Soo Joo Park has always been a force to be reckoned with. The Korean-American model has left an indelible mark on runways worldwide with her striking features and magnetic presence. But Soo Joo has never been one to stay in one lane. This February, she stepped into an entirely new spotlight with the release of her debut mini-album, No Ghost, inviting listeners into her creative universe through music.
Her journey into music feels like a natural extension of who she is. Beyond dominating the fashion world, Soo Joo has long been passionate about DJing, and in 2021, she took her first bold step into the musical realm as a singer. Her voice and unique musical style immediately turned heads, hinting at something much bigger to come. No Ghost is the culmination of that journey—a project inspired by the virtual character Annlee, created by French artists Pierre Huyghe and Philippe Parreno. For Soo Joo, Annlee’s story—a fictional girl who discovers her purpose in the act of being abandoned—struck a powerful chord. It gave her the framework to explore themes of existence, meaning, and reinvention through her own artistry.
Soo Joo Park’s transition from the runway to the music stage isn’t just a career pivot — it’s a reflection of her boundless creativity. With No Ghost, she’s proving that her artistic vision knows no limits, and this is just the beginning of the story she’s ready to tell.
Jacket, bodysuit, shirt, necklaces and shoes, all Louis Vuitton.
Congratulations on your debut EP “No Ghost”! What does this release mean to you?
Thank you. No Ghost is a kind of exhale—something that existed in fragments for a long time before I could hold it in my hands. It means stepping out of the echo chamber of my own mind and letting the songs belong to whoever finds them.
The EP feels incredibly intimate. Could you talk about the main inspiration or themes behind “No Ghost”? What motivated you to tap into them and share them with the world?
It circles around metaphysicality, and around absence and presence, the way a person or a memory can feel more alive in their vanishing. There’s something about the tension between longing and distance, about the way ghosts exist not in the past, but in the spaces between now. I didn’t set out to write about these things—I think they just followed me.
Bodysuit, dress, earrings, gloves and shoes, all Valentino.
Through “No Ghost” you revisit one of the art world’s most intriguing fictional characters, Annlee. How did you first come across the No Ghost Just A Shell project and Annlee?
I stumbled onto her by accident, years ago. A digital girl bought for cheap, given borrowed voices, then set free to dissolve. There was something about the fragility of it, the way she was both used and protected, that stayed with me.
What was it about Pierre Huyghe and Philippe Parreno’s art project and the Annlee character that resonated with you most?
The contradiction of it—this character, designed to be disposable, suddenly made meaningful by the act of being passed around. She becomes art not by existing, but by being let go. I think there’s something human in that.
You dyed your hair blue back in May of last year. We’re curious to know if you had already encountered Annlee at this point?
Yes, it was intentional. I had been growing my hair out in my natural black colour, but then I dyed it electric blue—the same shade as Annlee—as a kind of homage. Maybe she had been haunting me this whole time, as I wanted to live and be released. And once No Ghost came out, I bleached my hair back to black—sort of a renaissance.
In your opinion, what makes something “art”
Interruption. Something that shakes the air inside you, even just a little. It doesn’t have to be beautiful, but it has to shift something.
Can you recall the first time a piece of art (any medium) moved you? What kind of art typically speaks to you?
I don’t know if it was the first time, but I remember being a kid, staring at a Mark Rothko painting, feeling like I could walk into it. I think I respond most to things that carry a quiet violence—works that feel like they could unravel you if you let them.
When do you feel most creative? Do you have any affirmations or rituals that you practice to help get you “in the zone”?
Usually at night, when everything else fades. I don’t have strict rituals, but I’ve learned that push and pull of incubating in stillness in my own thoughts, then stirring into movement—walking, driving, letting my mind drift—is usually the key to unlocking something.
Coat, jumpsuit, waistcoat, necklaces and shoes, all Louis Vuitton.
As both a model and a musician, how do these art forms differ in how they serve and fulfil you?
Modeling is about inhabiting an image, stepping into someone else’s vision. Music is the opposite—it’s making a world from scratch, being both the architect and the ghost inside it.
Beyond modelling and music, is there another form of art you would like to explore in the future
Filmmaking, maybe. Or something with no rules at all.
Vest, dress, pants, necklaces and shoes, all Louis Vuitton.
Photography: Luigi and lango @2bmanagement
Styling: Dena Giannini
Interview: Alyanna Raissa J.Payos
Casting Director: Marina Fairfax
Makeup Artist: Georgi Sandev @Forward Artists
Hair Stylist: Gonn Kinoshita @The Wall Group
Manucurist: Alex Feller
Fashion Assistant: Niki Piller
Production: Margaux Huguet @Ambiante Production
BTS Videographer: Antoine Lebas
Editor
Alyanna Raissa J. Payos and Kaitlyn Lai
