The Keimyung Gazette recently interviewed Lee Ji-eun. She graduated from the Department of Fine Arts in 1997. She once worked for Christian Dior and Kenzo as Antonio Mars’ first assistant. Now she is preparing to launch her own brand, “Kondji.” Let’s meet our famous fashion designer Lee Ji-eun and see how our alumnus succeeded. Q1. How did you become a fashion designer?
When I first entered Keimyung University, I didn’t realize my talent for fashion design. There were a lot of good artistic students and I didn’t know what kind of job I wanted. I was looking for a field that I could do well in. After I started to learn design, I knew my talent was fashion design. A fashion designer needs good drawing skills, so I studied basic western drawing. Before graduating from university, I decided to become a fashion designer, so I went to England to study.

Q2. What was the happiest moment of your life?
My happiest moment was when I entered the College of Saint Mary and found my talent for fashion design. At that time, I was so happy to find it. Usually fashion designers are not as good at drawing as other artists, but I was able to combine my artistic talent with my fashion sense. Some other happy memories are working for Christian Dior and Kenzo.

Q3. It is really hard to succeed without fluent language skills. I heard you never lived in a foreign country before going to England. Did you have any language problems?
I studied English for four months in England and I tried to hang out and talk with foreign friends in English. I tried not to use Korean. Actually, my English was not that good before I went to England. It took about seven years to speak English like a native speaker. It is easy to speak conversation English, but harder to speak higher level technical English, just like not every Korean can speak Korean perfectly. It was hard to adapt myself to the new circumstances such as the different language and culture. Even if it takes time to get used to a new position, you should not give up. Slow and steady wins the race.

Q4. Would you please tell us what your campus life was like?
There were lots of experiences during my campus life. I especially remember that I worked on projects with my school friends until late at night and I hung out with them. As you know, our high school life is not that free, so after I entered university, I went out to play with my friends a lot. I sometimes got a sharp scolding from my professors. (She smiles as she says this)

Q5. What are your plans for the future?
I hope to make the French pret-a-porter list like Woo Hyung-mi and Kim Ji-hye, who are fashion designers who already made the list. There are not that many young Korean fashion designers on the pret-a-porter list. I hope I can join if from my second fashion show.

Q6. Would you please give some advice to students who wish to be fashion designers?
Look widely. You had better have lots of experience in culture and society. Also, it is a nice thing if you gain satisfaction out of what you are interested in. A successful design depends on the designer’s good ideas. If you want to get good ideas, you should come in contact with many people and listen to them. You should try to see and think about a lot of things. Experiences will make you stronger.
Another thing you should do is study English hard. The reason that I succeeded is because I expressed myself well in English. Some people consider racial discrimination, but I consider that foolish. Only an uneducated man has that kind of ignorance towards foreigners. You have to express yourself positively, show your attraction, and if someone makes an illogical request of you, you must refuse it. If you want to do well, you must do well at English.