The New York-based designer is branching out into new markets.
Being a self-employed designer in New York City for twenty-five years is no small feat, primarily if you specialize in headgear.
In the little community of American milliners, Eugenia Kim has become well-known for her imaginative and sometimes humorous appearance. To celebrate the turning point in her career, Kim is hosting a cocktail party on Thursday night at the Efrain Lopez Gallery in TriBeCa. She has produced an “Icon” collection with twelve humorous designs in honor of the occasion. These include an ashtray fascinator, a candy pink felt haircut hat, a fish-feathered “Jonah” bucket hat with fish designs inspired by Matisse, and a faded leather fascinator resembling an everything bagel with lox and cream cheese.
It’s hilarious because Bill Murray is one of my headwear haircut clients. I had created many pieces for Opening Ceremony’s exclusive menswear line, including one that drew inspiration from a sideburned businessman from the 1970s. These haircuts remind me of Lego people’s hair, which is why I like them. Kim claims he also requested one with a slight curl on top that was reminiscent of Elvis Presley.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Kim decided she didn’t want to work in a job that required her to spend a lot of time in hospitals following a month-long hospital stay for a broken back. She changed her major at Dartmouth College from premed to creative writing. She started as an editorial assistant at Allure magazine in the mid-1990s, during the height of Condé Nast’s celebrity. She subsequently enrolled in a nighttime hat design course at Parsons School of Design, using the company’s tuition reimbursement program. She was drawn to hats because they are handcrafted, one-of-a-kind, and three-dimensional in contrast to most fashion, which machines manufacture.
After an editor took a maternity leave, Kim authored the front matter of the book. Despite her exceptional writing skills and quick wit, she needed to improve at working for someone else. Sometimes, she would also be late, leaving to watch the sales. (Her acquaintances in the publishing industry would frequently call her pleading for headline ideas.) “You’re wearing lingerie to work,” my then-boss Larry Karol and Linda Wells told me during one of our interventions. I said, “But we just wrote about how slipdresses are in.” “Give Them the Pink Slip” is the name of it; I even remember it. And I showed them the Dolce & Gabbana collection. Recall that this was in the 1990s. Not that I worked for a bank or anything; slip dresses were the season’s look.
Kim received an actual pink slip and was sacked from her position. A shopkeeper questioned Kim about her collection and where she bought one of her hats when she was strolling around SoHo. Kim continues to make hats. Unaware of the true meaning of the collection, Kim created the identical hat in many hues. This resulted in a window display that someone later saw and booked Kim’s appointment at Barneys New York.
Her previous editing internship, which required leafing through several publications, introduced her to others who eventually noticed her headpiece creations. The day after Kim said in a New York Times piece that her hats would be sold at Barneys New York, the buyer phoned her and said, “You can’t just say that,” before the transaction was finalized. These caps have to get to us as quickly as feasible.
Her love of Elsa Schiaparelli and surrealism stems partly from her acute sense of humor. Still another favorite designer is Rudi Gernreich. Like other astute observers, Coco Chanel, Halston, and street photographer Bill Cunningham, Schiaparelli began his career as a hat designer. Kim’s initial clients were stylist Joe Zee and photographer David LaChapelle, among other creatives. “I was working on the W magazine cover after finishing the ‘Zoolander’ movie. I came from their roots. For six years, I sent a lookbook to Neiman Marcus with each season until they eventually said, “Okay, you’re ready.” It was a result of the numerous unusual things I was producing.
The mohawk headband made of black peacock feathers from the “Icon” collection is reminiscent of the one Kim made for Drew Barrymore to wear when hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards before Barrymore resigned in support of the striking Hollywood writers. In her apartment, the designer initially created the mohawk in 1998 by spray-painting the feathers. Moreover, Kim made the ashtray fascinator for the first time in 2004 after winning the CFDA Perry Ellis Prize. Kim noted that the CFDA was an “uptown group” at the time, and a hotel ashtray in black onyx “looked like a crown for a downtown girl.” This resulted in the creation of the “Ciggy,” a black satin fascinator adorned with gold and white leather cigarettes, topaz crystal, smoke crystal ash, a gunmetal veil, and a chain made of silver and black.
“I want to release pieces that are not too commercial every year now that I’ve completed this Icon collection,” she remarked.
The CFDA Award winner has unveiled a wedding line designed for soon-to-be brides who want to express their individuality. In addition, the designer is launching a Love Tennis line that will hit retail outlets in the middle of April. This line is aimed at pickleball and tennis players as well as her resort-loving clientele. Her habit of playing tennis three times a week at McCarren Park and other city courts has been hindered, ironically, by the development of the intricate line. Samples can take a week to perfect, as tank tops, for instance, are cut on the bias with Grecian-inspired pleating.
Having spent her whole time in the city living in the East Village, Kim currently operates her business out of a West 36th Street location that she has gradually enlarged. The designer distributes her line straight to consumers in addition to wholesale. Regarding how Kim has continued, she stated, “It’s luck.” Additionally, you must take risks, but you must balance them out.
“I just took my time.” I don’t splurge or overbuy, even if I race,” she said. “I love millinery because it allows you to create amazing pieces and make them more marketable. I checked my options about The Met’s Celebrity ‘A.’ The appeal of my work lies in my ability to produce 1,000 pieces of any item, both at my local atelier and at factories abroad.
Except for the odd particular item like Beyoncé or Taylor Swift, most of her sales are generated by customers. Depending on the style, a single class might take a week or twenty minutes. The $495 straw sun hat with a contemporary mold and a grosgrain ribbon, known as the Mirabel, has been Kim’s most sought-after item for the previous few years. Our customer has a resort-style lifestyle.
They enjoy sharing pictures of themselves wearing these adorable hats when relaxing on the beach or in lavender fields, the source stated.
Kim, who finances her own company out of her pocket, loves having no boss to report to. She said that the 15-person team, including her husband Christopher Lee, a design director, often builds and refines each other’s ideas. She works “very socially,” never lacks ideas, and gets along well with her workers. It’s encouraging to work with different designers, as she did on a recent shoot with Tara Rudd Dann of L’Agence. Since Kim loves to design clothing that ladies genuinely want to wear, talking with buyers, stylists, and consumers also works wonders.
Her style is influenced by labels like Yohji Yamamoto, R13, Phoebe Philo-era Celine, Gucci, and vintage Miu Miu. She adores Daniel Roseberry, but she also has a soft spot for vintage Schiaparelli and Gernreich designs. Kim’s sample maker devised the dress she will wear to the 25th-anniversary celebration on Thursday, and her husband produced it.
She would like to license out the more affordable diffusion line, Genie by Eugenia Kim, which was halted due to skyrocketing shipping costs during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also wants to venture into additional accessories and non-tennis apparel that fits her aesthetic.
Kim reflected that she had never anticipated working in fashion for such a long time. “Let me try this out for six months or a year,” I told my folks. She said that if it didn’t work out, she would look for another job. After I achieved success, I thought I would keep going until that unavoidable day when I would have to return to the real world.