A cluster of fans crowded the entrance to the Prada runway show in Milan on Thursday. They were waiting for the star of the day, Jeon Somi, a South Korean singer with blonde hair and 16.6 million followers on Instagram.
Stars of the Korean music genre K-Pop are now gaining global notoriety and luxury fashion houses are eager to hire them as muses as they contribute significantly to boosting sales. Korean stars have a strong influence on their fans’ consumption habits.
Jimin, singer and dancer of the most famous Korean K-pop boy band BTS, is the face of Dior. Valentino secured a collaboration with another member of the group, Suga, earlier this year. A promising move, as evidenced at Prada, where cheers erupted when a black car with tinted windows pulled up and Somi got out. The fans pulled out their mobile phones and gave the fashion house a considerable reach on social media.
Some endured it for hours. “I’ve been here since 11:00 a.m. to see Somi. I love her, her music, her looks,” 20-year-old Serena Danimarco told AFP. She had arrived with a sign on which she had written “Somi I’m so Dumb Dumb for you,” a nod to the title of one of the K-pop star’s songs.
Fans are waiting for their idols
Similar scenes played out at Fendi the day before and will be repeated throughout the week at Gucci, Tod’s or Ferragamo shows: legions of fans looking for their idols. Their presence is carefully announced in advance and staged on social networks.
Hanni, the voice of female K-pop group Newjeans, was expected at Gucci’s show on Friday, where she is signed as muse. The members of Blackpink, a rival girl band with billions of followers, are also used to the front rows of the catwalk. Also part of the group, Rosé is an ambassador for Tiffany & Co and Saint Laurent, Lisa is the face of Bulgari and Céline, and Jennie is one of the faces of Chanel.
Korea as a luxury sales market
The world of film and series is also in demand, and internationally successful shows such as ‘Squid Game’ or ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ provide other new stars from Asia.
It is therefore hardly surprising that in just a few years Seoul has become a strategic market and fashion houses are making significant investments here: a brand new 750 square meter Fendi flagship store that opened Gangnam in Seoul in January, a new Gucci osteria or the Louis Vuitton’s Alain Passard’s temporary restaurants are the latest evidence of Korea’s attractiveness as a luxury outlet.
Fashion is drawn to Korea. Dior already showed a fashion show in 2022 in Seoul. Gucci is planning its there in May CruiseCollection to introduce. It had it’s fashion show on site last October cancelledafter 154 people died in a stampede.
The figures for ‘Made in Italy’ confirm this trend. In 2022, exports to South Korea increased by 31 percent, according to the National Chamber of Italian Fashion. The studies of the office of the Italian commercial agency further underline this. Out of the top ten businesses of Italian exports to Seoul, seven are related to fashion. The growth rates are about four to five times higher than the average.
The top position is occupied by leather goods with 21 percent of total Italian exports to South Korea, which increased by 5.8 percent in 2021. Footwear (+1.4 percent in 2021), apparel (+16.7 percent), and jewelry (+18.8 percent) rank second, fourth, and fifth. (AFP)
This article was published on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ