Q: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
A: Yes, my name is Shin Minji. I’m 22 years old, I’m finishing my second year at Duperré Fashion School in France, and I’m interning at 2000 Archives. My passion for fashion is what brought me here. Duperré has a long history in France and is a national design school. It’s a difficult place for foreigners to get into, but I wanted to take on the challenge.
Q: Getting into the French National School of Fashion must have been a challenge, how did you rise to the challenge?
A: Actually, it’s been a longtime dream of mine to study abroad. But private fashion schools were too expensive. So I chose a national school. There are only two national schools in Paris where you can study fashion. One of them was Duperré, and I knew I had to go there. It’s very competitive to get into this school, but I believed in my passion and went for it.
Q: Was there a particular moment that made you decide to study abroad?
A: While studying for the SAT in Korea, I realized that this path was not for me. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t seem to get the grades. Everyone was studying the same way, taking the same tests, and it just wasn’t for me. So I thought, ‘If I want to study fashion, which is what I really want to do, I need to challenge myself in the wider world. I loved learning languages, and I wanted to test myself in a new environment.
Q: How is studying abroad in France? Do you feel lonely being alone?
A: It’s lonely. I’m the only Korean in my school, so it’s hard to communicate with my French friends. But my friends at school are very supportive of me. I improved my language skills quickly because I had to communicate exclusively in French, in a culture that I didn’t have in Korea. I cook Korean food for myself, or watch Korean content to remind me of home.
Q: What do you do when you miss Korean food in France?
A: Cook it yourself! It’s not easy to find Korean food in France. So I like to relieve my stress by cooking myself. I especially like to make chicken or pork ribs. Sometimes I invite friends over to eat with me, and I do all the cooking myself. Cooking is something I enjoy, and it’s a way for me to calm my nostalgia for Korea.
Q: Was there a particular reason you chose to intern at 2000Archives?
A: The Zoom meeting with the CEO was the clincher! I applied to several brands and was asked to interview with a few, but 2000Archives stood out to me the most. Unlike other brands, he was able to meet with me in person and really tell me what I could learn here. It wasn’t just a cool thing to look at, but he really made me believe that I could grow here.
Q: What does a typical day at 2000Archives look like?
A: Every day is dynamic! In the morning, I check my email first, then do whatever the director has asked me to do that day. Sometimes I have to go to Dongdaemun twice for quick pickups. But I don’t have a set routine every day. Sometimes I have a weekly to-do list, but I’m flexible enough to do what’s needed at the time. Every day is new, and there’s so much to learn!
Q: What is the most memorable project you’ve worked on as an intern?
A: My favorite memory is being part of the FW design meetings. At first, I thought I was just going to be a support role, but the designers asked for my input and even let me design a hoodie. That’s when I realized. I realized, ‘Oh, I can really get hands-on experience here. It was a small design job, but it gave me confidence and made me realize that I wanted to work on bigger projects.
Q: Have you had any nervous moments on the job?
A: You know! When I made a mistake with English to French. It was supposed to be BLUE, but I was so used to French that I accidentally worked with the French “BLEU”. I kept my cool on the outside, but on the inside I was really embarrassed. It was a really big mistake, but instead of getting angry, the director said, “It’s okay, you’re going to make mistakes, why don’t you try this?” and gave me a solution right away, so I was able to redo it without any problems. Through this experience, I learned not to be afraid of making mistakes and to move on quickly.
Q: What’s the work culture like at your company?
A: The culture at 2000Archives is really collegial. We all take ownership of what we do, but we also help each other out when we need it. If I’m struggling with something, I mention it in the morning stand-up meeting and everyone tries to help. For example, when we needed to pick up materials in Dongdaemun, many people volunteered to go without asking. I think that kind of proactive attitude makes teamwork stronger. It’s not like someone is telling you what to do, but everyone finds something to do for themselves.
Q: What is a standup meeting?
A: We have a stand-up meeting every morning where we all stand up. The reason we do it standing up is so we don’t drag it out and get it done in 3-4 minutes! One by one, we take turns sharing our to-do’s for the day, and if we need help, we speak up. This helps clarify the day and keeps everyone on the same page. I also think it makes collaboration smoother because we all get to see how our work is connected.
Q: Besides standups, is there any other special culture within the team?
A: I was most impressed with the “baby whale culture”. It’s a culture of complimenting each other, where you compliment someone on Slack and give them a whale emoji. Whoever gets the most whales wins a prize, but more importantly than the prize, it’s a really nice team atmosphere. There are tough moments at work, right?
At times like that, a whale from a coworker can be really comforting. So naturally, I started sending whales to other people, which made me feel closer to my teammates.
Q: With such a positive culture, it sounds like the team atmosphere must be great, what has it been like?
A: The atmosphere is really good. When I first joined, I was impressed by how everyone seemed to be busy, but encouraging and supportive of each other. Especially, the seniors were very friendly and helped me a lot with my work. There is very little hierarchy within the company, so I never felt like I was the youngest intern. Instead, I was able to work with a sense of responsibility, thinking about how my work would contribute to the company. This environment allowed me to take pride in my work.
Q: What was your favorite thing about working in the 2000Archives office?
A: First of all, the location of the office is the best. It’s so close to Dongdaemun, so we can always get the materials we need quickly. This is a big advantage for our team, especially since we often have to go to Dongdaemun. It’s also really convenient to have facilities like Daiso and convenience stores in the office building, so we don’t have to go out for lunch. It’s all in one place in the office.
Q: What are your goals for the future, if you have any?
A: I’ve been thinking a lot lately. I don’t know exactly what my career path will look like yet, but I know that I want to continue to grow as a designer. Since I’m about to graduate, my biggest goal is to land my first job after graduation. If things don’t work out right away, I plan to continue my studies with a master’s program to go deeper.
I want to gain as much experience as possible in France. I think my learning and experience here will be a great asset to me. My ultimate goal is to create the fashion brand of my dreams from scratch. But before that, I want to gain more experience in different environments and have a clearer idea of what kind of designer I want to be.
Eventually, I want to come back to Korea and express my own fashion philosophy through my brand. It’s exciting to think about what the clothes I make can mean to people. In five years, I’m excited to see how far I’ve come as a designer and how my experience with 2000Archives will change me. I see this whole process as an important step towards my dream.
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