Featuring next in the MA16 Graduate Spotlight series is MA Fashion Design Technology Womenswear South Korean designer Kirim Yun. Kirim’s final collection will feature in this Thursday’s Womenswear Catwalk show which will be live streamed at 7pm GMT on the LCF website. We caught up with her to discuss her take on 19th Century traditional dress which is fun and light-hearted but features complex pleats and tight structure. She also talks to us about her passion for creating beautiful womenswear outfits, why she chose to study at LCF and the challenges she overcame during her time studying postgraduate.
MA Fashion Design Technology Womenswear designer Kirim Yun will be showcasing her collection at Thursday’s live streamed LCFMA16 Womenswear Catwalk. Photography by Felix Cooper and styling by Anders Sølvsten Thomsen.
Tell us about your final collection?
My collection is inspired by 19th century tailored womenswear and specifically the long pleated skirts, sailor blouses, full skirts gathered onto yoked bodices and full-length dresses. One of the things I found most interesting about the clothing of that time was that the children’s clothing was exactly like the adult clothing, just smaller and with childlike details such as exaggerated ruffles. I decided that the silhouette of this collection would be a petticoat – the tight silhouette of the petticoat is a common characteristic of 19th century fashion.
With this brief sketch of 19th century women and girls clothing in mind, I decided to add more detail, by creating unique pleats to give it a distinctive look and to put more emphasis on the design, I chose to use the colour pink.
Where did you study prior to your MA at LCF?
I studied in South Korea in Seoul and I did 2 majors there. The first major was in Fine Art and the second in womenswear fashion design. After graduating I prepared my portfolio and studied English for about a year and a half so that I was ready to come to the UK and study.
Reflecting back on your MA, and thinking of any prospective students thinking about starting an MA, what would be your top three tips/bits of advice to them?
The first important thing to do if you are not a native-speaker is to learn English. I really struggled at the beginning of my studies to understand the professors because my English was not the best but it improved over time.
Secondly, it is important to understand and know how to make and cut basic patterns before doing the course.
And finally, I would say that you have to be hard working, strong-minded and have good time management skills because there are a lot of tight schedules.
Why did you choose LCF and MA Fashion Womenswear?
My personality is suited to making clothes for women as my design style is very feminine and also I like using sophisticated fabric details such as beading and lace which I think is more suited to womenswear but not exclusive to it of course.
I chose to study at LCF because I was interested in the more traditional aspect of fashion design – I wanted to be able to make garments that people could wear.
What have you found the most enjoyable and interesting parts of your course? And what have you found the most challenging?
Firstly, If a student is thinking about doing this course, they need to know all the basics of design software such Photoshop and Illustrator. I struggled because when I first started the course, I didn’t know how to use Illustrator and found it hard to use at first but as time went on, I found the learning quite enjoyable because I was gaining new skills. Secondly, I really enjoyed playing with different fabrics for my collection and finally, as I mentioned before, I struggled with English at the start, so to work around this, I recorded what my professor said in classes and then played the recordings back.
What was your favourite thing about studying in London?
Some of the best and most famous designers are here in London so I get exposure to them and get closer to the details. In addition, there are so many opportunities to get a great internship in London.
Describe your work in five words…
super-lovely, teddy bears, unique, petticoats, complex
Do you have a muse? If so, who and why?
I don’t have a muse but I like French designers like Chanel.
What are your future plans and how do you think the course will help you to realise these plans?
I want to work in France and I want to work with a brand that has a modern flair and focuses on details. During this course, I really cemented my design style because we had three diverse design projects which challenged me to make different types of garments, use various kinds of fabrics and make fabric details such as beading on lace and digital printing. The experience made me realise what I am most passionate about in terms of design.
- Find out more about MA Fashion Design Technology Womenswear
- Watch the LCFMA Womenswear live on Thursday 18 February at 7pm GMT
- Follow the event on Facebook
- Read more about the MA16 season of events
- Find our more about postgraduate courses at London College of Fashion
- Find out about postgraduate open days
- Meet the graduates in our LCF MA16 Graduate Spotlight series
- Read more about LCF MA16 on LCF News
- #LCFMA16 on Twitter and Instagram