New fall-winter looks hit Seoul runway

Seoul Fashion Week came to an end Sunday, wrapping up its official six-day run at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul.

Though not one of the “big four” global fashion capitals, Seoul too sees fast-changing fashion trends. The biannual fashion festival invites international buyers, media and spectators to Seoul. 

This time around, 33 veteran fashion brands and 20 rookie brands introduced their creations for the upcoming fall-winter season, the former through the Seoul Collection and the latter through Generation Next.

Here are some highlights of the Seoul Collection.

Caruso 

Designer Chang Kwang-hyo named his collection “Grande Piatto,” meaning “big plate” in Italian.

The designer was inspired by the trend toward more men learning to cook. In this collection, Chang reinterpreted images of chefs, citing the similarities and differences between a chef and a fashion designer.

Apron-detailed creations with artful patchworks and prints typically found on plates were shown.

Moho

Designer Lee Kyu-ho studied the protective instincts of animals before he created his “Animalite” collection.

Lee said humans have colonized the earth and have stolen animals’ fur and skins for their beauty. In his F/W collection, he criticized the use of animals by humans, questioning where the line is between beauty and cruelty.

Through his creations, Lee showed how animals protect themselves with their skin and fur. A faux-fur hoodie represented a lion’s mane, a faux-leather garment showed how snakes slough off their skin, and a jacket made of cable ties suggested the spines of a hedgehog. Shimmering fabrics represented reptiles’ protective skin.

Songzio Homme

Under the theme “aspirations,” designer Song Zio showcased a colorful collection depicting human aspirations with regard to ambition, beauty and love.

To express the theme, Song used two motifs: the tulip fever of the Netherlands in the 17th century, showing how the desire for beauty gets twisted, and the film “Cat People” for its erotic yet fearsome depiction of people’s aspirations for love.

The collection, as always, kicked off with models donning creations in black -- the brand’s iconic color. This was followed by colorful shades: red, mint-green, yellow and more.

Miss Gee Collection 

Bringing festive energy to the catwalk, the Miss Gee Collection was inspired by designer Gee Chun-hee’s trips across India and Africa.

Signature pieces of the brand -- wide-leg pants and hourglass skirts -- graced the runway. The creations featured classical elements: wool, tweed and herringbone patterns.

To convey youthful energy, the designer also used eye-popping neon shades.

Beyond Closet 

Beyond Closet’s F/W collection was a preview for Navy, a new label that will be launched by designer Ko Tae-yong within this year.

Ko was inspired by the way that navy functions as a basic, classic color in the fashion world.

Striped T-shirts, sunglasses and pea coats added a maritime feel to the collection.

Ko’s sense of humor came through in casualwear bearing the image of the Cookie Monster from “Sesame Street.”


The Seoul Design Foundation supports young designers with one to five years of experience, allowing them to stage fashion shows via Generation Next. Here are two rookie brands to look out for.

Minu

Designer Cho Min-woo chose “boys in puberty” as his collection’s theme, celebrating the rebellious, immature spirit of boys in their youth.

Inspired by how youngsters create new looks by adding new details to their clothes, the designer combined different fabrics to create a sporty look.

Set Set Set

Designer Jang Yoon-kyung’s collection had a patriotic air, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Movement of 1919.

The collection featured the rose of Sharon, the national flower of Korea, paying respect to the country’s patriotic martyrs.

Dresses and skirts featured slits inspired by the five petals of a rose of Sharon, and garments featured wide hoods recalling the flower.

Lemeteque

For his first-ever collection, designer Park Seong-il stuck to what he was good at: silk.

All the models wore 100 percent silk shirts, Lemeteque’s signature item. Through his creations, Park showed people of various professions wearing silk items in different ways -- from party looks to theatrical costumes.

The silk shirts had a natural flow to them and also matched well with casualwear.

One of the looks -- a silk shirt matched with an oversized trench coat -- was inspired by the 1986 Hong Kong film “A Better Tomorrow.”

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)