H&M Design Award 2013

Award-Winning collection from Minju Kim for H&M

Another excitement from H&M is the H&M Design Award 2013. Finalists came from design schools in Europe, and they brought fresh ideas with their personal twist. The winner will receive a prize of €50,000, the chance to show his or her collection at Mercedes-Benz Stockholm Fashion Week, and develop selected pieces from his or her collection to be sold in selected H&M stores this autumn.
 
List of this year grand jury:
- Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s Head of Design
- Fashion designer Jonathan Saunders
- Editor-at-large of style.com Tim Blanks
- Photographer Sølve Sundsbø
- Stylist Leith Clark
- Blogger and photographer Hanneli Mustaparta
- Fashion journalist Kristopher Arden Houser
- H&M’s Creative Advisor Margareta van den Bosch.

Minju Kim is the winner of the H&M Design Award 2013. Minju is a 27 year-old graduate from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, and was selected by a jury of international fashion experts for her collection which transformed characters into outfits. 

Minju Kim

“Creating this collection with H&M has been an amazing experience. My designs are about turning characters into outfits, and it’s exciting to think that these characters will soon be worn by people around the world. Winning the H&M Design Award has given me a unique insight into the global fashion industry,” says Minju Kim.
 
Minju’s pieces for H&M bring the dream world of Manga to life with unique cuts and clever fabric combinations. A collarless coat in vivid yellow, a short jacket in two contrasting jacquards or a cape made of black wool creates a sweet rounded silhouette. The textured heavy knit links the sleeves to the body with cartoonish curves, while a neoprene-fronted sweatshirt is printed with Manga-inspired images drawn by Minju herself. A paneled mini-dress mixes matt with shine, while jacquard trousers keep their structured shape. To complete the look there’s a black and white wedge platform lace-up and a characterful turquoise leather collar.
 
“I’m so happy that pieces from Minju Kim’s winning collection from the H&M Design Award 2013 will soon be available. Minju has such a unique design signature, one that combines playfulness, fantasy and optimism with great creativity and technical skill. These pieces by Minju Kim show H&M’s commitment to the future of design and to helping move fashion forward,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s Creative Head of Design.
 

 Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s Creative Head of Design

As part of her overall prize, nine women’s pieces and two accessories have been developed with the H&M design team. The collection will be available from October 17 at selected H&M stores in Sweden, Denmark, the US, UK, Japan, South Korea, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany as well as online. It will also be available at Opening Ceremony in New York, Los Angeles and London, the first time an H&M collection will be sold at Opening Ceremony stores.