Minju Kim Is Next

Word on the street is, South Korean designer Minju Kim is one to watch.

 

Although Kim has been designing for a few years, she first made a big name for herself on the fashion scene after she won Netflix’s first (and only) season of Next In Fashion – a design competition similar to Project Runway. She was awarded $250,000 and the chance to debut a collection on luxury retailer site Net-a-Porter. Through competing on the show and putting a collection out on Net-a-Porter, Kim was able to reach a bigger audience and finally get the widespread recognition she deserved.

 

 

 

 

Kim is known for her superb womenswear and use of bold prints, and she first launched her self-named, Seoul-based company MINJUKIM back in 2015. Another constant in Kim’s designs is a desire to bring beauty back to the streets, as streetwear is another one of her hallmarks.

 

Her collections always have strong, fantastical, joy-focused themes. Her Spring/Summer 2021 collection was dedicated to the spring that we lost at the start of the pandemic, and featured cheerful illustrations meant to evoke positive emotions against the depressing backdrop of Covid. She released her Fall/Winter 2021 collection through Instagram, and dedicated it to her love of the Johnny Depp film Edward Scissorhands. The collection is a story literally about Edward himself, and how he experienced both the best and worst moments of his life simultaneously on Christmas. Kim imagined Edward having a Christmas filled with nothing but joy, and we subsequently got a jaw-droppingly beautiful collection.

 

Minju Kim definitely has a knack for combining the bold with the classy. The real with the surreal. The street with the suite. Her deftness with color brings an unbridled joy back to fashion we never knew we needed so badly. Kim has also been a major force in putting streetwear back in the elevated fashion echelons it once belonged to. Not that streetwear was ever entirely absent from the fashion conversation to begin with, but Kim has brought it back to top-of-tongue coolness.

 

We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Minju Kim, and her talents and fame are only headed in one direction: up. Talk about a fun one-way street.