INTERVIEW Designer aims to put Korean fashion on world map with MMAM

MMAM is a contemporary fashion brand that has a doodle as its signature pattern. Courtesy of MMAM

K-pop and K-dramas have been growing in popularity worldwide in recent years, securing their footing on the global stage and bringing the spotlight to Korea’s culture.

However, despite the rising interest, Korean fashion is still an uncharted territory to some audiences around the world.

Hoping to challenge the status quo, Park Hyun, the CEO and designer of MMAM, made it her personal mission to bring K-fashion to center stage in the global market with her designer brand.

“In Europe, designers often launch brands with a unique identity and go on to establish their own fashion houses, similar to Coco Chanel. However, in Korea, we don't see many designers taking that independent path to build their own brands,” Park told The Korea Times during an interview at the newspaper’s office in central Seoul, Tuesday.

"While K-pop has BTS and Korean beauty is making waves internationally, there’s no globally recognized fashion brand from Korea yet. I believe Korean fashion could also have its own trailblazer," she added.

Launched in 2018, MMAM's unique approach incorporates doodle drawings into its designs. The contemporary brand held its first show at New York Fashion Week this September, through the Korea Creative Content Agency’s Concept Korea, a program that helps Korean fashion brands reach the global market.

Park Hyun, the CEO and designer of MMAM / Courtesy of MMAM

The designer set foot in the fashion industry by opening an off-the-rack clothing company in 2008, mainly handling marketing and merchandising. As the business flourished, she felt the urge to create a designer brand that reflects her own artistic philosophy and left the company behind in 2012.

“(While the business was growing), I started to have doubts about myself and ruminated about where I should be headed. I was in my mid-20s, so I was both young and inexperienced. And I wanted to have my own brand that I designed, but felt it wouldn't be so easy,” she said.

"Up to 2013, the fashion scene was saturated with competition... Despite the circumstances, I wanted to create a unique brand that could convey my identity and deeper philosophical messages. Since Korea lacked such brands at the time, I decided to pursue graduate studies to learn more and launch a truly authentic brand of my own."

The brand’s signature style features abstract, yet expressive patterns onto fabric, which are made into unique, off-balanced, rough-edged clothing.

Park came up with doodle drawing patterns while working on her dissertation paper, which became the stepping stone for her designer brand. She revealed that the inspiration for the original pattern was her young son and she was drawn to its raw artistic expression.

“I began getting inspiration from my son when I was writing my thesis … It was fascinating to see my son just doodling. It’s nothing but the parents enthusiastically cheering and responding (to their children’s drawings). It's a way of communicating with the child and I thought that was really valuable,” Park said.

A picture from Concept Korea 2024 S/S runway show during New York Fashion Week in September / Courtesy of MMAM

“Right after a child is born, their way of communication is drawing by purely expressing themselves on paper. Children love to doodle and as they grow, their doodles evolve into a graffiti-like style and different shapes as they become more agile with their hands. But when you look at children's drawings before around 24 months, you can see a striking resemblance to abstract art and its pure artistic expression. It felt amazing to see how they express themselves through doodles when they haven't fully developed control over their muscles,” she said.

Park sees her designs as "art wear," aiming to bridge the gap between high-fashion runway creations and practical ready-to-wear garments.

“Runway fashion is more of a fantasy. People admire that fashion and want to wear it, but in reality, it’s too overwhelming. So those brands launch a separate ready-to-wear line. But I thought there shouldn’t be a difference,” she said.

“It’s a designer's dilemma. If you put ready-to-wear clothes in the show, they're less alluring and when I showcase runway fashion, people won’t buy them. And I wanted to resolve this issue. So the first message (of the brand) is to present wearable art pieces with artistic value that people can also actually wear,” Park added.

MMAM was founded in 2018. Courtesy of MMAM

Gaining international presence

MMAM debuted in the global market last year through Korean brand showrooms at COTERIE New York trade show for the 2023 Spring/Summer season. The brand has received growing purchasing orders from all over the world, like Italy, Paris and Qatar, since inking deals on its first visit in September 2022. It currently has eight shops in the U.S., with four in New York, and launched in Hong Kong’s luxury department store Harvey Nichols.

Park said she was excited about presenting her first runway show a year after debuting her brand overseas, crediting MMAM's fast-growing success to her 15 years of experience in the industry.

“I’ve gotten so many positive reactions. People, like influencers, have complimented that it was such a good show. And I’ve gotten so many direct messages and Instagram posts,” she said. “When I first went to New York, I was told that the U.S. is a difficult country, so I probably wouldn’t get a deal the first time … but now I have eight shops just in the U.S. and it happened in two seasons. So this was the perfect time to do the show.”

But the quick success is not something that she simply stumbled across, but rather the result of her preparation through experience.

“I’ve been in the clothing business for 15 years, now. So regarding my ability as a fashion merchandiser, I consider myself to have 15 years of experience. With my previous business, I scored a lot of sales with the items I selected, topping the ads on search engine platform Naver. So I’ve built up a lot in terms of my business with that part of my career,” Park said.

“While the brand itself is new, I believe that my experience and career have provided a strong foundation for this brand to enter the market successfully,” she added.

Designer Park Hyun poses with the models from Concept Korea 2024 S/S runway show held in September. Courtey of MMAM

The designer is currently looking into entering the mainland Chinese market and widening the brand's share of the local market. Adding there should be more fundamental support from the government, she expressed hopes of becoming a trailblazer in bringing an iconic Korean brand to the global fashion industry.

“We’re in the middle of working to make a global brand from Korea … There are designers who work diligently to grow their independent brands and establish a presence in the international wholesale market, like JuunJ and Wooyoungmi," Park said.

She sees a need for more institutional support to help emerging designers in Korea.

"Korea does not have a system to make it relatively easy to launch a brand. Korea needs a better ecosystem to support the birth of global fashion brands," she noted, hoping her brand can pave the way for future talent in the Korean fashion industry.

“I believe (my work) also has distinct Korean elements. So, my goal is to grow into a global international brand that can represent these elements.”