Fashion in South Korea

In recent years, fashion in South Korea has greatly evolved, due to inspiration from the West. Factors that have influenced the changes in South Korean fashion are culture, wealth, and (social) media. The country's developing economy has also had a profound effect on fashion.

Currently, South Korea maintains a unique fashion style that has become an acknowledged influence in worldwide trends. South Korea's style has become more expressive, reflecting a sense of individuality, which is absent from the style of its northern counterpart, North Korea.

In addition, the Korean Wave (the spread of appreciation for South Korean culture) is beginning to affect the fashion world. Korean celebrities are starting to have a real influence in fashion. For example, pop stars from Korea have recently been making appearances in places like New York. It is projected by the author, Euny Hong, that this fashion phenomenon will soon be worldwide.

In the early 1990s, designer Lee Shin Woo participated in the Tokyo Collection. Lee Shin Woo, Lee Young Hee, Jin Tea Ok, Hong Mi Wha, and others participated in the pret-a-porter in Paris. Korean designers appeared actively on the global stage. The Korean government started to encourage talented designers. By the end of the 1990s, the encouragement of talented designers declined, due to the currency crisis. Lately the government has supported designers, and designers who are less successful in the domestic economy are beginning to advance abroad.

The Seoul Fashion Week is a global fashion event held twice a year in the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter seasons. It is sponsored by the city of Seoul and conducted by Inotion World Wide. It is held in March and October in South Korea, followed by shows in New York City, Paris, London and Milan. The Seoul Fashion Week is split into three parts:

The Korea Fashion Design Contest looks for fresh and rising design talent in Korea. This contest began in 1983, and it has been supported by the Korean government since 2004 for its promotion of new designers. The contest aims to:

Korea Style Week was an exhibition at COEX in Korea in 2013. It combined a fashion show format with that of a fair for the first time in Korea. This was done to make it easy to find new designers and fashion online. Korea Style Week was an opportunity for companies to introduce the public to their products. This was done by creating events like styling classes, runways, flea markets, etc.

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