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Force of Fashion: meet Kim Sanieyan of Noir Bonbon

September 7th, 2009 | Published in Designers

Words by Serena Mason. Photos by Renat Touichev (unless otherwise noted).

What happens when a keen sense of fashion collides with incredible business and marketing savvy all in one tiny frame? You have Kim Sanieyan, creator and designer of Noir Bonbon.

As I step into her small, bright studio, I am first struck by the clean simplicity of the space, an aesthetic not dissimilar to her hot new clothing label. One entire wall is mirrored, reflecting the light from a high window, drawing attention to the racks of pieces from Noir Bonbon’s S/S 2009 and F/W 2009 collections.

Kim and I sit down to chat and I am surprised to learn she is much younger than her ambition and mature demeanor first let on. A recent graduate in marketing with a focus on fashion, Kim moved to Vancouver from Montreal just over a year ago. Fresh from university, she hoped to find a job in fashion marketing but was turned away time and again, the excuse being that she was too young. Let’s hope those prospective employers can see her now. With no formal design background, but with a firm grasp on business principles, PR and marketing, Kim has built herself a fashion label and at the same time, a dream job.

Using eco-friendly materials and manufacturing the line locally are priorities, but she has chosen not to make these the defining aspects of Noir Bonbon. First and foremost, it is a fashion label comprised of three main parts: basic pieces with which to build your wardrobe; Noir pieces to show your edgy, garconne side; and Bonbon pieces that highlight fun femininity. Kim’s approach to designing each season can best be described as intellectual. She uses her training in marketing and business to research every aspect of what is going on in the fashion world, from trend forecasting to market research to checking out every major street style blog on the net, the final product being a fashion line that synthesizes everything exciting that is going on in fashion right now. Yet, she is extremely humble about her achievements. “When people ask me what I do, I say I have my own fashion label but I don’t call myself a designer. Maybe one day, but I don’t feel like a designer… yet.”

Noir Bonbon has many exciting new developments coming up in the next year. This month, an online store will be launching and Noir Bonbon is featured in the pages of Canadian fashion magazine Flare and, starting with the S/S 2010 collection, the label will soon be available nationwide. I joke with Kim that she seems poised to take over the world, or at very least take the fashion world by storm. She laughs modestly and protests, saying she wants to keep things small, but I have a feeling this business dynamo is a force to be reckoned with.

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