Designer Ko shares tips for success

Fashion designer Ko Tae-yong

Cover of Ko Tae-yong’s book, “The World Cannot Put Me Down”

By Kim Jae-heun

There have been many Korean fashion designers who have published books about their paths to success. 35-year-old Ko Tae-yong is a fashion designer who wrote a new self-help book called “The World Cannot Put Me Down.” His publishers discouraged him from publishing the book at first but Ko was confident that it could truly tell a unique experience for two reasons: he had not studied abroad and he joined the fashion industry late in his mid-20s. Now, his book is a bestseller at the online bookstore YES 24 and it’s already in its third printing.

“Most of the successful Korean fashion designers who have written books either have an educational background abroad or grew up in a dressmaking environment,” said Ko during his interview with The Korea Times, Monday. “People want to find answers in the lives of others who grew up in similar or worse backgrounds than themselves.

“In that sense, I started late in fashion, I am really bad at sketching and I am not from a rich family. I have received much feedback from readers that my story has encouraged others to forget about their age and start fashion again,” he said.

Ko is the youngest designer to participate in Seoul Fashion Week, at the age of 27. It was only a year after he got his start but this year already marks the 10th anniversary of his debut. Over the last decade, Ko wrote a new success story, making it into the top five of the global fashion design contest “Who is on Next Dubai” hosted by Italian Vogue and Vogue Talent, where he represented Korea last year. The author also spoke at a TEDx speech contest.

The most-frequently-asked questions posed to Ko are “how do I become a fashion designer,” “can I become successful without speaking English?” and “how do I start my own business?”

After repeatedly answering the same questions through e-mail or Instagram, Ko finally decided to write a book.

“It took me a year to publish the book and I never expected to sell a million copies so I had no pressure. I am not planning to write another book and I will not write another one anytime soon,” Ko said.

In the 260-page book, the fashion designer shares his plight of failing auditions when he tried to enter university, lacking the money to rent a workroom and translating an invitation message on Google’s translator for his first New York collection show.

The book also contains photos of his Seoul collection over the last 10 years as well as photos of models Kim Won-joong and Lee Sun-kyung, the muses of Ko’s fashion brand “Beyond Closet.”

Most importantly, Ko reveals how he came to make the designer brand’s first million-seller in its history, a “Patch Dog” print shirt, better known as “Gae-T,” which translates to “dog T-shirt” in English.

“I ultimately want to make readers think that a person like me can become a fashion designer who came this far, despite a slow start and many disadvantages,” said Ko. “Anybody can achieve this if it is what they want. I didn’t travel abroad until I turned 30 and did not know about the job of fashion designer until I was 24.”