Hera Seoul Fashion Week F/W 2017

International Fashion Weeks are always a beacon of taste and style. They show a country’s politics, culture and progress as a society. From March 27 to April 1, the F/W 2017 Seoul Fashion Week took place at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (동대문디지인플라자; DDP) and Korea’s style scene was on display for the world.

A Bit of Background

It hasn’t been until recent years that Seoul Fashion Week has really been considered a global fashion destination. Previously, Fashion Week in Seoul was a weeklong series of shows held by a number of independent groups. In recent years however, no doubt complemented by the increase of popularity of K-Pop and other Korean culture aspects around the world, the government here has recognized Korean fashion as another opportunity to share the country around the globe.

The 2017 F/W Branding for Seoul Fashion Week (Source: https://www.facebook.com/official.seoulfashionweek/photos/a.377975075723747.1073741825.377963855724869/682435391944379/?type=1&theater)

Previously, the organizers of Seoul Fashion Week have had difficulty in securing proper funding. As with many new and relatively unknown endeavours, it’s difficult to prove your success without a track record. Fortunately, government support has allowed Seoul Fashion Week to supplement travel expenses of international buyers from Saks Fifth Avenue and Selfridges, and editors from Vogue and GQ, and the strength of Korean fashion brands have been able to independently impress people abroad. The vice president and fashion director, menswear, home and beauty of Saks this year even mentioned “I was so impressed with the production of the Korean brands that I was seeing in the tradeshows [sic] in New York and Europe.”

Jung Ku-ho, Hera Seoul Fashion Week’s Executive Director is the mastermind behind the events, speaks at a press conference (Source: http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3030733)

Seoul Fashion Week: F/W 2017

Officially, Seoul Fashion Week is called Hera Seoul Fashion Week much like New York’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week or Toronto’s Mastercard Fashion Week. Hera is a premium K-beauty brand focusing on revitalizing skin care using natural ingredients. As with most International Fashion Weeks, the shows and events taking place at the DDP were predominantly featuring the lines for the 2017 fall and winter season.

This year featured a number of international brands as well as some higher profile collaborations between fashion labels. Brands like Hyundai held their own special events, and chief executive for European streetwear brand Vetements even held a celebratory dinner in Seoul to kick off the week.

As well, there was more effort this year to make Fashion Week accessible to the public. Live performances, in addition to the fashion spectacle of photographers and Seoul’s best-dressed around the DDP, live performances and activities took place over the course of the six days.

My Take

One of my favourite collections was the pushBUTTON x Line Friends (PLF) collaboration. For those with unfamiliar with Line Friends, you can check out the official description here. I was expecting pieces that resembled Harajuku style, and were much “cuter” than what I saw. Instead, the line used a good contrast of bright colours and simple design. As the PLF site describes it, the line is “Simple monochrome graphic arts, fine emblems and embroidery details

Meet LINE FRIENDS in contemporary, eclectic, and adorable ready-to-wear.”

The PLF Collaboration focused on bright colours and minimalistic pieces:

Source: https://www.linefriends.com/PLF

Source: https://www.linefriends.com/PLF

Take a look at the entire runway show for the pushBUTTON x Line Friends (PLF) collaboration. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Cr7yXGAMU

My absolute favourite part about any Fashion Week is to see how far people push the envelope in terms of their style and to see how they challenge conventional tastes. What I’ve seen this year only enforces that interest. Korean style breathes fresh air into what I normally see in Western culture and media. Although I’ve only been in Korea for a little over a month, I can tell the character and heart of Korean style is unlike anything in else in the world. I’m glad I can experience it firsthand.

Take a look at some of my favourite street snaps from Seoul Fashion Week F/W 2017 below: