MUSINSA, the most widely recognized online fashion platform in South Korea, has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023.
This year’s list highlights the businesses at the forefront of their respective industries, paving the way for the innovations of tomorrow. These companies are setting the standard with some of the greatest accomplishments of the modern world. In addition to the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies, 540 organizations are recognized across 54 sectors and regions.
"We are honored to be named to Fast Company's list of the most innovative companies in Asia Pacific," said a representative from MUSINSA. "Being selected as the first innovative company among fashion-focused vertical platforms in South Korea is a virtuous circle that Musinsa has created with many brands. We will continue discovering and promoting new fashion brands at home and abroad, revitalizing the fashion ecosystem by focusing on nurturing brands with growth potential and strengthening offline."
MUSINSA started as an online community for sneakerheads in 2001. Today it features clothes from over 7000 local designer brands and its in-house fashion brand, Musinsa Standard. Over the past years, MUSINSA has developed an extensive fashion ecosystem, including an online fashion community, brand incubator, D2C brand operator and offline multicultural lounge.
In 2018, MUSINSA established ‘musinsa partners’, a corporate venture capital, to financially support emerging designers and brands. The same year, MUSINSA opened its first co-working space called ‘musinsa studio’ in Dongdaemun, the center of fabric and fashion wholesale shopping. In 2019, MUSINSA opened the multicultural lounge called ‘musinsa terrace’ in Hongdae to foster offline interactions with its customers and provide online-based fashion brands with a space for their own pop-up store.
To help small and medium-sized brands without local manpower or overseas business experience for expanding their businesses abroad, MUSINSA supported the establishment of local infrastructure and tailored marketing strategies for the Japanese market before opening its global store. Additionally, MUSINSA has prepared infrastructure such as logistics and customer service for establishing an official online store and operating business.
In the fall of 2022, MUSINSA launched a global website and app, now available in 13 countries, including Japan, the US, Canada, Australia, and Southeast Asia. Currently, the MUSINSA global website features 300 local designer brands, including Thug Club, SURGERY, Youth, thisisneverthat, and Mardi Mercredi.
The World’s Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company’s signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated editorial efforts of the year. It provides a firsthand look at the inspiring and innovative efforts of companies across all sectors of the economy.
“What a strange and thrilling year it has been to honor this year’s Most Innovative Companies. This year’s list compiles some of the most cutting-edge groundbreakers who are changing our world every single day, from legacy organizations like McDonald’s to upstarts like MrBeast and institutions such as NASA. Everyone on this list does something completely, uniquely different, yet, they all have one thing in common: innovation,” said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan.