Exclusive: Feggy Min - The Designer All Your Faves Are Wearing

These days, quirky and colorful designs are very trendy in Korea. When it comes to producing these designs, Swiss-born designer Feggy Min is proving to be one of the most-sought-after creators. From members of Red Velvet, SEVENTEEN, to even Kim Soo Hyun, almost everyone is currently rocking her designs.

But who is Feggy Min? Well, we wanted to catch up with her and tell you more about the woman behind the amazing designs. We are also giving away one CUSTOM hand-painted Feggy Min snapback! That’s right – you can win a snapback that no one else will ever have. Find the details at the end of the article, but first, enjoy our chat:

Can you introduce yourself to Soompiers?

What’s up Soompiers!! My name is Feggy Min and I am a girl who happens to draw, a lot.

I know you probably get asked this a lot, but how would you describe your art?

Oh… this question is so difficult for me to answer since I don’t want to limit my art. But I would say it brings classic to modern with an odd but clean touch to take you into new, unknown worlds. Almost all of my works are a direct link to my own person. I love to put odd twists and random things in to my artworks and in everything I do and the way I work, because that’s simply who I am. Sometimes I want to draw something serious and suddenly think about food and I just put lots of food here and there. That’s exactly how it works for me. You can find my childhood cartoon heroes, many cute things and lots of colors like pink and yellow in the same artwork with Hip Hop Artists. They might never be in that style or combination in the real world but that’s how they exist in my mind because I love to merge all my interests together into one big piece and they happen to be very opposite from each other, but make perfect sense to me. I guess that’s also what my fans find interesting in my works, it brings such opposite worlds together (you can also feel it in the Feggy Min “fandom” itself).  I never sketch my artworks, I just start and let my imagination take me away… that is a way to keep my artworks as raw as possible. Sketching kind of takes that rawness away for me at least. It is as if you feel something and then force yourself to feel the same thing again for the original piece. Other artists might manage that but it doesn’t appeal to me personally. I really have to enjoy what I am doing that moment. If I do not enjoy what I do, I just don’t do it, because it is a waste of the time I could be doing something I enjoy. No matter how big or important the project is. Hope this all made sense…

Where are you currently based out of?

I am currently in Switzerland where I was born and raised. But I do go to Seoul from time to time for different projects.

How did you get introduced to the K-hip hop scene? Conversely, how did Korean artists get introduced to you?

It was around 2006 when I came across a music video by BIGBANG randomly and it straight caught my attention. It was the first time I heard Korean music and the language was extremely pleasant so I started to explore more about it. Soon enough I discovered Korean Hip Hop since that genre of music appeals more to me and I was very impressed by the quality of the music. Even though I could not understand what they were saying, I could definitely feel the passion. It was at a time you could hardly find any information about the Korean Hip Hop Scene in English (SURPRISE! I got most of my info from Soompi! I was a very active Soompier.) For a very long time I only listened to the music having no idea what the artists look like.  It was around 2009 when I started to discover their faces lol. Moreover, to show my appreciation for the music I created artworks based on them. I guess a few artists found my works through twitter and that is how some of them started to know about me. I guess it’s fair to say that my career started as a fan girl lol. I visited Seoul in 2013 for the first time, had the chance to meet some great artists, and could show them my works personally and we built some kind of a connection and the rest is history.

Since you have been visiting Korea quite often lately, do you have a favorite neighborhood or must-go-to place when you’re there?

If you love to have fun Hongdae is definitely the place to be! There are a lot of different clubs and bars and many great shows to attend. You can also just walk around and there is always something cool going on. And this year I really enjoyed to be in Apgujeong Rodeo area a lot too. It’s very clean and stylish.

And when it comes to my must go-to place its Club Lucidream in Itaewon and definitely any restaurant that offers fried chicken… I live for Korean fried chicken! Forreal… it’s SO GOOD!

Do you have a current favorite design? Or one that you are most proud of?

One of my current favorites is the one I did of Keith Ape, Steve Aoki and a black and white piece of Zion.T based on his Song & Music Video “Just”. My first “Zico in Candyland” is also very precious to me, since it was my first artwork with the Candyland concept. And my Illionaire piece is fun too, it has a lot of ironic elements in it. Aaah to be honest all of my artworks have a special place in my heart, they are like my babies.

Is there one person you’d like to see wearing your designs that hasn’t yet?

Hands down, G-DRAGON! Like, come on, which designer wouldn’t want to see GD rock their stuff? That would be an ultimate dream become true. GD, if you reading this, hola at me, I got you!

In your opinion, what has been the best K-pop or K-hip hop release so far this year?

To be honest I am not that much up to date with the current releases but I would personally say “It G Ma” (it was released on the 1^st of January this year so I hope it counts lol). Not just the music and me being a diehard Hilite / The Cohort supporter, but also the effect it had in the Korean hip hop scene is so impressive. It definitely showed the worldwide Hip Hop audience that there is more than just K-pop in Korea and opened so many doors for many great collaborations that maybe would have never happened without that release. I think it also brought some well and long deserved Respect from the outside world to Korean Hip Hop and its artists. It’s funny ’cause my friends who usually don’t listen (or know) about Korean music still go crazy with that song. Even my four-year-old niece keeps screaming “it g ma” from time to time and freaks me out lol. Beside that, I enjoy every release of Zion.T. He is one of the few artists I try to stay up to date with.

Do you think your booming popularity has changed you or your work in any way?

It honestly didn’t change me at all, I am still the same old Feggy who draws in her room and makes lame jokes around her friends. It just made me appreciate everything much more because the fast the popularity comes, it can also vanish just as fast. I try to not take anything for granted and get comfortable with what I have. That’s why I keep working even harder and try stay focused on my goals. The main thing that it changed is that I have a much bigger audience and that it brought me many opportunities to work with amazing people and on fun projects, which I am very grateful for. Oh and it also inspires me to put even more colors and happiness out to the world.

In the past you’ve said that Japanese fashion was among your inspirations, do you have any plans for the expansion of your clothing into Japan or any other countries?

Definitely!, Feggy Min Asia (my team/company in Korea) and I are already working to expand the Feggy Min brand to other Asian countries next year and Japan and China are our first priorities.

After your hip hop concert series in Korea, do you have any big events or projects coming up that fans can look forward to?

Currently I am organizing a Feggy Min Show in Switzerland with my friends with a Candyland theme, which will be lots of fun. Beside that, I am also working on many other projects I can’t reveal yet but will definitely announce them when the time is right. There is always something to look forward to.

Any closing words to Soompiers?

Never give up on your dreams. Hard work leads you to miracles. Thank you for all the amazing support throughout my journey. Much love <3
PS: You can stay updated with everything through my sns below:
http://instagram.com/feggyminart
http://twitter.com/feggymin89
http://www.facebook.com/FeggyMinART

Want to win an exclusive #SOOMPIXFEGGYMIN snapback?

1. Follow Feggy Min’s Twitter.

2. Follow Soompi’s Twitter.

3. Tweet @ both of us with your FAVORITE Feggy Min design and the hashtag #SOOMPIXFEGGYMIN! Contest ends 9/18 at midnight PDT. Winners will be DM’d on Twitter.

Update: Winner has been contacted on Twitter! Thank you to everyone who participated!