The Next in Fashion's Winner Minju Kim Opens Her New Brand with ALAND
Image credit: ALAND USA
April this year, winner of Netflix's The Next in Fashion Minju Kim has opened her new brand Mbrary with ALAND at American Dream Mall in New Jersey.
Image credit: Net-a-Porter
Kim is a South Korean fashion designer who previously launched her self-named, Seoul-based fashion company MINJUKIM in 2015. After beating British designer Daniel Fletcher in The Next in Fashion, Kim went on to debut a collection on Net-a-Porter — a benefit for the winner of the show, and has now launched a new brand with ALAND.
Image credit: ALAND USA
The brand, Mbrary, is a combination of the first letter of Kim's name and library. Mbrary is inspired by Kim's drawing collections, and her willingness to display them in a simpler and more casual way to the audience.
Left: A design from MINJUKIM; Image credit: MINJUKIM
Right: A design from Mbrary; Image credit: ALAND USA
While Kim's designs under MINJUKIM are more dressy and eye catching, her first collection in Mbrary, titled Eyes of the hero consists of graphic t-shirts and caps thus making this collection more suitable for daily wear. Eco Bags will also be launched in collaboration with ALAND that also features Kim's past award-winning designs.
ALAND is an amalgamation of a variety of Korean brands and designers. They are at the forefront in lowering the barrier in bringing South Korean fashion and culture to the global stage and have even opened retail stores in Singapore, Japan, and Thailand.
You can browse ALAND's collection on their Shopee page, and more of Minju Kim's pieces here.