Art-inspired runways set to spice up 24SS Seoul Fashion Week

Seoul Fashion Week kicks off Tuesday for a five day-run with thirty Korean designers presenting their 2024 spring-summer collections on the runways of Dongdaemun Design Plaza, and 94 local fashion brands participating in the fashion week trade show.

Held twice a year, the upcoming edition of Seoul Fashion Week, now in its 22nd year, will include Seoul Collection (SC) shows from 22 top designers, Generation Next (GN) shows for eight up-and-coming designers, and a show by Metrocity, a corporate brand.

Seoul Fashion Week's ambassador, NewJeans, will also attend the photo wall event on Tuesday, marking the opening of Seoul Fashion Week.

Of the 30 designer brands, nine -- #whysocerealz!, Demoo Parkchoonmoo, LIE, Seokwoon Yoon and more -- will present runways that combine fashion and art, through collaboration and sponsorship from Hyundai Department Store. Their collections incorporate special patterns created with participating artists, catering to the taste of "artsumers," according to the Seoul City Government, the organizer of the country's largest fashion event.

All shows will be live streamed through the official Seoul Fashion Week YouTube channel.

This year, 127 overseas buyers from 27 countries will be at Seoul Fashion Week, including buyers from Printemps in France, Eraldo in Italy and 3NY in the US. Japan's Isetan department store buyer will also visit Seoul Fashion Week for the first time.

“Seoul Fashion Week aims to be a place where domestic fashion designers and buyers meet, and to become an opportunity for the citizens of ‘Seoul, the city of beauty and fashion,' to get closer to fashion," said Kwon So-hyun, head of the beauty and fashion industry department at the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

To encourage more Seoul citizens to enjoy Seoul Fashion Week, the organizer said they have sent out 1,000 free invitations to 29 designer shows.

In addition to runway shows and trade shows, various fashion and tech collaborative programs will be presented during the event.

A special exhibition, "ADSB x JP Bonino," by local fashion brand Anderson Bell and a Uruguayan photographer JP Bonino will be held at the DDP, sending a message on sustainable fashion and the need to prevent climate change. The exhibition is free.

Seminars discussing K-fashion, global trends and sales strategies will take place on the sidelines of Seoul Fashion Week, discussing topics such as the registration of overseas trademarks, US fashion trends and the sustainability of Korean fashion brands.