FROM THE HEART

PARK TAEHEE GAVE UP a STABLE CAREER TO CRAFT A BRAND to CALL HER OWN. NOW with TAE PARK, the DESIGNER IS EXPRESSING HERSELF THROUGH EVERYDAY GARMENTS that TELL STORIES about HER LIFE AND HER CULTURE

- JAMIE LEE

 

For the uninitiated, stepping into fashion can feel intimidating. Especially if you’re entering the industry from the business side, not as a consumer. Besides mounting fancy runway shows and crafting high quality luxury clothing, fashion brands also have to grapple with issues like sustainability, diversity and ever-changing consumer demands. Yet, what keeps insiders going is having a platform to tell authentic stories, simply through the clothes that they make.

For 31-year-old Park Taehee, founder and designer behind Brooklyn-based label Tae Park, creating a brand from scratch was never her plan. Born near the ocean in Busan, South Korea, Park’s upbringing brought her all around the world — from Indonesia to China to the United States — because of her dad’s career. As a curious child, Park’s everchanging environment provided her with a mosaic of different experiences and perspectives that would eventually influence her creative eye. Her mother’s love for luxury fashion also played a hand in kickstarting Park’s interest in the industry.