Minju Kim (; born 30 March 1986) is a South Korean

fashion design Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...

er known for her womenswear and use of bold prints. In 2020, she was named the winner of the first season of

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

's '' Next In Fashion''. Kim was born in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea and studied in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

as a teenager. She originally wanted to attend art school and become a cartoonist, but was encouraged by her parents to study fashion design in Seoul. She studied fashion design at the Samsung Art & Design Institute, followed by a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Kim credits the influence of designers and RAFA instructors such as

Walter Van Beirendonck Walter Van Beirendonck (born 4 February 1957) is a Belgian fashion designer. He was the head of the fashion department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp until 2022. Education He graduated in 1980 from the Royal Arts Academy in Ant ...

with sparking her love of fashion design.

Career

Kim launched her self-named, Seoul-based company MINJUKIM in 2015. She is known for starting her fashion shows with a design featuring a core, self-designed print that appears throughout the rest of the collection. Her 2018 Fall collection print was based on

Galaxy Express 999 is a Japanese manga series. It is written and illustrated by Leiji Matsumoto, later adapted into a number of anime films and television series. It is set in a spacefaring, high-tech future in which humans have learned how to transfer ...

. In addition to releasing collections each year, Kim has designed for Red Velvet. She also teaches design classes at

Kookmin University Kookmin University () is a Private university, private research university established in 1946 in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It has historic significance, as it was founded during by the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and is ...

. In 2020 Kim was named the winner of Netflix's

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

and fashion design competition, '' Next In Fashion'', edging out British designer Daniel Fletcher. She competed with Chinese designer Angel Chen during the team-based portion of the competition and the pair dubbed themselves as 'Dragon Princess'. As winner Kim received US$250,000 from

Net-a-Porter YOOX Net-a-Porter Group S.p.A. is an Italian online fashion retailer created on 5 October 2015 after the merger between Yoox Group and Net-a-porter Group (NAP). Yoox was originally founded by Federico Marchetti (businessman), Federico Marchetti ...

to launch a collection for sale on their site. Kim was previously the winner of the 2013

H&M Design Award The H&M Design Award is an design prize for fashion graduates. The prize was established in 2012 to support young designers with starting careers in fashion. The prize is awarded every year by Hennes & Mauritz AB ( H&M), a Swedish multinational cl ...

and was shortlisted for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers in 2014. In 2021, Kim collaborated with the brand ''& Other Stories'', a brand which is under the ''H&M Group''. The launch of her collection, the ''Minjukim'' collection, quickly sold out and was largely successful. The limited collection was sold worldwide, and was sold out online within an hour on the Korean webstore. The ''& Other Stories'' collab was inspired by Kim's Spring-Summer collection of 2016, which was her brand's second collection to debut. The apparel consisted mostly of pastel colors and prints, accompanied by accessories such as sunglasses and hair clips which were also aligned with the spring theme. In 2022, Kim launched a fall apparel line, where she shared her designs on her Instagram and official website. Several notable celebrities followed her on her social media account, like '' Riverdale'' star

Lili Reinhart Lili Pauline Reinhart (born September 13, 1996) is an American actress. She gained recognition for playing Betty Cooper on the CW teen drama series '' Riverdale'' (2017–2023). She has also starred in the crime drama film '' Hustlers'' (2019) a ...

and more.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Minju South Korean women fashion designers 1980s births Living people