Gentle Monster

Gentle Monster
Company typePublic
IndustryEyewear
FoundedFebruary 2011
FounderHankook Kim
Headquarters
Seoul
,
South Korea
Area served
Worldwide
Products
ParentII Combined
Websitegentlemonster.com

Gentle Monster (Korean: 젠틀몬스터, stylized in all caps) is a South Korean luxury eyewear brand founded by Hankook Kim in February 2011 in Seoul, South Korea. Gentle Monster is owned by parent company II Combined, which also operates fragrance brand Tamburins and dessert brand NUDAKE.[1][2][3]

As of 2025, Gentle Monster operates 81 stores (72 excluding duty-free) across 14 countries and 49 cities, and its products are available through over 450 retailers in 30 countries. [4]

Retail spaces

Gentle Monster employs 6 people to design its eyewear products and 60 people to design the store visuals.[5] Its products are exhibited like museum pieces in "an immersive and experiential offline shopping experience."[5] For example, from May to August 2016, its New York City flagship was turned into an underwater experience, by aquarium designer Justin Muir and glass sculptor Ivan Lee Mora, influenced by the French film Le Grand Bleu.[6]

In February 2021, Gentle Monster opened a new space, Haus Dosan, with cosmetics brand Tamburins and an on-site dessert cafe Nudake.[7]

Each store's goal is to mimic a contemporary gallery containing life-sized objects and sculptures. For example, one of Gentle Monster's London stores has a Kung Fu theme with robots performing martial arts movements. Gentle Monster's first store in Korea features a lifesize ship.[4][8]

History

Serial entrepreneur Jae Wook Oh invested about $100,000 in 2012 and Gentle Monster began producing frames in Daegu, which had been a manufacturing hub for Luxottica, and China, since acetate frames are illegal to produce in South Korea.[9] The brand's designs favor oversize frames much larger than Western brands' because its Asian clientele prefer to have frames that create an image of a smaller face.[9][10]

In 2013 and 2014, Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun wore Gentle Monster lenses on My Love From the Star, and this greatly broadened the brand's exposure to a mainstream audience.[9]

In February 2016, the company's first US store opened on Grand Street in SoHo, New York City.[9] Its second US store opened in downtown Los Angeles in October 2017.[11][12] French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH invested $60 million for a 7% stake in the company in September 2017.[2]

Pricing

On average, a pair of sunglasses or glasses range from $200-$300 depending on frames, lenses, and prescription. However, prices fluctuate and may be as high as $500.[13]

Marketing

Tilda Swinton collaborated with Gentle Monster in February 2017 in designing three sunglasses and appeared in an ad campaign video.[14] The brand shows at New York Fashion Week.[15]

Items are all limited edition, once an item sells out, the next return is not promised.[4][16][17][18]

Collaborations

In 2016, the brand collaborated with Danish designer Henrik Vibskov, Hood by Air, and Opening Ceremony.[2] In 2017, the brand collaborated with Dutch furniture designer Marcel Wanders, the founder of Moooi.[2] In 2018, the brand collaborated on an exhibition called Burning Planet with South Korean rapper, Song Mino of Winner.[19]

In 2019, the brand collaborated with Chinese technology company Huawei and released smartglasses.[20]

In 2020, the brand collaborated with singer Jennie Kim of Blackpink to release the Jentle Home collection,[21] and Chinese-Canadian singer and rapper Kris Wu for the release of the Gentle Wu collection.[22]

In 2022, the brand released a second collection with Kim, called the Jentle Garden collection. A mobile game was developed in promotion of the collaboration, while pop-up stores were opened in five cities: Seoul, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai.[23]

In 2023, the brand collaborated with Chinese singer Cai Xukun to release his Crystal Clear collection. An event app was developed for the collaboration which was available in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Dubai, Singapore, Japan, and the United States.[24][25][26]

In 2024, Gentle Monster collaborated with French luxury fashion house Maison Margiela on the "2024 Maison Margiela x Gentle Monster" collection.[27] Additionally, the brand released a third collaboration with Jennie Kim titled "Jentle Salon".[28] The same year, Gentle Monster collaborated with the video game Tekken 8, launching the "Gentle Monster x Tekken 8" collection inspired by characters from the game.[29]

Additional collaborations include, but are not limited to Overwatch 2, World of Warcraft, D’heygere, Moncler, Fendi, Alexander Wang.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ Gentle Monster SSENSE
  2. ^ a b c d EYEWEAR LABEL GENTLE MONSTER'S GALLERY STORE LANDS IN L.A. Ingrid Schmidt, The Hollywood Reporter, 9/29/2017
  3. ^ "Future Now – Gentle Monster". Cactus Magazine. 2019-06-04. Archived from the original on 2021-08-09. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  4. ^ a b c Lee, Michelle Jimin (2023-07-10). "Gentle Monster Sunglasses: How a Korean Luxury Brand Rose To Global Fame". Best of Korea. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  5. ^ a b Elaine YJ Lee, The Evolution of Gentle Monster, Hypebeast, Issue 18, July 2017, p. 145-151
  6. ^ Gentle Monster Transforms Its New York City Store Into an Underwater Oasis Helena Yeung, Hypebeast, May 26, 2016
  7. ^ "젠틀몬스터 '하우스 도산 (HAUS DOSAN)' 오픈, 새로운 공간 탄생에 셀럽 방문 이어져". 헤럴드경제 (in Korean). 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  8. ^ a b Cox, Ollie (2023-08-15). "There's nothing gentle about the way Gentle Monster disrupted eyewear". Culted. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  9. ^ a b c d How Gentle Monster Rode the K-Pop Wave to $160 Million LAUREN SHERMAN, Business of Fashion, JULY 17, 2016
  10. ^ MEET GENTLE MONSTER, A KOREAN BRAND CREATING EYEWEAR FOR EVERY FACE SHAPE NOËL DUAN, fashionista.com April 26, 2016
  11. ^ Gentle Monster Opens New Store in Downtown Los Angeles Renz Ofiaza, Highsnobiety, 11 October 2017
  12. ^ It’s harvest time at Gentle Monster’s new boutique in Los Angeles JESSICA KLINGELFUSS, Wallpaper*, 27 October 2017
  13. ^ G. de Aros, Sofia (May 22, 2021). "What is Gentle Monster and Why Do Celebs Love This Korean Brand?".
  14. ^ Eyewear Label Gentle Monster's Gallery Store Lands in L.A. Ingrid Schmidt, 9/29/2017
  15. ^ Meet the New Guard Showing at New York Fashion Week Vogue Fall 2017
  16. ^ Lee, J. J. (2023-10-12). "Mastering the Art of Branding: Unveiling Gentle Monster's Design Strategy". Medium. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  17. ^ "PROFILE: GENTLE MONSTER | CRASH Magazine". www.crash.fr. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  18. ^ "Gentle Monster: The Korean Sunglasses brand Revolutionising the Eyewear Industry". www.farfetch.com. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  19. ^ 젠틀몬스터, 송민호와 아트 콜라보레이션 '버닝플래닛' 오픈. Maeil Broadcasting Network (in Korean). October 4, 2018.
  20. ^ "Gentle Monster Collaborates With Huawei on a Fashionable Smart Eyewear". designscene. August 28, 2019.
  21. ^ "JENTLE HOME CAMPAIGN | GENTLE MONSTER". www.gentlemonster.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  22. ^ Leung, Ambrose (June 23, 2020). "Gentle Monster Introduces "Gentle Wu" Collection with Kris Wu". Hypebeast.
  23. ^ "Gentle Monster and BLACKPINK's Jennie Launch Pop-Up Dreamscapes". Hypebeast. March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  24. ^ Gentle Monster [@_GentleMonster_] (April 17, 2023). "GENTLE MONSTER X KUN. Gentle Monster presents the collaboration with global artist Cai Xukun. Participating in the #CrystalClear project as a director, KUN broadens his scope of work as an artist. Explore the #GENTLEMONSTERXKUN collaboration collection at http://Gentlemonster.com" (Tweet). Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ Gentle Monster [@_GentleMonster_] (April 17, 2023). "GENTLE MONSTER X KUN @caixukun will be released on April 21st. The #GENTLEMONSTERXKUN APP event will be held in South Korea, Mainland China, Taiwan Region, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, Japan, the United States and Dubai" (Tweet). Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via Twitter.
  26. ^ "GENTLE MONSTER ✕ KUN Campaign". Gentle Monster. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  27. ^ "MAISON MARGIELA x GENTLE MONSTER". Gentle Monster. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  28. ^ "JENTLE SALON COLLECTION". Gentle Monster. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  29. ^ "GENTLE MONSTER x TEKKEN8". Gentle Monster. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
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