IRENE KIM
From the girl with unicorn hair to being Korea’s IT girl, IRENE KIM reveals how she transforms negativity into positivity and how defying conformity has been her biggest asset.
INTERVIEWER ROBYN NGAN
PHOTOGRAPHER YEOUNG JUN KIM
Let’s face it, Irene Kim is just effortlessly cool. What started as a hair project out of boredom made her a pioneer and style icon almost overnight. She’s since been called the “New Face of the Fashion World”, Vogue has previously heralded her as the “Korean It Girl” and she’s even been called the Alexa Chung of Asia, but she represents so much more. She’s a mentor, a model, a tv personality, an entrepreneur and a creative – she cringes at the term “influencer” and she doesn’t describe herself as a creator either; as she puts it, she’s not God, she’s just someone that makes things that other people happen to like. Although the bold and audacious hair colours we know her for are gone, her trend-setting and wisdom are here to stay.
Having worked with the likes of Estée Lauder, MaxMara and Calvin Klein, Kim now boasts the role as a Chanel brand ambassador. Alongside her work on modelling campaigns, she spends time as one of the hosts of CJ E&M’s Get It Beauty. She’s a beauty and fashion guru in her own right, with her influence likely being something in your periphery even if you may not know her by name. But her work extends far beyond what you see on a screen. Kim symbolises every woman who has been told they can’t do something or be someone, she represents every little girl who was told they were too quirky or too unconventional, or even too old. But every criticism and every negative word thrown at her, she has channelled into something more positive. In her own words, “As an Asian woman and just as a woman, I want people to know that if you set your mind to something you love and have determination, anything is possible.”
jacket THE OPEN PRODUCT, dress JINJONJAM, trousers SUGI, and shoes STYLIST’S OWN
Kim’s rise to fame has been meteoric. Born in Iowa and raised in Seattle, Kim moved to her parents’ home country of South Korea in middle school where she attended Christian boarding school. Although she ran away from her dorms at the school, she reflects how much her time there has helped her in her career: it gave her a tough skin and took her out of her comfort zone. She may not have been grateful at the time, but retrospectively she is able to appreciate the experience. After boarding school, she moved to study textile design at FIT in New York and interned with different stylists, even sneaking into a Marc Jacobs fashion show one season. Nowadays she doesn’t need to sneak in, she’s invited to sit front row.
top STYLIST’S OWN
We started the interview with a quick-fire round of questions. Make-up or no makeup? “Makeup”. Which s more important: hair or nails? “Nails – I always need to have clean nails.” Hair or face? “Hair.” Face or outfit? “Outfit.” Hair or outfit? “Outfit.”
I asked Kim how her perception of beauty has changed since working in entertainment and social media. She replied, “My mom always said that if you are happy, you are confident and if you are confident you are beautiful. Beauty is very much skewed in entertainment and on social media and most of it is all staged and created by a whole army of people.” She reminds us that what we’re shown by the media is often not genuine – and how can one replicate something that doesn’t exist? With the increased usage of filters on platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat, it’s difficult not to think you would look better, or perhaps prettier, if you looked different. To combat the blur between Kim’s professional and personal life, she sets standards for herself on and off social media. Her stance is that her motivation lies within doing the best she can in every role that she takes on. Social media doesn’t control her – and nor should it control you – it’s simply a tool to show her creativity and her work, it’s her preferred medium of communication. What is key is to “be kind, be humble, and work hard”. But that kindness must extend to yourself too.
shirt and skirt THE OPEN PRODUCT, and shoes RACHELCOX
top SUGI, and trousers LEJE
“My mom always said that if you are happy, you are confident and if you are confident you are beautiful.”
Although Kim explains that she has definitely felt pressured by the industry to change and conform to certain beauty standards, she’s always tried to go against those standards to remain true to herself. And it’s quite obvious there is nothing particularly traditional about Kim. Her modelling debut was at 26, when most models start in their teens, and when it comes to typical Asian beauty standards, she doesn’t think she possesses the traditional “Asian look”. Her hair is ultimately what put her on the map first, but she didn’t initially do it because she wanted to be different, she was simply bored. First, she went ombre blonde, and then she went blue – she was committed to this new feat – and then she went kaleidoscopic. Kim didn’t even tell her agency when she first dyed her hair; she still chuckles at the fact that when she entered the management building after her hair transformation, employees stopped typing. It was during a time when modelling was perceivably less dimensional, casting directors were looking for more conformity, models who fit specific criteria. Oh! and did we forget to mention that it was two weeks before Seoul Fashion Week? A bold (and risky) move, to say the least. But it paid off. Kim walked 19 shows in 5 days – the most shows walked in her agency that season.
shirt JINJONJAM, bra top STYLIST’S OWN, trousers SUGI, and shoes RACHELCOX
jacket and trousers MAXXIJ, and shoes STYLIST’S OWN
Beauty standards have changed and are still changing now; they’re becoming more diverse and less traditional. For Kim, “beauty is about fully accepting yourself and having confidence”. Modelling has become multi- dimensional, it’s no longer just about the “look” you carry, it’s about the ethos you represent and your personality. “I’m happy to see that things have been changing recently but the industry has a long way to go. But like all great things, it will take time and we definitely need to have more conversations.”
And fortunately, these are conversations that Kim is helping to start. Her own brand, IRENEISGOOD – a homage to her Instagram moniker (@ireneisgood) – is an embodiment of her “good vibes only” mantra. She doesn’t want her clothing line to be worn because it’s hers, she wants to make the wearer feel uplifted and motivated. It’s not about the clothes, it’s about the message, the colours and the vibes. You have to be connected and feel connected. IRENEISGOOD is not about Kim – this is not merchandise – it’s about you and the confidence you carry. With its vivid colours and whims to last a lifetime, the charm of the brand stems from its ability to make you feel comfortable in yourself.
When talking about her brand, Kim noted that the start of anything and everything is always difficult. It’s even harder when it’s something that you care about deeply, but “[like] anything in life [it] is about having a good foundation and good habits.” It’s those small habits that add up and help you build towards bigger things. Today, it’s almost expected that social media stars and celebrities will move into business, whether it’s simply selling merchandise or creating their own brand. When we’re watching a campaign through our phone or scrolling through Instagram, everything appears so seamless, as though there are no obstacles or hurdles in the way. But there obviously are, there will always be hiccups and blocks along the way.
jacket and trousers YCH
In a recent interview with Eric Nam on the Daebak Show, Kim remarked that most things don’t fall into place. It’s not always a smooth process. For Kim, she never knew IRENEISGOOD would become so popular or big, especially as it had started with small PVC beauty pouches which mirrored her jet-set lifestyle. Before long, it had moved to become a clothing line and had become far more time-consuming as she became more and more involved. Kim confirms everything down to the colour of the stitch and the type of stitch on each item. In many ways, sometimes she is her own hurdle that she must overcome. Her passion shines through with her respect and her reverence for fashion being undeniable, but that too comes at a cost. Kim told WOW, “I think the obstacle I had to overcome was really sacrificing other parts of my social life because otherwise I knew I couldn’t get what I wanted done”.
By now, you’re likely to be (if not on the way to being) a fan of Irene Kim. With her bright and cheery outlook, and her positive message, she proves to be more than just a fashion it-girl and entrepreneur, she’s a model not only for brands, but to so many young Asian women. Throughout this interview she always circles back and emphasises the importance of being true to yourself and letting your confidence and inner beauty stand for itself. There is never a right way to do anything, but belief, especially in yourself, should be your main motivation.
From starting her career as a model to becoming co-host on the show K-Style on Mnet to being a host for Get It Beauty (and with this being the Beauty issue of course), Kim is the perfect person to ask for beauty tips. When asked about the tip she cannot live without, she lets us in on her secret: curling her eyelashes with a thin wooden stick. “[Makeup artists] heat up the stick with a lighter and use it to curl lashes as it removes excess mascara for very natural curled lashes with no clumps. I love this trick because I have very straight lashes, but it makes my lashes very long and opens them up.” It’s a simple trick, but then again, Kim believes in spotlighting your inner beauty, you being yourself is the best you can offer.
jacket and trousers MAXXIJ, and shoes STYLIST’S OWN
“Good skin will always be in trend. I feel that taking care of the part you put stuff on is very important!”
Thinking back, Kim tells us one skincare trend she would never do again is the vampire facial – it’s painful and didn’t really do anything for her skin. If the name were not cautionary enough, you have explicit advice from Irene Kim herself to not try it.
South Korea has become one of the beauty capitals of the world, with K-beauty infiltrating almost everyone’s daily beauty routine. Traditionally, Koreans only used natural and gentle ingredients to create the fresh, dewy and natural glowing skin they’re known for. Generations of tips and tricks and natural ingredients have been transformed into a thriving beauty industry incomparable to the rest of the world. As Kim puts it, “Good skin will always be in trend. I feel that taking care of the part you put stuff on is very important!” And who can disagree? Certainly not us.
Whilst Korean beauty emphasises embracing your most natural self, Kim’s favourite beauty looks have always been the colourful one……
The full version of this cover story and interview was published in our print issue The WOW N° 4
TALENT: IRENE KIM @ ESTEEM MGMT
STYLIST: YOON KYUNG LEE
HAIR STYLIST: HEUNG GWON BAEK
MAKEUP ARTIST: SI NO CHOI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: ANNE DANAO