23.06.11

Where Are You Now? - Kevin Kim

Kevin Kim's designs from Fashion156.com's The Sequin Issue, Fashion Editorial.

Kevin's styling work.

Kevin Kim

Last week we spoke with RCA graduate Calum Harvey. This week continuing our 'Where Are You Now?' series that sees us catch up with previous Fashion156 interns, contributors and collaborators, we speak with Kevin Kim.

We first featured Kevin as a designer in our Sequin Issue back in 2008, but now he has focused his fashionable eye onto styling. We catch up with him to find out why he has left designing behind, and what he has been up to since we last met.

When we last featured you it was as a designer rather than a stylist, have you given up designing for good?

By the time of my third year at Uni, I had already decided that I didn’t want to be a designer. I started working for the Korean Harper's Bazaar in London as a contributing Editor, and I found myself becoming very interested in pursuing a career as either an Editor or a Stylist rather than a designer. This said, I still haven’t given up on designing, it will always be a part of me. If something really interests me or inspires me to design again, then I wont hesitate in returning to the craft.

Has your background as a designer helped the way you work now then?

Absolutely. It really benefits me as a stylist because if I cannot find the piece I am looking for then I always have the option of making it myself.

Was the move into styling a natural progression or one that came about unexpectedly?

A natural progression. My first styling project was helping a friend of mine who studied fashion photography at LCF, and from there I could tell it was a path I wanted to continue. It’s funny because for that project I was using lots of my own clothes and basically recreating a clone of myself and my style. Anyway, it must have paid off because soon after several other photography students asked me to work on their projects, and I haven’t stopped working since.

What have been the most stand-out projects that you have worked on?

When I was with Harper’s Bazaar I got to work with Alexa Chung on a cover and editorial shoot, which has stuck with me as a really amazing experience. I have also worked with Nicholas Hoult on the cover of Esquire magazine!

Which magazine and which photographer would you most like to style for?

I would love to work with Jacob Sutton and style for BON magazine because both of their styles really inspire me. Hopefully it will happen sometime soon!

As a freelance stylist do you find it hard to balance these influences and your own personal taste with the demands of the shoot?

Yes, sometimes I need to give up my own taste in style to compromise with that of the client’s. It’s really annoying at times, but I am living in reality and need the money!

What do you have planned for the future?

I am definitely going to continue down the styling route for now, as there is so much more I feel I can get out of it. Maybe you will find my name all over the magazines in years to come!

See more of Kevin’s work here

Posted by Tom Bloomfield

Tags: Where Are You Now Kevin Kim Fashion156.com Designer Stylist