Designer Ko Tae-yong showed off his immense pride in his brand on ‘The Boss’s Ears are Donkey Ears’.
In the KBS 2TV variety show ‘The Boss’s Ears are Donkey Ears’ (Sadang-gwi) aired on the 24th, designer Ko Tae-yong appeared as a new boss.
Ko Tae-yong is a CEO running his own brand and a 19-year veteran designer. Having debuted at Seoul Fashion Week at just 26, he still holds the record for the youngest designer debut.
Beyond Seoul, he has conquered the world’s three major fashion weeks in New York, Paris, and Milan. He is also the only person to have won the Rookie, Excellence, and Grand prizes at the Korean Designer Awards. He even designed the school uniforms for the hit KBS 2TV drama ‘Boys Over Flowers’.
Addressing rumors that he was born with a silver spoon and had a wealthy family, he revealed, “Actually, it’s the opposite.” He launched his first show using 10 million won earned from part-time jobs during college and a grant from the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s designer support project.
He shared, “After my first show, I was wondering how I’d afford the next one.” He surprised everyone by revealing, “I was the first person to sell runway samples. I raised funds for the next show by selling the clothes exactly as they were on the runway.”
His eye for models is as sharp as his business sense. Many model-turned-stars who are now active as actors and entertainers, such as Lee Jong-suk, Byeon Woo-seok, Nam Joo-hyuk, Jang Ki-yong, Joo Woo-jae, and Lee Sung-kyung, gained more attention after walking in Ko Tae-yong’s shows.
Model Jung Hyuk also appeared on ‘The Boss’s Ears are Donkey Ears’ to testify that Ko Tae-yong is like a “jewelry box” of talent. Ko Tae-yong noted, “They were all destined to be famous. I think the timing of them being in my show was just right.” Recalling Lee Jong-suk, he said, “The first time I saw him, he seemed like the perfect subject. I suggested that I wanted him to be my main model once I became a designer.”
He also showed a strict side as a boss to his employees. He joked that the fashion world seems to have collapsed or “rotted” compared to his past, and he was particularly strict during designer meetings.
Specifically, Ko Tae-yong wasn’t pleased with a design that sought out cheap fabric costing only 5,000 won. He pointed out the lack of realism, saying, “Making things as cheap as possible isn’t the answer. Where on earth would you even find fabric like that?”
Above all, he emphasized, “Pricing is just as important as design. It’s better to maximize the cost of materials and then compromise on a price customers are willing to pay, rather than just blindly lowering the unit price. If you do that, the quality suffers.” He added, “Since I run a brand under my own name, I don’t like making things just to be cheap.”
