Jihyun Kim is a founder and designer of S’MM, which is women’s wear brand based in New York since May 2016. Jihyun was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to New York at the age of eighteen to attend Pratt Institute.
While at Pratt, she was interning at J.Mendel, Melitta Baumeister, Jill Stuart, and Anna sui that time she learned and experienced the real fashion industry in New York City. In 2016, Kim graduated B.F.A Fashion design from Pratt Institute and showed first collection, titled “Portraits of Women.” At the stage of graduating fashion show, she won the $25000 from the Liz-Claiborne Concept to Product Award, after then she launched her brand, called “S’MM.”
Kim mainly pursued oversized silhouette with delicate and feminine details. Especially, “Portrait of Women” collection mainly deliberates about empowering the female artists by designing minimal feminine silhouette with delicate details. Informed by broad and practical research which enclosed historic source of costume and painting, critical theory, and an argument of feminism in the art field, Kim attempts to create the new art form of fashion along with a story of contemporary art, which argued about feminism.
Recently, Kim is working as freelance fashion designer based in New York City as well as attempts to exhibit many gallery and museum spaces to show artistic ways of fashion instead of commercial ways. In addition, she spends most of the time making the new collection that will present at upcoming F/W 2017 New York Fashion Week, called “Holiday Visitors.”
Statement (Collection Statement)
The collection, titled “Portraits of Women," was inspired by spaces in museums, galleries, and auction house because each respective masterpiece reflects each decade history of costume and reveals social phenomenon. Especially, women’s portraits clearly revealed their social status as well as demonstrated how the woman was treated as a subject of beauty. Based on history resources, in the art field, most of the male painters were dominated and they got more fame than female artists. However, they depicted numberless female subjects, even naked models. Ironically, many male artists got fame and wealth by depicting women’s beauty since long times ago. So, the collection is expecting to empower women’s right in the art field by harmonizing between feminine details; cake icing trims, lace, and ruffles, and stiff silhouette by bonded and layered fabrics.
