artfulness in her craft put her a rung above the rest, cementing her spot in the fashion world far beyond our television screens.
A quick look at her recent history proves that her talent began blossoming long before her appearance on the Netflix series. In 2013, she won the H&M design award, allowing her to launch her eponymous line. Not long after, in 2014, she made the shortlist for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers.
While those in South Korea were already starting to fall in love with her designs, her appearance on Next In Fashion won her the hearts of an international audience as well. Including the world’s favourite fashion guru, Alexa Chung.
Quite the tastemaker herself, Chung gushed about the designer to Net-a-Porter’s blog, suggesting that it won’t be long before Kim is the next it-designer. “Our goal is that this exposure opens Minju up to a global audience,” Chung said. Like many others who watched the show and rooted for this designer throughout the season, Chung hopes to see Minju Kim become a household name sometime down the line.
Despite her shy demeanour throughout the series, Kim’s quiet confidence struck Alexa Chung as a noteworthy feature: “It was the gradual uncovering of Minju’s personality, talent and confidence as a designer that I found most moving. After one of the challenges she just said, ‘I’m really proud of myself,’ and, far from being cocky, it was the most vulnerable, amazing thing.”
Designer Phillip Lim, whose brand is worth $12.5 million agrees that the fresh designer will go far. “He told me that every story is worth telling, so I don’t need to be embarrassed or shy about it,” Kim told A Magazine Singapore. “He also told me that I’m a good designer” — a compliment any up-and-comer would love to receive.
So, what’s next for the designer?
At the moment, she plans to keep designing and working to build her business alongside her sister. Though portrayed as a rather serious character on the Netflix show, Kim spoke of her support to Net-a-Porter. “When I started out, she was the only one who saw that there was something special in me. She wants to bring my designs to the world.”
In A magazine Singapore, she shared a little more insight into her involvement in the brand moving forward. “My collection will still be somewhat limited and selected by her,” Kim shared. “Fashion is teamwork and I can’t do it alone.”
Leaving us wanting more, Kim has vowed to bring back her signature fun designs for Seoul Fashion Week. If that’s too long to wait, we understand. In the meantime, you can satiate your Minju Kim cravings by browsing her official site MINJU KIM or shopping the latest collections on Society A and Net-a-Porter.