High Heels High Hopes

One to Watch

Youngwon Kim

Youngwon Kim graduated with a MA and BA in footwear from the home of all the best emerging designers of the moment; Cordwainers. Designers Sophia Webster, Nicholas Kirkwood and Sophie Gittins have all hailed from the famous school and have set up their own labels and have been extremely successful. A listers from London to LA have been seen in many of their shoes and they're the hot designers to watch. 

Youngwon Kim graduated in 2013 and since has been working independently. In the same year Kim won the prestigious Vogue Talent award for the final collection and was also  a finalist in the accessories category. So a debut collection is pretty inevitable. Kim's final collection took the vogue talent competition by storm and its easy to see why,  the design and craftsmanship involved in the collection was not only innovative but functional, which can sometimes be rare when designs are deemed too conceptual. Kim's designs can be encompassed by 3 main concepts, 1) Interchangeable heels - Kim designed a locking system within the heel to allow different heel types to lock into the main body of the shoe. (I couldn't think of a better way to customise your own shoes!) 2) A new technique in the way the upper is formed - Kim layered leathers to form the area that cups your ankle in a pair of shoes in the collection. (Kim's process video can be viewed on the LCA website or here) 3) using acrylic blocks as the heels main material. The overall collection is  absolutely genius. Kim has designed a range of shoes that are completely functional and has opened up a whole new dialogue of conversation in terms of construction. 

Kim's recents efforts can be seen in Kay Kwok's London Collections Men and new brand Ground Zero. Both amazing brands with great footwear during fashion week. I genuinely can't wait to see what Kim has in store for us next.