From Royal Court to Runway’ opens in DC – WWD

K-pop may have become South Korea’s centerpiece in global pop culture in recent years, with its stars attracting legions of fans and becoming muses for some of the top luxury fashion labels, but the country has a long and rich history in fashion – regardless of how Westerners see it.

That’s what Lee Talbot, curator of the George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum, wants the world to see in the “Korean Fashion: From Royal Court to Runway” exhibit through Dec. 22, 2022.

Talbot, who has lived in Korea and studied its culture and customs for years, says, “I find it both annoying and ironic that writing about fashion and fashion history and fashion theory equates fashion with the West.” “Well, they said, well, the fashion and fashion system we have today is due to the modernity of the West, our individualism in the West, our unique market conditions. But it is not like that. So what we show in this is an exhibition, in fact Hanbok, we tend to interpret as traditional Korean clothing, was subject to fashion, changed over time, there will be trends that come and go. As hemlines rise and fall, you’ll see colors come in and out of fashion.

“What I want to show with this exhibition is not that Korea has gone from traditional, unchanged, and suddenly adopted Western fashion and Western modern lifestyles,” he continued. “No. What I’m trying to say in this exhibition is that Koreans are always fashionable. Always.

The show is the first time Korean textiles and fashion have been the sole focus of a museum exhibition, at least outside of Korea, and the first time a textile museum has exhibited textiles from Korea, Talbot said.

Korean fashion Considering it entered the American scene at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 or the World’s Fair in Chicago that year, it may have been much longer. Articles from that fair 129 years ago will be on display at this fair.

“The exhibition is timed, starting with items sent to the Chicago World’s Fair and ending each week with a screen showing only Seoul street fashion,” says Talbot. What I think is great about these bookends is that both Koreans present themselves to the world through fashion.

In the year In 1893, Korea was introducing itself to the international public for the first time at the World’s Fair, and it chose to do so in fashion.

Two wedding dresses or hwarrot It will be part of the exhibit on loan from Chicago’s Field Museum, which, according to Talbot, is “almost like the Holy Grail of material because they have such an interesting display.” The king set up a commission by the royal palace to select objects to represent his country… The selection of the royal palace is amazing as a collection of objects.

Traditionally reserved for aristocracy, but eventually becoming the standard for all brides (which is still the case today, though expensive embroidery and embroidery led many brides to rent), Korean traditional costumes tell stories. About the owner.

As Dr. Yang Yang Chung, a Korean textile historian and embroiderer who consulted for the Korean Fashion Exhibition, explained, “Clothes are not clothes. It all makes sense, especially 100 years ago.

One of the two robes on display is made of red, yellow and blue silk – a variety of old garments remade – and is emblazoned with meaningful symbols.

Describing one of the robes, Chung said, “It is 1.5 feet wide with three-color bands and is made of 10 tiles. [made of] Rice paper to make it stronger….color determines age, gender, occasion and social status.

Red and blue, she says, symbolize harmony, and “this unique way of construction, fully embroidered … is something else that symbolizes harmony between bride and groom.” For example, lotus and peony flowers represent wealth and honor.

“This exhibition is very important for the public to understand the symbolic meanings of Korean color and concept and pattern,” says Chung.

The exhibit spans time and Korea’s troubled history, from Japan’s colonization of the country to the Korean War — reasons Talbot and Chung agree may be among the reasons why the country fell off the radar as a fashion phenomenon. It extends to more contemporary times, showing pieces like the multi-colored mid-60s Sakdong Wear it from designer Nora Noah and then add more to A Chaggado Jacket, pants and trousers by designer Lee Sang Bong appeared in 2017.

The relationship between the featured designers, according to Talbot, “is a point of inspiration for a new expression of Korean tradition,” or designers who tapped into the past to create for the present.

“What do I think? [Lie Sang Bong is] Doing is showing the ways in which Korean cultural heritage can be translated into the modern world. For example, you look at the clothes of some designers in previous generations who have achieved international success, like Lee Young Hee, and you recognize them as mostly Korean. If you know Korean clothes, you can see your ancestry. Hanbok in them. So it’s kind of a literal rethinking. Hanbok Or traditional Korean clothing,” says Talbot. Lee Sang Bong? Not so much. In fact, they do not look at cutting, construction, shapes HanbokBut you see elements of Korean culture coming out. For example, one of the costumes that we have has these really colorful paintings inspired by Joseon Dynasty architecture, so that’s an aspect of Korean culture that you wouldn’t expect to see in a costume. He is probably best known in Korea for using the Korean script. Hangul, As part of the decoration, we also emphasize on the scene.

According to Yoo Jin Cho, a PhD student and curatorial intern at the Textile Museum, the interest in bringing the old into the new in clothing has increased in recent years, and as a Korean speaker, he lends support and insight to the research. The exhibition.

“In the last five years in Korea, the interest in this modern cultural clothing has increased dramatically, with many amateurs making their own clothes. Many online shops have opened to make it more accessible to Koreans in the twenties. Thirties,” she says, referring to what many people call modern. He encouraged them to try their hand. Hanbok For everyday wear.

There is even a government inside that has created school uniforms and uniforms for public officers inspired by Korean traditional clothing and these are on display in the exhibition hall.

Cho wants the fashion-conscious crowd to see more than what K-pop brings to the table.

“Korean culture is usually defined as the latest trendy fashion worn by K-pop idols or some very few streetwear. [style] It’s because of such exposure to K-pop culture,” she says. “And I want to show that Korean culture exists way beyond these modern cultures that have become more visible in the last decade.”

Korea, according to Talbot, is one of the most fashion-forward countries in the world, who began working on the current exhibition pre-epidemic when he saw what he calls “an explosion of cultural content coming out of Korea.”

In a word, it owes to “hybridity.”

“Koreans are really good at combining many different influences and creating something completely new. This is not just for modern fashion. This is what we see in historical events. “For example, there will be influences from China, and with Korean clothing and Korean-made and it creates a whole new look. So that’s something we’ve seen over time, but what we’re seeing now is with modern fashions, traditional clothing and streetwear, [it’s] All these things come together in a truly unique beauty.

For those who can’t make it to the museum, an international symposium titled “Hahn Moo-Sook Colloquium for Korea Humanities: Korean Fashion” will be held in conjunction with the exhibition on November 5, in person and in person at the GW Eliot School of International Affairs.