N O V E L T Y/ Min Kim

Earlier this week I had the pleasure to digitally meet Min Kim(25) during a little FaceTime chat. After seeing her wonderful work I tracked her down like a Facebook-stalker for a little interview. It was lovely to talk with the super kind and enthusiastic Min about her creative process, her home country Korea vs. living in London, playing dress up and individuality.

Ivania/ Please do tell me more about the story behind the collection

Min/ I like to tell personal stories with my collections. I am very interested in the small things, inspiration always comes from my own experiences; like memories of dressing up with my sister. These small things become bigger, wider and more serious as I research them. There are a lot of references to stories and episodes between women on a very personal level.

My inspiration for the graduation collection came from the 'PFD phase' (Pink Frilled Dress Phase), which most girls go through. I wanted to make an issue about this situation. In my research you'll also find images of girls dressing up in big circular dresses which create unexpected silhouettes.

Ivania/ Your research is really touching, as I have a little kid and get to deal with the 'prescriptions' society has for the genders; pink for girls, blue for boys for example. It can be interpreted as quite a feminist statement you make, would you call yourself a feminist?

Min/ Exactly, there are so many color choices, society should give more space to them so they can make their own choices. I never thought about it that way. I have never deliberately wanted to make a very feminist statement with this collection.

Ivania/ What are your future plans?

Min/First I'd like to gain some experience within a team of designers and to further develop my skills. I'd love to stay in Europe.

Ivania /There are a lot of interesting fashion projects coming from Korea though, wouldn't you want to go back?

Min/Trends in Korea are on a masse scale, most people dress to impress other people. I'd like to design for women who dress for their individual self.

Ivania /We’ve only seen this one collection from you, what would you call your signature elements, or which elements can be expected to come back in your future work?

Min/ The references to episodes, stories and relationships between women. And working with silhouettes that are a bit distorted like for example the circular shapes.

images courtesy of Min Kim< br /> photographs by Heewon Kim