Haeni Kim is a South Korean–born ballerina-turned-fashion-expert and the genius behind the brand everyone's wearing, Kitri. Having burst onto the fashion scene just three years ago, Haeni has created a fashion label that bridges the gap between high street contemporary designer brands with hard-working hero pieces that don’t break the bank. Worn by the likes of Sophie Turner to Emma Roberts and Claire Foy, her designs embrace bold colours and loud prints with a twist of vintage to reflect the strong, confident and creative women who wear her brand.
www.kitristudio.com
What do you love most about your job?
The creativity and variety. I really enjoy working on the creative as well as the business side, my brain is geared that way so I feel very fortunate that I get to do both on a daily basis. Running a fashion business requires you to put on a different hat every hour on the hour and keeps you on your toes.
Where's your favourite hangout?
Koji, the Japanese restaurant in Fulham. It's my husband's family's restaurant with the most delicious sushi and cocktails! We go there often to hangout with our friends and family and always have the best time. Other than that, I'm very much a homebody. I love hanging at home with my husband so the lockdown has been quite enjoyable in a weird way.
What's top of your playlist right now?
I almost always listen to classical music whilst I work and I've been enjoying the Blue Notebooks by Max Richter or a bit of Blood Orange.
What's your most loved piece in your wardrobe?
This is a really hard questions as I fall in love with different pieces from our collection each season, but I guess the most loved is a vintage Gucci box bag from the 70s that used to belong to my guardian. She looked after me when I first came to England from South Korea and became my family for life. She used to be a fashion buyer and had all these amazing vintage pieces in her wardrobe from her travels and kindly gifted them to me when I started working in fashion. She has sadly passed away recently and every time I look at it, it reminds me of her.
How many pairs of shoes do you own?
Too many to count! It's quite embarrassing really but I have always loved shoes and collected them over the years. I think shoes and handbags are really worth the investment. If the quality is good and you look after them properly, they can last you a lifetime.
What do your Rogues say about you?
Relaxed and fun I hope! I love the colour combo of the locomotion multi and it's so comfortable it's almost like wearing slippers. The intergalactic silver is bold but it will surprisingly go with many outfits and add a little sense of fun.