Behind The Brand: BESFXXK
Bona Kim & Jaehyuck Lim
Besfxxk (pronounced bi’s fak) is a South Korean an experimental fashion house created by designers / husband and wife Bona Kim and Jae Lim. The duo first met whilst studying at London’s prestigious Royal College of Arts in 2013 and returned to South Korea to launch their label in 2017.
Jae and Bona came up with the word and brandname BESFXXK by combining the words bespoke and f**ked up. According to the designers BESFXXK is defined as “ conveying a sense of sartorial techniques with a strong twist.” Since its debut BESFXXK has quickly become one of South Korea’s most internationally acclaimed fashion brands. Their unique technique of combing historical design elements with modern trends has caught the attention of some of Europe’s biggest showrooms and earned them a coveted spot at Milian Fashion Week.
The designers take a surgical approach to design and product development as a way to reinterpret styles and trends from both the street style and luxury fashion realms. According to Bona, the duo’s creative process begins with Jae deconstructing a raw idea into pieces and collecting design elements from historical garments in various fields. Bona then performs 3D works, rendering ideas to make it wearable and marketable. When asked what inspires their work Jae says that they are currently inspired by European design elements stating “we are currently keen on particular items, such as trench coat or blazers, and make the best use of them for our fundamental design elements. Maybe we will start referencing other cultural elements if we find them interesting.”
Jae and Bona credit the success of BESFXXK to their clear direction and the amount of effort they put in to each collection. Currently the designers are working on some secret projects that will be revealed in the near future and say they hope to collaborate with other fashion brands as they believe this will help them gain more global recognition. Speaking on their domestic success in Korea Jae says that although the government has many amazing incubation programs for young brands, BESFXXK does not have a big customer base or fandom in South Korea thus they are focusing more of their attention on the European and Chinese markets.
When asked why these particular markets are so important to the brand, the designers said “Europe is where we started, It was rather easy access compared to Asian market as both Bona and I lived and studied in Europe for a long time. We were quite lucky to be able to sell our collections to famous retailers, such as Leclaireur Paris and I.T HongKong, after showing our collection. Having these retailers as our partners has lead to another opportunity to expose our collection wider market. We are supplying to Leclaireur Paris for the last four and it is very important for us to keep good relationship with them”
According to Jae, the COVID-19 pandemic has had little effect on BESFXXK but he believes that the fashion industry will change forever. “To be honest, Besfxxk was not severely influenced by the pandemic. This will not change our direction or style of our brand. We think there will still be strong demand for high-end fashion after the the world begins it’s new normal” when asked about what this new normal would be Jay said “We strongly believe that online shopping will be more popular, thus we are highly considering venturing into the E-commerce space.” Despite the ongoing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic BESFXXK is busier than ever. According to Bona the brand is currently working on a project in collaboration with the Korean government that contributes to sustainability & eco-friendly fashion. Although she could not share any additional details Bona says that the project is incredibly interesting and “put us in a position to re-think about the environment and everything”
In the future, Bona and Jae hope to have a BESFXXK store in every country as well as expand their brand by releasing accessories and bags.
As BESFXX continues to make its mark on the fashion world its designers have one piece of advice for aspiring designers “ Block your ears & never listen to an advice, especially about your aesthetic direction. Unless you personally & desperately need. Do not let others interfere with your unique point of view”
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Written by: Jourdie
Images: BESFXXK