With K-pop and K-movies commanding global pop culture, Korean fashion may be the next to benefit from the frenzy.
At least that’s what the emerging South Korean designers who will show at New York Fashion Week on September 13 think is coming.
“There are so many Korean cultures trending globally right now that fashion is a bit slower than music or movies. We think it’s important because it’s a chance for us to show how K fashion can trend and how important it is,” said Lee Seongdong, creative director of Ul:kin, a contemporary brand that blurs gender boundaries, which will showcase its spring 2023 collection as part of Concept Korea. “We want to be a part of what makes Korean fashion more successful.”
Concept Korea is a global fashion program sponsored by the country’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency, to support emerging designers in South Korea. After a hiatus due to the pandemic, the 12-year-old Concept Korea program returns to the fashion week calendar to give designers a highly visible global platform.
With Ul:kin, Seongdong’s spring 2023 collection is based on a hobby that gained popularity during the pandemic: fishing. And he’s using it to give the line a sustainability spin that’s central to the brand.
“Recently we heard that there is a type of fishing that traps garbage in the water, which is called magnetic fishing… Since we are a brand based on recycling and eco-fashion, we thought it would be one of our concepts for the season, said Seong-dong . “Some looks are based on fishing and camping and also the upcycling that we have been continuously showing in our collections.”
The pieces will channel a traditional multi-pocketed fisherman’s vest, but converted into a skirt, the netting will add texture and the seaweed will serve as inspiration for the pattern.
And without giving up the opportunity of K-pop, and the trend of sending not only models but also celebrities to the runway, Kim Donghyuk of the South Korean boy band iKon will walk the Ul:kin show.
The NYFW debut, Seongdong said, will be an opportunity to showcase not only his own brand, but also K-fashion’s artful balance of practicality and wearability without giving up artistic vision.
“What Koreans are doing and Koreans are wearing is Korean fashion itself and for it to be successful and global, we think that’s what we need to show the world… Korean fashion is what we’re wearing right. now, what K-pop idols wear, not something from the past,” she said. “Fashion is one of the cultural parts [of South Korea] that’s why we think that fashion can be global just like the other parts of the cultural industries, like movies and music”.
Contrary to Ul:kin’s new-age workwear vibe, Cahiers brings the romance.
A look from the spring 2023 collection of womenswear brand Cahiers.
courtesy notebooks
All the ruffles, soft shapes, and traditionally feminine silhouettes come courtesy of designer Kim A-Young’s 10 years living in France and traveling the world. While in France, she earned a master’s degree from the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.
“What I personally feel about the location or the historical images that I get [from my travels] I try to capture them in my work,” he said. “For him [spring] 2023 collection, I decided [focus on] The old capital of Spain, Toledo. If you think about the characteristics of Toledo, there is Judaism, Islamic culture, there is also Christianity.
It’s about “the beauty of coexistence,” he said. And the beauty of the female body, which Cahiers works to highlight.
“Korean women are very interested in their fashion,” said the designer, who will also be presenting for the first time at NYFW, despite her success in [South] Korea, which includes dressing the best celebrities. “As a result, Korean fashion is very fashionable and creative.
“Korean fashion and Korean designers can lead the world and influence the world as well,” he continued. “It has the potential to influence not only Asia but the entire world.”
For Besfxxk, which calls itself “an experimental fashion house” and describes its aesthetic as “tailored but fucked up,” this NYFW will be an opportunity to show a new audience as well as existing distributors, including Bergdorf Goodman, what that is offered. this spring 2023 season. It will be the brand’s first show in the US, and there are already plans to perform at NYFW in February next year.
A look from bespoke brand Besfxxk’s spring 2023 collection.
HWAEUN
This season, Seoul designed and produced Besfxxk and is “reconstructing classic garments based on current trends,” said designer Jae Hyuk Lim.
Taking classics like 1950s balloon skirts, smoking blazers and the trench coat, for which the brand is known, Lim is creating new tailored silhouettes, hence the “tailored but fucked up.”
“It was a really interesting process because the balloon skirt is just a skirt, right? You can think of long and short balloon skirts, but we are representing some of the crazy hybrid garments that have balloon skirts inserted into classic garments like blazers and trench coats, so it’s like a coat and skirt combo and it’s absolutely wearable.” he said.
And that hybrid design element is something that Korean designers, more broadly, he said, are excelling at.
“Korean designs are brilliant when it comes to finding the balance between craft and commerciality,” said Lim. “Those who participate in Seoul Fashion Week are able to produce high-end garments at reasonable prices. I have been to many global manufacturers around the world and felt that Korean makers are very skillful and reasonable in terms of price and quality management, I have seen it myself.
“I’m pretty sure that over time Korean designs will rise in global business,” he continued. “But things take time.”
Meanwhile, the three Concept Korea designers will present their collections in an exclusive guest show at the Spring Studios Gallery on Varick Street in New York City on September 13 at 7 p.m.
Source: wwd.com