Seoul Fashion Week’s 10th anniversary greets the public in an exhibition of 10 Korean designers in a one-day showcase today at the Samsung Leeum Museum of Art, central Seoul.
Industry veterans from newer mainstays on the scene such as the internationally-known Lie Sang-bong and design couple Andy & Debb will take part. Seven women’s wear designers and three in men’s wear were chosen by a panel of foreign and domestic press, with each contributing three of their most representative styles to the exhibition.
Korea’s largest fashion event began in 2000 with a modest lineup of 12 designers, now playing host to more than 130. Those currently featured have helped develop the field with their work and, while some look to unfold a new beginning, others seek to preserve the traditions of the land.
“Designers are so dead. In the market, because of what people look for, distribution and everything is moving with foreign brands, there are some designers whose skills have died, and there are big companies whose marketing has been crushed. Until now, foreign brands have been coming in like a flood, whether they’re cheap or expensive,” the outspoken, business-savvy Gee Choon-hee of Miss Gee Collection, a favorite among Korean celebrities, told The Korea Times. The designer explains that because of the need for domestic designers to have to learn to create Western-style clothing, it has — of course — taken some time. “But I think that things will get better now, because a lot of other designers wear our clothes now... so doesn’t it have to? That’s what I’m hoping.”
Her latest collection will be characterized by nightlife sparkles and brighter colors, she said, not only for the warmer seasons but also in celebration of the recovering economy. Always of a practical mindset, however, Gee prefers to express her creativity through subtle lines and delicate details.
“You have to exert efforts to cut the fat, because these clothes have to be worn and sold, so if you lose that goal and fall into an artist-priority mindset by yourself... well, this clothing is being sold by South Korea to live off of, it’s the same as knowing how to read the market.”
This year also marks another occasion: While Gee was the opening show in the very first fashion week held in October 2000, she will serve as the grand finale for this season’s edition.
Modern hanbok designer Lee Young-hee has made waves across the oceans, banishing the image of hanbok as the “Korean kimono” in Paris and finding new audiences for that nation’s traditional wear — revamped with bold palettes, modern cuts, and her signature, hand-dyed natural colors.
“Has it been 10 years?” mused Lee, surprised at how quickly the time had passed. Indeed, for the pioneer who held a show in Washington, D.C., as early as the 1980s and fought her way toward the Pret-a-Porter Paris stage by 1993, these fashion weeks are now old hat.
“When we first went to Paris, there wasn’t anything like (Seoul Fashion Week), and we worried that there wasn’t,” she explained of her inaugural show, in which she participated as an individual. “After we came back, we still needed to show our work... And to show your work on that large a scale once or twice a year, there are a lot of problems, as an individual.”
But the Korean event, which has grown enormously, has now become an advantageous springboard, she said. Although, she laughs, it still takes money.
“People can gain bravery and spread their wings from participating in events like this, it’s far better than not having an opportunity. It’s good for those rising designers because they can grow from a place that does well.”
But for Lee, who fearlessly opened a boutique in Paris the year following her debut there, she has no regrets. Though she fell into the design trade by fate and admits to not having had a clear goal in mind at the time, the mainstay for traditional Korean wear now hopes to keep history alive in her work.
“I want people to know the culture and beauty of the hanbok,” Lee said. “I can’t give up, I have to finish my work.”
For Jung Wook-jun of JUUN.J, his participation in the exhibition is also a time of commemoration and introspection. For the designer who first launched his collection in 2000, Jung has seen the progress of his own style.
“Over the past 10 years, I was able to become a grown fashion designer,” he said. “It (has been) an opportunity for JUNN.J to have his own identity.”
And any advice for the next rising stars? “The most important thing is a designer should have his or her own creativity.”
Other designers participating in the show are Wooyoungmi, Park Choon-moo, Song Jung-wan, Moon Young-hee and Chang Kwang-ho of Caruso.
The anniversary exhibition begins at 7 p.m. tonight at the Leeum. More than 200 guests are expected to attend, including Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.
(source:koreatimes.co.kr)
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