Hye’s first break came in early 2005, when Steven Meisel shot her for ItalianVogue prior to the Fall 2005 shows. After the shoot, she was asked to walk for major shows at New York Fall 2005 Fashion Week, including Marc Jacobs and Anna Sui. Her real big break came when Miuccia Prada and Russell Marsh cast her in the Prada and Miu Miu shows during Milan fashion week. She became the first non-Caucasian model since Naomi Campbell in 1997 to walk the show, and only the second Asian female model to walk for Prada. The Prada/Miu Miu bookings led to a flurry of bookings in Paris (Balenciaga, Chloe, Lanvin, Rochas), and Hye has since appeared on the catwalk for many other designers, including Christian Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Max Azria, Alexander McQueen, and Burberry.
Hye has collaborated with top photographers like Mario Testino, Steven Klein, Annie Leibovitz, Patrick Demarchelier, Craig McDean, and David Sims, in addition to her ongoing work with Meisel. Hye has also been booked for editorials for many magazines, including Vogue(American, French, Italian, Chinese, and Korean editions), Flair, Numéro,W,
Allure, The New York Times, Pop, and Harper’s Baazar. She has posed in international campaigns for Roberto Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana, D&G, H&M, M.A.C. Cosmetics, Gap, Le Printemps, Marc Jacobs, Cesare Paciotti, Tiffany & Co., MaxMara, Saks Fifth Avenue, Plastic Island, and Love, Sex, Money. She also has been the face of Korean brands H&T (Hangten) and KeraSys. Hye still lives in Salt Lake City, near her family. “I don’t really like New York,” she says, because she finds it “too crowded. I like Paris better. It’s more quiet and fun.” In June 2008, Hye married her boyfriend of three years.
When she isn’t modeling, Hye says she likes “shopping, and I spend a lot of time on Cyworld.” (The website is the Korean equivalent of MySpace.) And when she’s done modeling? “I want to be a nurse,” she says. Lucky patients!
