I grew up in Korea, after the war, with a single mom and three siblings. We were poor and didn’t have a lot; I remember drawing the things I wanted to have. My mother worked seven days a week at the fish market, and she wouldn’t leave until all the fish was sold. She might come back at 7:00 at night or she might come back at 9:00. The best moments of my life were when I met her at the bus station on rainy nights, holding an umbrella. I could be in that bus station for two or three hours waiting. There’s not a lot a kid can do for a parent, but when she’d step off the bus into the rain and see me, she had such happiness on her face.
Some years ago, I saw this photograph at an exhibit in Paris and said, “Oh my god, that’s me!” Now, it sits in my office and is the first thing I see and the last thing I see every day. It’s a daily reminder, not only of me holding that umbrella but of me as a foreigner and immigrant. I came here without speaking the language but worked hard and eventually started my own fashion design company. The girl’s expression is like a little child forced to become an adult, reminding herself that she has to jump into something. That’s me. Looking at it, I get a powerful, primitive feeling. It brings me back to the beginning.
~ Jene Park, creative director and CEO, Thomas Wylde; Mar Vista, CA