Dressed for succession: What Kim Ju Ae's outfits tell us about North Korea

During the early years of his leadership, Kim Jong Un sought to secure his legitimacy by dressing like his grandfather Kim Il Sung.Kim Il Sung, who founded and led North Korea for more than 45 years, is effectively seen as a deity in the country, according to experts."The Propaganda and Agitation Department played a significantly important role in orchestrating a series of processes that naturally transferred respect for Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Un," Cheong says."It is said that North Korean residents were surprised when Kim Jong Un first appeared. But the reason South Korean experts were also surprised is that the first glimpse of Kim Jong Un looked so much like the young Kim Il Sung."The limitations young Kim Jong Un faced as a successor, such as his lack of experience and age, could be offset solely by the fact that he resembled Kim Il Sung."It got to the point that rumours circulated among North Koreans that Kim Il Sung had been reincarnated."Getty ImagesKim Jong Un (right) wore a fedora very similar to his grandfather's, while visiting Farm No. 1116, in May 2015Beyond cementing Ju Ae's legitimacy, "by wearing Western-designed clothing, Ju Ae and Ri Sol Ju are demonstrating a 'differentiation strategy' - that their social standing is fundamentally different from that of ordinary residents", noted Cheong.The fact that Ju Ae has been seen wearing leather jackets on several occasions indicates that the Propaganda and Agitation Department is keen on setting her status above normal citizens."Wearing clothing made of high-quality leather is a way of showing off one's special status," says Cheong."Leather clothing is not that common among North Korean residents. Luxury brands, leather jackets and fur coats are precious clothes that can't be worn by ordinary North Koreans."AFP via Getty ImagesKim Ju Ae wore fur when she accompanied her father to the Milyong Hotel, in Ryanggang Province, in December 2025Ju Ae's evolving fashion stands in stark contrast to the tightening controls on the rest of the population.In 2020, North Korea enacted the Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act, blocking "external culture".But in 2023, the state-run Korean Central News Agency released a video of Ju Ae again strolling alongside her father in front of an intercontinental ballistic missile, this time wearing a black padded jacket later identified as a $1,900 (£1,405) purchase from luxury French fashion house Christian Dior.The following year, Ju Ae wore a partially see-through blouse - revealing her arms - to the completion ceremony for a residential area of the capital, Pyongyang.