Minju Kim History: Drawing a Wearable World

From illustrated characters and imagined gardens to wearable structures.

ÉPOPLI · 2026-10-12

AI portrait illustration of Minju Kim. Not an archival photograph.ÉPOPLI · Identity reference

Another exterior for a character

Can an imagined character acquire a new exterior through clothing? Be Cover, her 2013 graduation collection, reinterpreted Elphaba from Wicked. Minju Kim history begins with this question rather than with cuteness alone. She wanted to offer another view of a figure judged by her appearance. This drawing-led design changes the space around a body as well as its printed surface: shoulder width, framing and volume can all shape a character. Once worn, the imagined figure meets an actual person whose movement makes the story less fixed.

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Learning drawing and fashion together

She enjoyed manga and drawing characters, including their clothes, before studying at Seoul's Samsung Art and Design Institute and the Royal Academy in Antwerp, graduating in 2013. Minju Kim history links illustration and making rather than treating them as separate careers. She credited the school with allowing that combination, studying with teachers including Walter Van Beirendonck and Dirk Van Saene. She later explained that she had no company work experience when starting her brand. Recognition at school did not automatically provide business knowledge; operating independently required further learning and collaboration.

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An award collection meets production

Dear My Friend, inspired by Junji Ito, won the 2013 H&M Design Award. Pastel volume and contrasting textures carried its imagined world into clothing. Minju Kim history then entered a different production setting through the H&M capsule. Curved cape sleeves, a coat with a detachable pink jacquard element and substantial knit surfaces retained distinctive ideas within retail products. Jacquard creates pattern through weaving. This drawing-led design now had to travel from an individual collection to multiple customers. She described factory visits and working with the H&M team as formative experiences, extending the award beyond publicity.

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A label before and after television

A 2014 LVMH Prize semi-final followed, and she established the label in 2015. Winning Netflix's first Next in Fashion season in 2020 expanded an existing practice rather than creating it. Minju Kim history includes collaboration with Angel Chen and learning to work within the programme's time constraints. She wanted greater recognition in Korea and later described Seoul as a useful base for close communication with cutters and sewers. Running the business with her sister also meant balancing creative decisions and products customers could use. She cautioned that television had dramatised their relationship rather than presenting it transparently.

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Gardening on the moon

The 2022 & Other Stories collaboration revisited Moon Gardener, imagining someone growing plants on the moon while missing Earth. In Minju Kim history, narrative prints connect imagined plants with stripes and garment shape. The mini shirt dress could work alone or over trousers, bringing fantasy into a flexible wardrobe. These narrative prints need not dictate a complete story to a customer; their colours and lines offer an entrance into one. Reworking an early idea for another label tested which parts could change and which continued to carry its character.

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Stories moving in the museum

The V&A's 2023 Fashion in Motion presentation brought together spring/summer and autumn/winter 2022, drawing on the Bari folk tale. Minju Kim history was presented through moving bodies rather than only stationary display. These voluminous silhouettes create intervals between cloth and the wearer, directing attention towards faces, hands or moving hems. Manga, a lunar garden and Bari are distinct references, linked by a method of translating narrative into structure. This particular interpretation can be understood without making it a universal statement about Korean dress.

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Changing scale in everyday clothes

A second 8Seconds collaboration arrived in August 2026, using heart-clover motifs, ribbons, ruffles and pieces including satin-collar outerwear and short jackets. Minju Kim history again examined the distance between imaginative runway clothing and everyday combinations. These voluminous silhouettes can be concentrated in a sleeve or hem rather than expanded across an entire outfit. Huh Yunjin appeared as 8Seconds' seasonal model, a role distinct from authorship. Following a drawing into cutting, textile and eventual use offers the most productive route through the archive: imagination becomes a way to find other wearable forms.

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Timeline

2013 — Graduated Antwerp; H&M Design Award
2014 — LVMH Prize semi-finalist
2015 — Established MINJUKIM
2020 — Won first Next in Fashion season
2022–2023 — Moon Gardener collaboration and V&A show
2026 — Second 8Seconds collaboration