Source: instagram
During our trend-hunting sessions in Seoul, we had the opportunity to meet with the amazing Soohyang Kim, founder of one of the most exciting K-fragrance brand, who is spreading its scented creations all over the world…
It’s hard to miss Soohyang Kim- if not impossible. Apart from being gorgeous, glamorous and sophisticated, the Korean entrepreneur is also highly best-friend material. With the power to draw inspiration from simple pleasures (fashion, iced coffee, vintage music or Netflix), she created Soohyang in 2015, an all-natural scented brand with a signature millennial pink. Because “life is better when you smell nice”. So simple – yet, so relatable. Fun fact: “Soohyang”, in Korean, means “excellent fragrance”. And the brand is excellent indeed: with stores all over the world (Germany, USA, UK, France, Taiwan, Ukraine…), 33 original fragrances and prestigious collaborations (Lululemon, CGV, Barneys New York…), Soohyang has been getting serious heat. Her secret? Being herself. And loving her fans. Meet an inspirational maker.
Leila (our founder) and Soohyang met a few years ago and know enjoy spending time together around a coffee in Seoul, Paris and New York.
Credits: courtesy of the brand
(Leila) : What would be your definition of luxury ?
(Soohyang) : For me, luxury means time. People think it’s all about money, but people want to buy time. And not only time for themselves, but time as a concept: they buy very nice things that never grow old, many years from now.
(L) : Could you tell us more about your brand Soohyang? How do you see it in the Korean landscape ?
(S) : My line is more than Asian, it’s a lot of my own character. It’s my personality: simple but stylish! Pure, graphic…It represents my everything: my mother, this country, the women…I just want to prove that Asian can be connected to the world. I was a music promoter before, I worked 8 years for a record company. I love music, all music, old and new, it’s something that makes me very happy. I never grow old if I can listen to music! And the company was so small, I did a lot of things, from 9 to 3 every day! I was working so hard. And then after 8 years, I realized music and perfume were connected. The composer and perfumer both use codes and notes, they create from there. And the result represents who you are: the taste, the smell…So I created my brand in 2013, seven years ago, from this feeling. At that moment in Korea, there wasn’t much indie fragrances, my approach was quite new at the time. People liked that, and the fact that the place was really small and hidden. Now, we are getting bigger, as we are in New York, Hong Kong, London, L.A. in a really cute yellow location, or Paris in a green one.
(L) : What are the future steps for your brand?
(S) : When I started in Korea, it was very new, so I have a responsibility for the future followers to keep doing good things, and doing things my own way. That’s why it needs to be a slow progression. All I want is to make customers happy, make them proud of me, proud of our products…I think I finally found my way with this brand!
(L): Your brand was selected to be featured in the KBeauty Event at the Carousel at Bloomingdales. You attended few VIP events in New York last week. How did it go?
Yes it is exciting to be in New York and to discuss with people in the city. This is an important step in the brand’s international development. We had the privilege to get an outstanding press and welcome here in the USA: articles in Vogue, Forbes, etc. The perspectives for us are huge and I have tons of ideas to move the brand to the next level.
Did you like this article? The Cosmetics Inspiration & Creation agency publishes a Korean trend-report twice a year. Contact the agency for more information.