MiranDay - Miranda Day's Story

Miranda Day is the founder and designer of MiranDay, a Hanbok business based in Melbourne. Through her beautiful hand-made designs, Miranda is passionate in promoting traditional Korean clothing and introducing contemporary Hanboks to the Australian and global market.

Miranda is a graduate from Monash University who studied Korean language, history and culture. Her main goal was to read, write and communicate in basic Korean as there were limited resources on Hanbok and culture especially in English.

“There were heaps of very good resources that I was able to use at the library. I really enjoyed learning the language, culture and everything that came with it. I really love the history behind the Hanboks. There’s so much meaning and thought that goes into the Hanbok, how it is made and presented.” – Miranda

After completing her studies at Monash, Miranda gradually established her label and got more involved with the community both in Melbourne and Sydney. As part of the community, she began to take part in cultural events and fashion shows where she met many friendly and warm-hearted people who willingly taught her and encouraged her to promote Hanboks. Miranda first learnt to make Hanboks based off photos as there were limited resources that on stitching the materials together. Along the way, she was able to meet Ms. Soon-Ok Yang (양순옥), a Hanbok designer in Melbourne, who taught her a lot about traditional Hanbok. She also met her current business partner Simone Ulla who is currently her social media manager and model.

MiranDay's logo. Image source.

As part of her business, Miranda customizes and designs both traditional and modern Hanboks. Her original designs were mainly female Hanboks but has slowly branched out to more male Hanboks. She has a strong passion for textiles so each hanbok is made from quality fabrics that have been chosen with great care and consideration. Miranda is constantly experimenting with fabrics to create Hanboks that fits in with today’s society; i.e. more comfortable and cooler sleeveless styles that can be worn in Australia. She uses a lot of vintage fabrics that are imported to Melbourne from all over Asia. On her trips to Korea, Miranda spends her time stocking Hanbok fabric from Gwangjang market where the best Korean fabrics are supplied. Having the fabric in hand, design inspirations naturally come to her regarding how different colours and prints can be patched together. Her unique method has established the brand and style of her business as each design is like a one-of-a-kind Hanbok that makes people feel special when wearing them. Miranda’s contemporary designs and love for Hanbok attracted lots of attention from Korea as she was interviewed by YTN Korean TV and a live broadcast radio interview. She was also invited to a fashion event in Gyeongju in 2019 to take part in the cultural expo with other young Hanbok designers.

MiranDay is mainly online but Miranda also has a studio where customers can visit to try, rent and customise their Hanboks (e.g. for photoshoots, weddings etc.). Miranda is also operating on Etsy store where she sells her one-off Hanboks and hand-made accessories. In the long run, she would like to start her own fabric business that imports Korean fabrics as it is an untapped market with great potential in Australia.

“The fashion trend is changing. In Korea, wearing modern Hanbok is a big industry. Many younger generations are really interested in it. It is being promoted through K-drama and K-pop to international markets, so more people are familiar with Hanboks now.” - Miranda

Miranda Day at Languages Week Hanbok Event 2022.

On the 8th of September 2022, Monash Korean Studies and KASA organized a Hanbok event for languages week for students to try on traditional Hanboks made by Miranda, who was there to assist students with the Hanboks and the complimentary accessories.

“It’s really interesting to be back here because so much has changed. Fantastic to see the facilities and the Korean program has really grown. It’s nice to be part of these events and I’m happy to be here to help you guys promote it.” - Miranda

Check out YTN’s interview with Miranda here.

For more information about MiranDay’s Hanbok, please visit: MiranDay, Instagram, Facebook.