Tall Han Hye-jin's Professional Philosophy: 'No Prejudices in Fashion'

Top model Han Hye-jin has embarked on a new challenge as a clothing brand director, moving beyond the runway and pictorials. While introducing her own brand based on the experience she has accumulated through long-term activities in the fashion industry, the first story she brought up was unexpectedly not about clothing design, but about consumers' prejudices. As she is famous for her tall height and model physique, she explained the brand's direction by directly pointing out that people might worry whether the clothes she wears would fit general consumers well.

On the 12th, a video titled 'Han Hye-jin Finally Launches Clothing Brand' was released on Han Hye-jin's YouTube channel. In the video, Han Hye-jin announced, "I have finally launched a clothing brand this time," stating that she has introduced the brand 'HEDIT' in collaboration with experts who have accumulated long-term know-how in the clothing industry. Having focused on wearing and expressing clothes as a model, she is now participating in the process of planning and completing clothes herself.

The brand launch was not a project completed in a short period. Han Hye-jin began preparations in the summer, concretizing ideas, and repeatedly went through the process of trying on samples herself and checking for necessary modifications. The video captures her examining the design, material, and silhouette while wearing the final samples and discussing detailed improvements. It reveals her intention to increase the brand's completeness by actively participating in the product development process rather than simply lending her name.

In particular, during the master sample fitting, which is the final stage, Han Hye-jin first mentioned questions that consumers might have. She explained, "Those watching might misunderstand and think, 'Will clothes that fit someone that tall also fit us?'" and added, "These are all model samples, clothes produced specifically for Han Hye-jin." She made it clear that the clothes she is wearing are samples produced to match a model's physical conditions, conveying the intention that viewers should not judge the products for general consumers based solely on the size of the clothes seen on screen.

This part is read as an attempt to preemptively resolve realistic concerns regarding the brand. When a famous person from a modeling background launches a clothing brand, their glamorous image and unique physique can act as an attraction for the products, but at the same time, it can raise questions about whether they might be burdensome for actual buyers to wear in daily life. As if conscious of this gap, Han Hye-jin explained the difference between the samples and the general retail products, guarding against the brand being perceived as clothing only for people with specific body types.

Han Hye-jin's meticulous eye continued during the product inspection process. She provided specific suggestions for modifications, from the length of the zipper pull to the design of the sleeves and necklines, and checked the fit, wearing comfort, and practicality while wearing them herself. This scene shows how the experience of a model who has worn and evaluated clothes for a long time is utilized in the production stage. Since expressing completed clothes in a pictorial and making clothes that consumers actually wear are different realms, her appearance of considering not only design but also daily usability drew attention.

The core of the brand that Han Hye-jin aims for is basic items that can be worn for a long time rather than glamorous outfits that follow trends. She presented the brand's direction as "filling one's closet with basic items that are comfortable and stylish in daily life." She further explained, "I most frequently said that I wanted to make items that do not go in and out of fashion and can be worn without issue in any season." Her plan is to make clothes that are frequently reached for in one's everyday closet rather than clothes worn only on special days.

She also revealed that she had considerable worries before embarking on the launch of the clothing brand. Han Hye-jin confessed that although she had received several clothing collaboration proposals while working as a model, she could not readily accept them. "In my heart, I think I often thought that I am an active model, not someone who can make clothes," she said. "I thought a lot about my job being about expressing through wearing clothes rather than making them." It seems she had drawn a line for herself between the work of interpreting and expressing clothes as a model and the work of directly planning and producing products.

However, as time passed, her thoughts changed. Han Hye-jin stated, "As time passed, I gained mental leeway, and I think that is why I am doing this project." This is interpreted to mean that she is ready to utilize the fashion sense she has built through her long career in a new way. However, the success or failure of a brand is not determined solely by a celebrity's name or sensible design. It must be supported by size configurations that consider various body types, pricing, quality of materials, and the wearing comfort felt by actual buyers.

Ultimately, the competitiveness that 'HEDIT' puts forward depends on how much he implements the experience accumulated as a model into practical products, rather than Han Hye-jin's fame itself. Making clothes that suit oneself and making clothes that many people are satisfied wearing are strictly different tasks. Interest is gathering in how the 'basic items' goal, which Han Hye-jin directly revealed, will be completed in actual products as she steps forward as a director beyond being a model.

Read the original (Korean)