01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Miss Sohee Is Bringing Korean Culture to the Runway
At that point, it was still just her, hand-sewing all of the pieces in her apartment, with no real capital to properly set up a business. The media placements were a boon for building brand recognition, but magazines and celebrities typically borrow, rather than purchase, items for press moments. Park's first real commission, from a member of Dubai's royal family, came right on time, allowing her to open a studio, buy machinery, and hire people to help her. Soon after, Katie Grand, the renowned British fashion editor and stylist who founded Love and Perfect, got in touch, wanting to make an introduction to Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.
'I met them in Milan, and they opened up their Alta Moda premises to me,' she says, referring to Dolce and Gabbana's highest-caliber offering. In addition to getting to see the archive up close, Park was able to connect with the CEO of the Alta Moda business, who became not only a mentor, but also an instrumental resource for the brand as it built out its private client business, advising on how to structure the design process for clients, how to price gowns, and how to meet client expectations.
Dolce and Gabbana would later sponsor Miss Sohee's fashion week debut in Milan. For that February 2022 show, the brand upcycled Alta Moda fabrics to create a collection inspired by minhwa, an expressive genre of Korean folk art that captures the quotidian in bright, joyful colors. Park had always incorporated her heritage into her work—her sophomore offering was titled 'Haenyeo,' drawing from the female free divers of Jeju Island. The visibility of the partnership with Dolce and Gabbana just gave her a bigger microphone.
For that collection with Dolce and Gabbana, Miss Sohee sourced Hansan Mosi, a fine ramie woven fabric that's been designated by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. The brand has also commissioned artisans working in najeonchilgi (mother-of-pearl inlays), creating cheopji (silver hair pins), and making buchae (traditional fans). These collaborators 'are really authentic,' she says. 'It's even hard to get in touch with them because they don't have social media. I need assistance from my parents, who are local, to go visit them and talk to them.'
She describes working with Korean artisans as a 'very crucial element to the brand DNA' of Miss Sohee. 'There are so many beautiful elements that I could look into, and there are so many artisans in Korea that have not been discovered yet by the world. I'm in a very amazing situation where I'm getting a lot of attention—for me to look into these artisans and collaborate with them every season, it's a beautiful process.'
Though she's long identified as a couturier, Park was officially recognized as one in January when she was invited to be a guest designer on the official Haute Couture Week schedule in Paris. (' Haute couture ' is a protected term in France, and can only be used by brands that have been found to meet certain criteria as determined by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.) The collection she showed imagined a noblewoman from the Chosun dynasty in the modern day, marrying elements of traditional Korean garments with more Western fabrications and silhouettes. Lisa of Blackpink wore a customized version of the first look to the Vanity Fair Oscars party a few weeks later.
'It was a huge honor for the brand,' Park says. 'It opened new doors. There's a new dynamic within the clients as well, because it's an official recognition… A lot of collaborations and opportunities have come since, from the show.'
Right now, Miss Sohee's business—which the Financial Times reported made $3 million in 2024—is primarily made-to-order, with most of her revenue coming from private clients located mainly in the Middle East. There are 30 employees working across PR, client relations, operations, and the atelier. It's a far cry from the one-person operation out of a London flat she was running less than five years ago.
'It's a meaningful part of being Miss Sohee and doing what I do, seeing people in my creations, really enjoy wearing them, and feel confident,' she says. 'These projects are very private, but I find them so beautiful. It's different to ready-to-wear, where you mass produce and don't really know or have control over where it's ending up. With couture, you really get to meet the client, talk to them, and build this relationship. It's a very intimate process, and it's a really beautiful collaboration. That's what really drives Miss Sohee currently.'
