Save the date: Minju Kim for H&M

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When Minju Kim won H&M’s Design Award competition earlier this year, many of us wondered if her spirited designs would be modified for the H&M customer. The answer is yes, but in a way that still reflects her joyful creativity. The collection of nine womenswear pieces and two accessories arrives on October 17th and will be sold in selected H&M stores in the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, South Korea, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, USA and online. Plus, it will also be available at Opening Ceremony in New York, Los Angeles and London, the first time any H&M collection has been sold at Opening Ceremony.

For 27 year-old Kim, a student at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp studying under Walter Van Beirendonck, this is a rare spotlight moment to get her work seen by a global audience of customers and other potential retailers. And it’s a pretty bold collection for H&M to be selling. While they have simplified the shapes, there’s still some strong exaggeration of proportions going on,  a reflection of Kim’s comic-art inspiration.

Colours, shapes and motifs were drawn from Japanese Manga artist Junji Ito, accessorised with a cut-out leather collar and fringed platform wedges. Sometimes it’s the boldest pieces that sell the fastest and I predict that will be the case with the voluminous yellow coat. What do you think?

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H&M Design Award 2013 - Winner's show
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H&M Design Award 2013 - Winner's show
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H&M Design Award 2013 - Winner's show
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