SEOUL (VnExpress): Netflix reality star Yoo Hee-ra has captured public attention after showing up at a fashion contest carrying a suitcase filled with designer items worth more than 100 million won (US$73,000).
She appeared on Netflix’s fashion competition show "Kill It: Style Creator War," where contestants had to exchange suitcases with their competitors.
She said she was disappointed to part with her luggage, explaining that it contained a one-of-a-kind skirt found nowhere else in the world, which had taken eight months to be delivered.
Her appearance on the show put Yoo back in the spotlight in South Korea, two years after she became known through another Netflix series, "Super Rich in Korea."
Yoo, also known as Aren Yoo, was born in 1999. Western media have compared her to American heiress Paris Hilton, citing her extravagant lifestyle, rare luxury collection and presence at exclusive high-end events.
In "Super Rich in Korea," Yoo was presented as one of five cast members from South Korea’s ultra-wealthy top 1%.
The standout feature was her roughly 100-square-meter walk-in wardrobe, larger than her bedroom, packed with clothes, shoes, accessories and piles of boxes from global luxury brands. Netflix described it as a room reserved entirely for her personal fashion collection.
Yoo said she lives by the belief that "fashion is suffering," adding that once she wears a dress publicly, she usually keeps it in her collection instead of wearing it again. She has also said she hopes to one day open a fashion museum to display the pieces she has collected over the years.
Yoo once highlighted her privileged access to the luxury fashion world by holding her 24th birthday party at a Dolce & Gabbana boutique in Seoul.
Dolce & Gabbana’s flagship store in Seoul’s Cheongdam-dong was shut to the public for the occasion, according to Preview magazine. It was reportedly the first time the boutique had hosted a birthday party for a client in South Korea.
Yoo is also well known in luxury fashion circles, often seen in the front row at shows and events held by major brands including Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi and Gucci.
She has also been photographed with prominent Western celebrities and fashion figures, including Anna Wintour, Bruno Mars and Kim Kardashian.
Before making her TV debut, Yoo studied hotel management at Cornell University in the U.S. She has said that, having studied abroad since high school, she is more fluent in English than Korean.
She said she currently works as a liaison connecting luxury brands with South Korean clients. Beyond collecting rare fashion pieces, she also aims to bring major U.S. fashion shows to South Korea.
Although some media outlets and online commentators have speculated that Yoo is an heiress to Heesung Group, a conglomerate with electronics and chemical businesses, she has never publicly revealed her parents’ identities or confirmed the source of her family’s wealth. -- VnEXpress
