In the colourful and adventurous imagination of designer Minju Kim you’re the puppet and she the puppeteer.

It’s the doll-like, dress up qualities that trademark Kim’s design aesthetic as a wondrously intricate and feminine style. It's clear that fashion is more than just clothing to Kim, as each collection is so personal and considered, acting as a narrative or story providing a direct insight into her creative mind, memories and imagination.

For Kim’s recent collection ‘Be Cover ‘13’ the emphasis is clearly on silhouettes, craftsmanship and experimentation. You’ll never catch Kim playing it safe on the colour palette, or garment construction.

While hand knotting, melting and then hand stitching entire garments out of rubber might seem way too daunting for us mere mortals, Kim did this for the entire collection and kept the theme of handcrafts rife throughout her work. Considering the love and devotion this would have entailed, it's no surprise she was shortlisted for the LMVH ‘Young Fashion Designers Award’ this year– clearly an overachiever. Oh, and lets not forget features in Dazed and Confused and Vogue Italia as well.

Kim explores “the beauty in the unexpected and unknown” with her garments by creating an illusion of candy wrappers, and plastic delights to compromise the clothing. She gives her wearers an element of child like dress up; the indulgence in the fantasy that particular clothing can give. Kim’s girl is in costume everyday, and unforgivingly creates the world around her from her imagination upwards.

http://www.minju-kim.com/

Words/ Bridgette Hungerford