[Herald Interview] Park Youn-hee thinks fashion is beyond clothes

Fashion designer Park Youn-hee of Greedilous poses during an interview with The Korea Herald in her showroom in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on Oct. 16. (Im Se-jun/The Korea Herald)

Park Youn-hee, the founder and head of fashion brand Greedilous, took the steps that most fashion designers take. She majored in fashion design at a university in Busan and entered the fashion industry as a designer at local women’s clothing brands Obzee and Handsome, which is now run by the Korean fashion conglomerate Hyundai Department Store Group. After 15 years working at the company, she is now in her 12th year of running her own fashion brand.

“I was a bit tired of company politics and gossip. My father one day asked me if I was happy. I was working to death,” Park told The Korea Herald in an interview held in her showroom in Seoul's Gangnam district on Oct. 12.

Her first and only brand Greedilous, is a combination of the words "greedy" and "fabulous," and represents her identity and energy.

“I’m always interested in myself. The brand is myself. I also delve into what’s inside me, how to spread positive energy to people around,” the 43-year-old designer said.

“I am who I am. I’m the one and only.”

Park defines fashion as something that goes beyond just clothes. That’s the reason why she collaborates with other fashion brands and even with non-traditional partners like LG Group. Most recently, she worked on AI designer Tilda, which has been brought to life using LG AI Research's super-giant AI Exaone, Tilda’s brain. Tilda debuted at the 2022 New York Fashion Week, where she created unique patterns based on Park’s details. During the duration of the project, Tilda created more than 3,000 images and patterns.

The next project is with LG Display, details of which have not been disclosed.

“I try to stretch the realm as a fashion designer and create more opportunities for people to experience my brand. That’s why I also appear on reality TV shows,” Park said.

When asked about her goals and dreams, Park simply said she wants to be a giver.

“My latest shows have been inspired by my will to become a giving person. A person who gives love, a person who gives meaning to people. I want to change people’s perception of social minorities because we are all humans. What heals our world is, in the end, humans,” Park said.

By Kim Da-sol(ddd@heraldcorp.com)