Disney Princesses arrived on the scene relatively recently, imposing their romantic styles on the market. But, before them, Disney had one main heroine, Minnie Mouse.
In the last few years Minnie has actually been relaunched and revamped quite a bit, leaving behind her rather minimalist "Steamboat Willie" (1928) outfit to opt for dresses created by famous designers and take part in fashionable events.
Disney and the MoMu in Antwerp recently dedicated her an installation entitled "Maison Minnie Mouse". To this aim they invited five young fashion designers who graduated from Belgian fashion colleges who provided their own take on Minnie's look.
Some of the designers such as Dorian Van Overeem and Emmanuelle Lebas mainly played with the colours that characterise Minnie and her original dress – black, red, white, and yellow.
Others revolutionalised the outfit a bit more: Norwegian Damien Fredriksen Ravn created a lilac mini-dress incorporating a cape; Brussels fashion collective KrJst (founded by Justine Moriamé and Erika Schillebeeckx, La Cambre graduates) opted instead for a casual look with a multi-layered pair of short trousers.
South Korea’s Minju Kim, a graduate from the Antwerp Fashion Academy and best known for winning the H&M prize last year and for her designs appearing in exhibitions here and there, reinterpreted Minnie as Disney's Queen, providing her with a voluminous mini-dress matched with a PVC tiara.
Didier Vervaeren, artistic director and lecturer at La Cambre, designed the five giant polkadot letters that, forming the name of Disney's heroine, greeted visitors at the museum entrance.
On your site you state: "My designs are about turning characters into outfits..." so you probably didn't find difficult to turn Minnie into an outfit...
Minju Kim: It was not very difficult, it was indeed a great pleasure to imagine my own Minnie girl. In my personal perspective, Minnie provides me with a stronger inspiration than other Disney characters. One thing that worried me was making sure my Minnie could be turned into a girl living in the present century. In a nutshell, I wanted my outfit to make people feel Minnie’s character and emotions, while turning Minnie into a real life girl. I didn't only want to show the iconic colours and shape we are all familiar with and therefore merely concentrate on her appearance.
You often employ in your designs experimental materials such as rubber ribbons: what kind of materials or techniques did you use for the Minnie outfit?
Minju Kim: I wanted the dress to have a classic and historical edge to reference Minnie as a strong Disney queen. I spent a lot of time creating the embroidery motifs by hand and making an ice-looking tiara in PVC. If you look closer you can also see small cartoonish rubber flowers scattered here and there.
What do you like about Minnie and which aspects of her character did you try to portray through your design?
Minju Kim: I do love this character and believe she is very special. Even though she appears in animation films for children, she behaves like a mature grown up and she is a good role model as well. Because of these aspects, you get the impression she is a sort of “queen” of Disney characters and a cartoonish queen to people.
If you were a Disney character who would you like to be?
Minju Kim: Mulan! I have watched most Disney movies and I think she is the only heroine who does not rely on a prince. The way she faces and overcomes all adversities impressed me!
In a previous collection you were inspired by Japanese Manga cartoonist Junji Ito: since you also create the drawings and prints for your pieces, do you ever feel like a cartoonist or an artist?
Minju Kim: Yes, as I mentioned several times in previous interviews, I always wanted to be a cartoonist when I was young and, in a way, I still want to be a cartoonist. I'm making a lot of efforts to balance drawing and designing. While working on my latest collection I drew a lot. I actually spent more time than I expected drawing. Even though I ended up with numerous paintings and prints and with a sketchbook full of fantasy drawings about the girl I was trying to conjure up, I didn't use them in the collection. For me drawing is a sort of state of oblivion: when I'm focused on it, I forget worries, troubles, and minor problems. Drawing is a very special kind of work and play process that takes me to a fantasy world inside of myself, it is a unique way to develop my collections and explore this personal universe.
How do you feel at showcasing your piece in such a prestigious place in Antwerp where you also studied?
Minju Kim: It was such an unusual and amusing experience at the same time, but there was also a lot of pressure involved!
What have you been up to since winning the H&M 2013 award?
Minju Kim: I was too busy to have even one day off since the H&M award. I have been working on new projects recently. Even as I reply to this interview, I'm considering the directions for this new venture.
What are you working on at the moment?
Minju Kim: I am in Korea working on a project that means a lot to me with an old friend or mine, a shoe designer. When I worked on the H&M Award show, I got so much help and advice from her. We are not looking up at financial success with this project, but we have talked about it for a long time and I'm sure we will be making very special footwear together.
Since you're in Korea at the moment, which are your favourite places or shops over there?
Minju Kim: Acrobat Shoes Shop is my favourite shop...it's my dear friend’s store and it's linked with our current project!
Image credits for this post:
Images 2 - 9 by Tine Claerhout
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