MIN-JI KIM 

Autumn/Winter 2026 Collection

The world of Min-Ji Kim

The telephone once carried the weight of distance. In the 1920s, the simple act of lifting a receiver could collapse entire cities into a single moment of connection. For her latest presentation at London Fashion Week, designer Min-Ji Kimlooked back to that era of mechanical intimacy — a time when voices travelled through wires and technology still felt tactile, almost poetic.

Backstage, Kim explained that the world of the 1920s became the unexpected starting point for the collection and its accompanying video. It was not nostalgia she was chasing, but the spirit of invention that defined the decade. Early telephones, tangled cords and the choreography of connection became quiet references throughout the show, translated into sculptural silhouettes, textured fabrics and meticulous craftsmanship.

Details revealed themselves slowly as the models moved down the runway. One pair of shoes appeared as if they had quite literally stepped into wealth — their soles dipped into money so that each step carried the image of walking across currency. Another pair tangled delicately with wire-like elements reminiscent of old telephone cords, a playful nod to the technology that once connected entire cities through fragile lines stretched across landscapes.

Craftsmanship sat at the heart of the collection. Leather surfaces were hand-painted, textures layered and manipulated, and every look carried the sense of something carefully constructed rather than simply styled. Kim’s approach to fashion often begins with the material itself — exploring texture, knit structures and experimental techniques before a garment fully takes shape.

Born in Korea and now based in London, Kim’s work sits somewhere between textile experimentation and storytelling. Her background in design, including studies at the London College of Fashion and Rhode Island School of Design, informs a practice where garments are not merely outfits but characters within a larger narrative.

Rather than chasing seasonal trends, Kim builds small worlds through her collections. Sculptural forms, unusual materials and exaggerated proportions create pieces that feel slightly surreal, as though they belong to another timeline. Growing up between cultures — including Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States — she often approaches fashion as a way to explore identity and belonging, layering references in the same way one might layer memories.

What emerged on the runway was a collection that moved fluidly between past and present. The mechanical elegance of early communication devices met contemporary craftsmanship, while playful details — like shoes stepping across money or wires twisting around form — introduced moments of wit and surprise.

In the end, Kim’s work felt less like a historical reference and more like a conversation across time. The 1920s may have invented a new language of connection through wires and receivers, but in Kim’s hands those signals became something tangible again: garments that carry stories, textures and the quiet electricity of imagination.