Korean Cultural Center New York presents “2023 K-New Leaders: Fashion Designer Andrew Kwon,” releasing a new interview video with a special event

Video launch on May 23rd (10 am ET), 2023

NEW YORK, May 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The Korean Cultural Center New York (KCCNY), a branch of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) of the Republic of Korea is pleased to announce “2023 K-New Leaders: Fashion Designer Andrew Kwon” releasing an interview video on May 23rd (Tuesday) at 10 am ET through its YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@KCSNY). In celebration of the Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, KCCNY launched its partnership with an emerging Korean American artist Andrew Kwon, who has garnered significant recognition from the New York fashion industry.  

This collaboration highlights the story behind his collections and provides a rare chance for audiences to engage with the designer himself and his beautiful dresses firsthand. The interview illuminates his design philosophy, inspiration, and individuality with diverse images of his life and runway show during 2023 New York Fashion Week. As a special event for viewers, Andrew Kwon will be selecting three winners among those who leave a comment on the Youtube video to invite them to his atelier and offer an opportunity to have an evening with him.

The Program Manager, Dr. Bora Yoon, said “K-Fashion is another promising domain of the Korean Wave hitting across the world. This project will be a foundation for cultivating talented young artists in the realm of fashion and directly connecting audiences to influential designers in New York.”

About the K-New Leaders program

K-New Leaders was launched in 2019 to introduce Korean artists and professionals across a wide range of fields and connect them with the public in a more dynamic way. In 2021, KCCNY focused on the culinary industry to shed light on Korean chef and owner Sehong Brian Kim of Michelin-starred restaurant Oiji Mi. In 2019, KCCNY held conversations with Mr. Chang W. Lee, who won the Pulitzer Prizes twice as a staff photographer of the New York Times, and Mr. Greg Pak, a film director of Marvel Comics, among other accomplished industry leaders. Through online and offline activities, KCCNY has shared their success stories and knowledge with younger generations.    

About Andrew Kwon

Andrew Kwon, 27, is a Korean-American emerging fashion designer and is the Founder and Designer of his eponymous label, ANDREW KWON. Kwon graduated from Parsons, the New School for Design in 2019, initially studying architecture and interior design before switching into the fashion design program. He found his passion for the world of luxury bridal and evening wear through his various internships and tenures with Chloe, Vera Wang, Marchesa, and Nicolas Caito. Following his graduation and presentation of his thesis collection, Kwon was approached by former Dean of Parsons, Burak Cakmak and asked to represent Parsons in the annual Supima Design Competition.

He established his namesake brand in 2020 and officially launched his first bridal collection in 2021. Spring-Summer 2023 was the official debut of the brand’s eveningwear collection and first ever in-person presentation during NYFW at The Baccarat Hotel. Following-up from his Collection 3 (debut eveningwear collection), he presented Collection 4 for his first in-person bridal presentation at The Peninsula Hotel. In February 2023, Kwon released his second couture eveningwear collection at NYFW returning to The Baccarat Hotel. And most recently his latest bridal collection, Collection 6 — epiphany was presented at bridal fashion week in collaboration with Manolo Blahnik and Over The Moon, which was featured in Vogue.com.

In 2023, Kwon was invited by the CFDA to become a part of their prestigious organization as one of their newest Interim Members and was nominated by FGI as a Rising Star. His pieces have been worn by celebrities including Lucy Liu, Loren Allred, Regina Hall, Catriona Gray, Sophia Bush, Arden Cho, Judith Light, and Son Tae Young. His collections have been featured in publications including The New York Times, Forbes, Vogue, Grazia, WWD, TZR, Elle Korea, Surface Mag, NBC, Brides, Haute Living, Modern Luxury, and Harpers Bazaar. ANDREW KWON is currently available through his NY atelier, Bergdorf Goodman, Moda Operandi, and Neiman Marcus, and has plans to expand internationally.

About Korean Cultural Center New York

The Korean Cultural Center New York (KCCNY) is a government institution inaugurated in 1979 to establish and promote Korean culture and aesthetics in New York. KCCNY provides diverse cultural and artistic activities including gallery exhibitions, performing arts programs, film festivals, educational workshops, and more. www.koreanculture.org

SOURCE Korean Cultural Center New York