Seoul Fashion Week has begun and the next five days in the South Korean fashion city will be all about Korean fashion and its leading brands. A total of 30 fashion shows – 21 from domestic brands and eight from new design brands – will be held through September 9, as well as a number of simultaneous events and experiences.
It’s clear from the start that fashion week wants to appeal to a wider international audience as demand for K-mode continues to grow around the world. Proof of this is already the decision to make the members of the K-pop group NewJeans the event’s global PR ambassadors, drawing on the stars’ international popularity, fueled largely by their viral music on social media became.
Also, the city of Seoul would like to hold the fashion week one month earlier than before. A statement said that this decision reflects a desire to increase participation from overseas buyers and place the event one step ahead of the world’s major fashion cities.
This is mainly because, in addition to the catwalk shows, the fashion week also has its own trade fair, where 94 brands are presented for the 127 foreign buyers who are traveling for the occasion. According to Seoul Fashion Week, the French company Printemps, 3 NY from the USA, Liberty London and the Japanese department store Isetan are among those represented.
Fashion week is to become an “entry platform”.
“With the global popularity of K-Pop spreading to interest in K-Fashion, now is the best time for our fashion designers and brands to make a leap forward in the global marketplace. Seoul Fashion Week will become a gateway platform for fashion to expand globally and a local investment point,” commented Tae-gyun Kim, head of Economic Policy Department of Seoul Metropolitan Government.
Unlike other fashion weeks, Seoul places an emphasis on extracurricular events designed to bring visitors closer to the world of fashion to support the organization’s efforts. An example of this is a new collaboration with Hyundai Department Store, featuring nine special catwalk shows of Korean brands that fuse fashion and art. Then, on the last day of fashion week, the public can enter the space and buy the products of the brands participating in the fair.
Additionally, Seoul Fashion Week has also opened a new pavilion at Lotte World Tower, the second the organization opened after Tokyo’s Ginza Duty Free Shop earlier this year. The concept is based on an agreement between the government and Lotte Duty Free, with which the duo aims to support the expansion of promising fashion and beauty brands from the domestic market to overseas. At the Seoul location, four brands will be displayed on the sales floor – BLR, Ulkin, Ajobyajo and Holy Number 7. Another brand is planned to be added in October.
This translated article originally appeared on FashionUnited.uk.