Gender-fluid fashion, Korean beauty, eco-friendly Seoul Fashion Week

Seoul Fashion Week last week brought together established and emerging South Korean designers to present their spring-summer 2023 collections in person for the first time in three years, filling Dongdamun Design Plaza with energy and spectacle over five days.

DDP, a longtime venue for the city’s fashion week, is bustling with Seoulites who come to see the show or show off their fashion prowess from Tuesday to Saturday. Some were trendy and some were outlandish, but all were eye-catching.

The highlight of the first day, the country’s biggest fashion event, was Songzio’s outdoor runway show, which drew nearly 1,000 people. The 120-meter-long outdoor space was transformed into a catwalk, on which star models including Cha Seung-won, Han Hye-jin and Bae Jung-nam walked.

Gender fluid clothing was central to most of the presentations, the notion of men- or women’s clothing, as well as the binary concept of men and women. Slingstone, Sung Joo, Caruso, Songzio, Iriyuk and enough words were just a few of the brands that played with the gender-fluid dressing concept.

Indeed, gender fluidity was evident among the attendees. Some wore pearl necklaces, a trend that seems to have caught on after Emmy-winning actor Lee Jung-ja appeared on a TV show in a pink jacket and bright pearl necklace over the summer.

At Slingstone’s “Paradise on the Red Carpet” show on Thursday, designer Park Jong Chul showcased black and white outfits that included dresses and skirts worn by male models.

Taking on the theme of “Between,” Airyuk Lim Woo-joon presented a genderless collection. A pair of white dress-like pants paired with a navy jacket, oversized prints, and layered looks were part of the show.

Traditional Korean beauty announced several collections presented at Seoul Fashion Week. Rocky designer brand July Amd presents a collection that reinterprets traditions and works of art for contemporary choices. The collection was inspired by the 19th-century enigmatic paintings of Kim Jun-gyun. Designer Park Soi’s knitted hats were inspired by traditional Korean hats made of horse hair, the “gat”.

“The colors are inspired by the colors of traditional paintings – especially from Kim’s paintings. “We want to pay deep respect to the craft through hand-knitted hats, bags and jackets that we’ve collaborated with artisans on,” designer Park Soi told The Korea Herald after the event.

Sustainability continues to be an important practice in the fashion industry. Teabag in 2010 From its spring-summer 2019 collection, it claims to have used recycled polyester material for 80 percent of the brand’s fabrics. Designer Cho Eun Ae named the material “Polyester Mikado,” which became the brand’s signature fabric.

Cho collaborated with artist Kwon Jian for the magnolia flower paintings featured in the Spring-Summer 2023 collection.

“The pandemic has accelerated the trend of using online platforms for fashion designers to present their collections in online showrooms. The channels for promoting one’s name have also diverged, leading many fashion designers to question the importance of showing their collections on a physical plane,” said Cho.

But for those who want to see the collection in person, a physical runway show is still important to show the identity of the brand. Runway shows are places where you interact with customers and buyers,” she said.

Veteran designer Lie Sang-bong chose to show his spring-summer 2023 collection from his location in Dohwaseogil, Insa-dong, Jongno-gu to commemorate the designer’s 37th anniversary.

The collection titled “Stone, Life and Universe” was shown on Wednesday and was created in collaboration with Epson Korea for eco-friendly printing methods. Epson’s digital textile printing machine enables direct printing on fabrics using much less energy and water compared to traditional printing methods.

At the same Insa-dong location, the fashion designer archival exhibition “Reflect 27” shows the history of the fashion brand Lie Sangbong, which was founded in 1985. The exhibition, which runs until October 30, contains highlights from previous collections, including Hangul prints and colorful paintings are found in hanok called “dancheong”.

By Yuna Park (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)