Red-haired Korean model rocks 'Big 4' fashion weeks

Model Jung Ho-yeon poses on the steps of a building in Seoul on June 11 after an interview with The Korea Times. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Kang Hyun-kyung

New York-based Korean model Jung Ho-yeon is better known as the "red-haired Asian" among fashion designers, stylists and creative directors of luxury fashion houses, because of her iconic hair color.

Since her international debut through the American outerwear brand Opening Ceremony show at the 2017 Spring/Summer New York Fashion Week, Jung has become one of the most sought-after runway models for fashion weeks in Paris, Milan, London and New York, widely known as the "Big 4" among fashion experts.

After the Opening Ceremony show, she also walked for another American fashion label, Marc Jacobs.

Jung is a breath of fresh air in the global fashion world.

The funky, confident model was spotted by model scouts, leading her to sign a flurry of contracts with other luxury fashion houses for their shows in Milan, Paris and London.

"People there call me red-haired Asian because my Korean name is hard to pronounce," Jung said during a recent interview at The Korea Times newsroom in Seoul.

She said her debut show in New York was "nerve-racking."

"I had worked as a runway model for six years in Korea before I flew to New York. I was trained but my past experiences didn't help ease my nervousness all during my first show," she said. "I had mixed feelings in my first show. I was nervous and at that same time I was thrilled because my dream came true."

After she took the New York Fashion Week by storm, Jung, 26, started working with several global luxury brands, including Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Fendi.

Jung Ho-yeon walks for Chanel. / Courtesy of Jung Ho-yeon

Among others, she said the late German fashion giant Karl Lagerfeld, who passed away in February, was the most memorable person she has ever met.

Jung said her two-year work experience with Lagerfeld was fun and exciting.

"He was a nice man. He was friendly and always joked around. To me, he was like a grandpa next door," she said. "I didn't have many opportunities to speak to him directly because I was a newcomer there. But I talked a lot with people who were close to Lagerfeld."

She calls them Lagerfeld's "right-hand men and women."

Although her encounters with Lagerfeld were short and brief, Jung said the German fashion icon was an encourager and always spoke positively about models.

"I remember one day when I was at fitting for Chanel he stood in front of me with a stylist who was close to him. I overheard their conversation and the stylist told him "that red-haired girl is from South Korea and she has been doing great.' Mr. Lagerfeld pulled down his glasses and stared at me briefly. My heart was beating because such an influential man was looking at me, albeit briefly," Jung said.

Jung Ho-yeon walks on the runway for the 2019 Louis Vuitton show. / Courtesy of Jung Ho-yeon

Her choice of hair color was initially controversial.

She dyed her hair in Korea just before she went to America in 2016 after signing a contract with The Society agency.

"I liked the way my hair turned out. But when I was on the airplane headed for New York, I began to worry about my hair because I dyed it without prior consultation with my agency in New York," she said. She sent a text message to one of the staff members of the agency saying she had a "problem" with her hair.

Panicking, the staff asked Jung what kind of problem it was. "I told them it was not a serious one but you guys will see what it is. Models are supposed to talk to their agencies when they change their hair," said Jung.

She experienced mixed reactions from her agency. Some liked her hair but some were in doubt. They decided to respect her opinion about her hair color.

Few knew her funky hair style would later generate a buzz.

"When I arrived in Milan to see my stylist, an assistant told her boss that red-haired Asian just arrived," said Jung.

Her career has been smooth sailing.

After Milan, she signed an exclusive contract with Louis Vuitton for the season and under that contract, she was supposed to model only for the Louis Vuitton show during the Paris Fashion Week.

In September 2018, she was chosen as one of the Top 50 models on the Models.com website.

Jung is part of the Korean models cohort based in the global fashion capitals. Four or five Koreans including herself are currently based in New York. A few other Koreans are believed to be based in London, Milan and Paris.

It is a recent phenomenon that Korean models have been drawing attention from global fashion houses and some of them are making a mark on the global stage.

To be successful on the global stage, she said models need to be prepared mentally.

"Mental toughness counts, particularly during the fashion weeks, because there are lots of ups and downs for models, especially for new faces," she said.

"In my first year in New York, for example, I was offered a semi-exclusive contract with Alexander Wang. I was very excited. If signed, I was not supposed to walk for other shows before the Alexander Wang show. The contract, however, was not signed because of a last-minute cancellation, which let me down. Later on, I was cast for other fashion house shows," she said.

She went on to say that offers and cancellations happen and this is how the fashion weeks work.

"What I do is I keep trying to focus on what I am doing now, instead of wasting time thinking about what went wrong in the past or will happen in the future. My life so far tells me the best way to prepare for the future is prioritizing my current work. If I work hard to complete the current work, it paves the way for my next job," she said.

Debuting as a model in 2010, Jung walked on the runway for Korean labels at Seoul Fashion Week. She is one of the contestants of the TV reality series "Korea's Next Top Model," a local edition of "America's Next Top Model" created by supermodel Tyra Banks. Jung is one of the top three finalists in the Season 4 of the show.

Asked where she would be 10 years from now, she said she is keeping all options open regarding her career. "Some say a model's tenure is relatively short compared with other careers. But I disagree. Models of all age groups are needed, so I think modeling can be a lifelong career," she said. "So the question is whether you'd like modeling as a lifetime career or not. To me, I don't know what career I will have in 10 years from now."