When Jackson Tae Kim stepped onto the SHAO Spring/Summer 2026 runway, the air thickened with more than anticipation. His stride was new, but the moment carried history. This was his first runway walk; and yet, it already read as a generational passage, where family, heritage, and fashion converged in one continuous story.
The son of actor Daniel Dae Kim and Mia Kim, Jackson walked with a poise that suggested both beginnings and inheritance. His presence crystallized SHAO’s SS26 theme, “Futures of the Past: Chrome Legacy”, where heritage does not stand still but moves forward, embodied by those who carry it.
A Debut Rooted in Family
For Jackson, this was not just an industry debut, it was a family milestone. His mother, Mia Kim, sat front row, her gaze fixed on him with quiet pride. The front row in fashion has always been a stage in itself, but here it became personal. Mia’s presence reframed the moment from performance into passage, turning his walk into a ritual of belonging.
Behind the runway lights, his father’s connection echoed too. Daniel Dae Kim has long worked closely with The Tailory New York, SHAO’s sister brand, building a relationship defined by craft, authenticity, and representation. Jackson’s appearance extended that bond: a son stepping onto SHAO’s stage, continuing a dialogue his family has held with fashion.
Jackson Tae Kim: First Steps Into the Future
Debuts often shimmer with raw energy, but Jackson’s had something more: composure. He walked with the kind of presence that did not try to erase his newness but made it luminous.
His look amplified this duality. A tailored jacket sculpted with sharp lines met trousers that moved with unexpected ease, the fabric catching the light in liquid folds. It was both structure and release, legacy and reinvention. On Jackson’s frame, the clothes did not overwhelm. They became a language he already seemed fluent in.
Here, SHAO’s collection found its perfect metaphor. Jackson was both the newcomer and the inheritor, both the first step and the continuation.
The Atmosphere of the Show
The SS26 runway unfolded in ARTECHOUSE NYC, bathed in light that flickered between nostalgia and futurism. Garments moved like artifacts of memory reimagined as visions of tomorrow.
When Jackson appeared, the audience’s attention shifted palpably. There was no frenzy, no celebrity spectacle. Instead, there was recognition: this was a first, but also a continuation of something larger than one walk. His debut became less about novelty than about inevitability.
Family, Legacy, and The Tailory
The presence of Mia in the front row and Daniel’s ties to The Tailory deepened the resonance. Fashion has always thrived on collaboration, but here it was collaboration across generations. The Tailory’s philosophy, craft rooted in representation, has long aligned with Daniel’s own values, producing looks that honor heritage while speaking to the present.
By walking for SHAO, Jackson extended that lineage. His debut wove his family’s story into the house’s narrative, creating not just a runway moment but a chapter in an ongoing relationship between family and fashion.
Why It Matters
In an industry often obsessed with the shock of the new, Jackson Tae Kim’s debut offered something rarer: continuity. It reminded us that the future of fashion is not about severing ties with the past, but about carrying them forward with intention.
It was also inclusivity in its truest form. By casting Jackson, SHAO underscored that fashion’s stories are not solitary; they are inherited, shared, expanded. The debut was not spectacle for its own sake, but authenticity in action: a young man stepping into a world his family has long been part of, shaping its next horizon.
A Living Continuum
As the finale unfolded, Jackson stood among seasoned models, indistinguishable in presence yet unforgettable in meaning. His first runway walk was not only the start of a career. It was the visible embodiment of SHAO’s SS26 ethos: legacy alive, heritage breathing, the future stepping forward.
With Mia’s pride anchoring the front row, and Daniel’s connection to The Tailory woven quietly into the backdrop, Jackson’s debut was more than fashion. It was family as heritage, family as futurism.
At SHAO SS26, Jackson Tae Kim walked into the continuum of SHAO itself; where authenticity, inclusivity, and timeless style move together, generation to generation.
