Mont Kiji is mostly a one-woman operation built on silk, trust, and tradition. Below, founder Junhee Kim shares how her scarves, with the help of her partners, come to life.

Made in Lyon and Paris

We recently received the Fabriqué à Paris label from the City Hall. And though I do most of it alone, Mont Kiji wouldn’t exist without the people who’ve handled silk for generations.

Lyon is where silk first came to Europe. From there it traveled to Italy, to Como. Lyon used to be the silk capital. It’s much smaller now, but still alive.

No Departments, Just Me

I’m basically doing a one-man show at Mont Kiji. I don’t have a fabric department. I don’t have a design department. I don’t have marketing.

But I do have partners. I work with eight different mills in the Lyon region. Two weavers. Three printers — because not everyone can print every kind of design. I also work with a small atelier in Paris for machine-finished items like scrunchies and wristbands.

Inside Tip 🪄

A tourist in Paris once told me she went to Lyon expecting to buy French silk. But what she found was mostly Chinese silk. It’s still there, the real thing — you just have to know where to look.

And that’s what Mont Kiji is: the part that’s still real.

Contact

🌐 Mont Kiji

About

Junhee Kim is the Paris-based founder and designer behind Mont Kiji, a silk scarf brand with a 100% Made-in-France ethos. Before launching her brand, she worked at Balenciaga, Emmanuel Ungaro, Sonia Rykiel, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Mont Kiji scarves are produced with traditional silk artisans in Lyon and small ateliers in Paris, supported by a nonprofit collective Junhee co-founded to uplift independent designers.

Her boutique is in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, where she continues to connect with customers through artful objects, expat spirit, and meaningful design.

Images

Mont Kiji / Official Site