Meet Minju Kim, K-pop fashion designer and breakout star of Netflix’s Next In Fashion
She counts K-pop bands such as BTS and Red Velvet as clients and won over Next In Fashion fans, but what’s next for the South Korean designer?
The indisputable breakout star and winner of Netflix’s latest fashion show Next In Fashion, Minju Kim, is an award-winning designer who has created outfits for some of K-pop’s most beloved bands.
With her humble, friendly demeanour and whimsical, fashion-forward designs, Kim quickly captured the hearts of hosts Alexa Chung and Queer Eye’s Tan France, as well as the audience, and her shock at winning endeared her even further.
“It’s surreal watching myself on screen, since we filmed this last April. I’ve been getting well-wishes from around the world and it’s amazing people are getting to know my ‘world’ – it feels like I’m still floating on a cloud,” she said.
Fashion superstardom was not always on the South Korean’s mind – her original goal was to be an art or design teacher in New Zealand, where she attended middle and high school.
“My parents wanted me to return to my hometown and study in Korea, but I had nowhere to go as the university is based on the Korean exam system. So I decided to go to Samsung Art & Design Institute (SADI) to continue my creative dreams. They only have three courses: fashion, communication and product design, so I chose fashion as it seemed the most flexible,” said Kim, who majored in menswear.
From there, she went on to her dream school, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, where her experience there and her tutelage under Belgian fashion icon Walter Van Beirendonck shaped her career today.
“It was tough and lonely being a foreign student there for four years, but I truly believe it made me who I am now. I’ve always wanted to be like Walter; the way he describes and translates his fantasy world into fashion helped me find my own style and woke me up as a designer,” said Kim, who also cites manga as an influence.
“During that time, I expanded my own fantasy world, breaking through my own ‘box’ to make the sound of my own [fashion] voice.”
One of the best things about Next In Fashion was the camaraderie between contestants, with minimal reality-show squabbling. Kim remembers hanging out together with the contestants at the hotel bar after each challenge and cheering each other up.
“Thinking about it makes me smile, and the whole experience reminded me how much I love being a designer. Honestly, since I started my label I haven’t had time to rest, worrying about the next [fashion] season, money, the business … I forgot why I loved fashion and why I started. Meeting these beautiful people reignited my passion, and while the show hasn’t influenced my style, I’m more confident that I can handle any genre.”