October, a month of fashion in Seoul

Upcoming fashion events are set to turn the capital city of Seoul into a style destination.

Celebrities and models will present creations of talented Korean designers during Seoul Fashion Week as fashionistas and photographers take to the streets of Seoul to keep the festive mood. Buyers from leading stores around the world will be on a hunt to discover young emerging talents in Korea. 

Seoul Fashion Week, one of the biggest fashion events of the year, kicks off its six-day preview of next spring and summer fashion trends from Oct. 16-21.

Leading designers of Korean fashion such as Steve J & Yoni P, Push Button, KYE, Low Classic, Munsoo Kwon and Beyond Closet are returning for this season to present spring-summer collections for 2016 in the peak of autumn.

SFW, organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and sponsored by cosmetic brand Hera, aims to be more public-friendly with more open fashion events for citizens. 

It will start with a special exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of Korean veteran designer Jin Te-ok’s fashion career. The archive exhibition shedding light on the lifetime collections of Jin and her design philosophies will be held at Yigansumun Exhibition Hall at DDP from Oct. 16 to Nov. 6.

Another veteran designer Bak Hang-chi will signal the grand opening of SFW with a collection themed with “Dancing Stairway” at 7 p.m. on Thursday at DDP.

Jewelry markets will be held in the outdoor area of DDP throughout the fashion week. For more information, visit www.seoulfashionweek.org. 

The fourth fashion fair “Fashion KODE” will direct the public’s attention on the collections to sales promotion from Oct. 20-22 at Namsan J-Gran House, about 2 kilometers from DDP.

The fair will display collections of 130 Korean designers open for both local and foreign buyers and customers. It aims to create robust sales in Korean fashion.

The fair will feature 26 womenswear brands, including Lie Sang Bong, Enzuvan and Greedilous; seven menswear brands and 10 accessory brands. A total of 45 foreign buyers are expected to come and visit the fair, including those from major global concept stores such as L’eclaireur in Paris, 2 Stores in Italy, Hankyu Department Store in Japan and Siam Center in Thailand. The fair is coorganized by the Council of Fashion Designers of Korea, the Korea, the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

For more information, visit fashionkode.com.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)