As she celebrates ten years in the fashion industry, the social media guru and entrepreneur tells Tatler about her latest collaboration with Vans and how her career has evolved
Irene Kim might be the ultimate slashie; it’s certainly not enough to call her an influencer. With her modelling experience, hugely engaging social platforms— she has 2.7 million Instagram followers at the time of writing— television presence and four-year-old fashion brand, Ireneisgood, she is certainly influential. “When I am [working] on either my platform or on my brand, everything is kind of connected for me,” she says.
Having grown up between Seattle and Seoul, Kim studied at the The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, then, in 2013, after six years in the city, moved to Seoul to try to break into the modelling industry; soon after, she would become known for her “unicorn” hair. Her decision paid off: she is seen as something of an ambassador for South Korean fashion, she has graced the covers of fashion magazines around Asia, she was named the first Asian global ambassador for Estée Lauder in 2015 and, in 2018, she started her fashion label. The brand’s latest endeavour is a crossover with Vans, the global sports shoe brand.
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Take us back to the early days of Ireneisgood.
[The brand] came very organically, and it just made sense at the point of my career. I wanted to make something that has good vibes, that is fun and playful. I studied textile design in FIT and with everything that I experienced in my career, it was very natural for me to do something of my own. But there are so many brands these days. For me, it’s about the message: fashion or a product is about … making sure that you stay true to yourself. The brand was very centred around my mantra of good vibes and playfulness and adding something fun to your everyday look. We started with little beauty pouches that went viral thanks to the Blackpink girls. I’ve known them since the very beginning stages of their [career], and they were super supportive of my brand. I’m just very thankful because they really loved the product.
Did being an influencer help to establish the brand?
I had my platform and my audience already, so you could say it was easier. But [in a way] it was also harder, because I just didn’t want [people thinking] the brand is only doing well because of [my success]. I really made sure each time I developed a product or launched something that I was a part of the creative process so that we wouldn’t lose our vision.
Sometimes with brands [founded by] celebrities or influencers, [they] aren’t fully a part of it, [because they aren’t personally interested]. My team can vouch that I am a part of everything. When I was launching, I didn’t have people making decisions for me; it was one girl with entry-level design experience helping me while I was doing everything else, including going to Fashion Week and creating content. It was another full-time job for me.
