episode 030: Ashleigh Kim

Aug 24

08/24/2021

SSENSE art director and former Hypebeast editor Ashleigh Kim has a brilliant spirit and inherent instinct for what looks good and is emerging in culture, fashion, and beyond.

Her deeply layered family history is rooted in her grandparents’ and parents’ incredible North Korean immigrant story to Canada, one built upon love, sacrifice, tenacity, and the grit to build a good life and business empire from nothing but sheer hard work.

That drive to follow one’s own path lives in Ashleigh, too, from her days as an editor at Hypebeast in Hong Kong, vessel operator at NYK’s European headquarters in London to art director at SSENSE in Montreal (now a $5 billion dollar company after recently receiving an investment from Sequoia Capital with plans to expand into Asia).

In this open and honest conversation, we dive into her family’s story and the Korean values instilled in her from a young age, her introverted childhood, the ins and outs of being an art director, what it means when someone takes a chance on your talents, having patience with and compassion for oneself & others right now, and much more.

links from the episode

North Korea
South Korea
The Hermit Kingdom
Fine bone china
Hanbok
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Hypebeast
Hypebae
Sneeze Magazine
CAA
Caravan
SSENSE
NYK Shipping
Sequoia Capital
Suez Canal