It's time to discover KITRI, the new affordable online store fashion editors love
Where does a budget-savvy fashionista shop these days when she or he wants something that’s stylish, decently made and won’t be on five other friends at the next party?
“It’s tricky,” says Haeni Kim, the spark behind KITRI, a new online-only fashion collection that, price-wise, sits halfway between Zara and Whistles, and style-wise has a cool, modern but classic eye. “I definitely wanted it to express a point of view and keep an eye on trends, but to feel grown up. Personally, as someone vertically challenged (she’s 5ft 1in and a bit) I like to wear soft tailoring, fitted shirts and blouses that define the waist… you can get away with wearing the same trousers two or even three times a week, but people really notice your top half.”
Kim’s wise to sell directly from her own website. Most department stores wouldn’t know where to place KITRI, since it’s less than a third of the “advanced contemporary,” price-point that includes labels such as Joseph, Theory, Isabel Marant Étoile, Tibi and Vanessa Bruno. “My friends and I love those labels,” says 30-year-old Kim, “but we can’t afford to be draped in them head-to-toe”.
It was working in the luxury fashion world that ultimately led her to choose a different path. “I love tradition and quality but it didn’t seem very relevant to me or most of the women I know. On the other hand they don’t find any satisfaction on the high street either. That was a major inspiration to launch KITRI.” She’ll be adding approximately half a dozen new designs each week to pique consumers’ interest. Will she be able to keep her prices reasonable and maintain quality? It would be nice to think so.
Before working in Paris and then spending time in Hong Kong, getting to know factories, Kim took a business management and French literature degree (nice combination of left and right brain) at King’s College London. It’s not a huge surprise to learn that she originally studied to be a ballerina. She has a dancer’s focus, tenacity and discipline. Aged 12 and with limited English, she was sent from South Korea to live with guardians she’d never met, so she could train with the English National Ballet, but she abandoned the tutu dream. “I don’t have the right ballerina body – my legs are too short,” she says.
