This week KKAMI signed up for the Children’s Club show in New York City this August. Guno is one of the two confirmed Korean brands that we will bring to this US trade show. Let’s have a closer look at Guno in this new brand highlight.
About Guno
Guno aims to present the incredibly wearable collection both for girls and boys. Its earthy tones and simple cuts of designs bring such a freedom especially to girls, since they believe that kids should be kids playing around everywhere. A color palette of ivory, whites, smudgy grays with some point of soft colors mixes well with its gender-neutral designs. Each piece is made with 100% softest and high quality of cotton fabrics with a caring mind on children wearing them. All products are made in Korea in the cleanest and safest environment you can imagine for any clothing factory. Guno’s pieces are so nice to mix and match with other pieces. We met with Sun-A Jin, who has created this wonderful brand, and asked her some questions about Guno. We hope that you also enjoy reading her story.
How did you start Guno?
After almost 10 years of working in the fashion industry as a retail shop owner, I have read the market potential of something more simple and comfortable style of kids’ fashion. However, at that time I couldn’t find many brands which fit my criteria and that’s how I have started Guno 5 years ago.
What does Guno mean?
Personally, I like the number nine without any special reason (laugh). So Guno is simply a combination of “Gu” which means “nine” in Korean and “No”, an abbreviation of “number”. At the same time, I thought that the Korean spelling of Guno “구노” looks geometric and simple, which fits the style I am pursuing for this brand. Even for non-Korean speakers, I thought that the Korean name 구노(Guno) looks simple and pretty.
What kind of style is Guno pursuing? Compared to Guno, how is its sister brand, L’eau, different?
For this summer 2019, I like to bring some cute and lively feelings on Guno clothing via adding some more colorful pieces. L’eau will stick to its original color palette which is a more vintage style using tone-downed colors. Guno and L’eau both aim for a simple and comfortable style but Guno is lighter and more colorful while L’eau is based on a natural and earthy feelings.
What is your design inspiration?
I love looking around social media and in fact I got many insights from there! Of course, each collection is rooted from Guno’s basic brand philosophy but at the same time I don’t want to totally ignore the current trend of what is popular and loved. In that sense, Instagram is a perfect place where I can study the trend!
How does your day look like?
I normally start my day at my design lab for my morning time and then I spent the afternoon time taking the model or product photos which I do all myself. In the evening I usually drop by Guno and L’eau stores to set up the display of the new arrivals. Since we have new arrivals every week, which is common in the Korean fashion industry, during the season my time just flies by. Luckily, I have a great staff and partners around me to work together with. I love what I am doing, especially with a glass of wine and talking with nice people!!
What is your future plan for Guno?
Currently we get so much of love globally for which we are really grateful. Guno is especially really popular in Japan at the moment. We hope that we continue to grow globally to meet all of you! Come meet Guno in New York at the Children’s Club show from August 4 to 6. We will make further announcements about this show in a couple of months.
Guno CEO at work 
Guno products being made 
Guno store in Seoul
