Ji Min Lee is a menswear designer from South Korea. She is interested in eroticism, sexuality and the naked human form. Hand drawing is where her work begins and how she expresses what she sees and how she feels, revealing her imagination.
 


“I want to express a woman’s desire by exploring male bodies and how I see them. I come from a conservative Korean culture where a women’s sexual desire is taboo and perceived as abnormal. A woman’s sexual identity is hidden and secret. However, since moving to New York I have become very interested in the subject of sex and desire. I took a life drawing class where I was able to study the male form and I began to feel the possibility of breaking free from the repressed sexual culture I have always known. I don’t want to hide myself or my sexual desires anymore.”

 
 
 
 

During the research process for her thesis collection, Lee illustrates nude male bodies to express and visualize a woman’s desire. Her hand drawings develop into textiles and inform her silhouettes. There is a masculine and feminine tension in the opposing fabrics used for different layers. Lee explores newfound freedom through her work that results in admiration and respect for the naked male form.
 
 



 
 
 
 
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