WHO: Nayon Kim, Director of Nayon

For these who are unfamiliar with your function, how long have you been in the marketplace? 

I have been in the business since 2016 as a stylist in Seoul, South Korea. Then, I moved to New York to research vogue style and design at Parsons College of Design. Because graduating, I have been freelancing and doing the visuals for Psy’s idol group TNX.

How did you occur to understand that you wished to start out your label? 

I usually wanted to convey my vision as a result of my very own label, and now appeared like a fantastic time to begin.

It really is no solution that there are so quite a few makes out there, but for you, what did you experience was lacking in the current market right before you begun your label? What do you hope to convey to the industry? 

I have been thinking about this issue for a lengthy time and understood what was lacking is timeless, quality garments that do not rely on income or remaining viral on social media. I want to convey nobility to garments.

Just one issue that helps make your label so distinctive is each and every assortment is gender-neutral. Why was it essential to create clothes that anyone could dress in? 

I will not imagine that clothing ought to be gendered. Folks should pick out what they want to use. It is like music—people can experience differently about an artist or a tune, and there is no ideal or wrong to it.

You have expended your early decades doing the job as a stylist for Blackpink. What created you make a decision you desired to pivot into style design and style? How have your collective ordeals in the business impacted how you strategy each and every part of your business, from solution layout to marketing and advertising?

My objective was to usually work as a manner designer. Commencing out styling with Blackpink was a lucky option that came to me in advance of starting up design college and aided me find out about the trend sector.   

You were awarded the CFDA Design Scholar Award in 2021—what was that instant like for you? And how has it impacted your brand?  

It was a instant that gave me the self-assurance to start my possess manufacturer. I was getting some tough situations, and the CFDA Awards possibility gave me a opportunity to believe in myself and start fresh new.

How do you hope your brand name shifts how the sector defines menswear and womenswear? 

I hope that Nayon can give folks flexible viewpoints and visuals without having emphasizing gender.

The previous few several years have been tumultuous for many designers—from dealing with offer-chain challenges to the pandemic. Did the instability of the market place ever prevent you from setting up the label? And how, if at all, has it impacted your solution to your get the job done? 

It is hard to begin a little something tiny without accessibility to the elements or assist. As somebody generating a little something new, it was tough to afford excellent-excellent pieces without the need of the funding to back again making them.

You just released your drop/wintertime 2023 collection—can you convey to us a minimal about it? Exactly where did you attract inspiration from? How prolonged did it get to produce it? 

Brutalism has been a major inspiration, and the collection merges that layout idea with my thoughts about this technology. For this year, I had a month, which is very little time.

Last of all, though the brand name is continue to new, how do you hope it will modify the industry? What do you envision for the foreseeable future of the manufacturer?

I would like to present that it is probable to create a imaginative property without the need of following the trends. I want the brand name to add to the tradition, not just the fashion market.