IF YOU like your fashion chicly understated and subtly elegant, Korean fashion will absolutely freak you out. Exaggerated, starkly colorful and styled to an inch of its life, it?s all about ?the cult of cute and shock.?
The basic formula seems to be wear every brand name you own, drown it in a layer of baby pink (or any other sweet color) gloss and throw on a couple of sparkles to finish it off.
It?s a head-turning look that will have you doubting whether sticking to the classic ?little black dress and pearls? is so old-fashioned and generational that it is best relegated to the back of your wardrobe.
Korean fashion is definitely a look not for the faint of heart or the low in confidence. From an expertly colored and tousled coif to stacking multiple screaming accessories over myriad layers of clothing ? no body part is left unadorned, as even toenails don?t escape embellishment.
Here is a sampling of fashionable Korea?s brightest, flashiest and ?cutesiest,? culled from online sources from the fashion capitals of the world (New York, Paris, Tokyo, Los Angeles) and now even from our local malls:
Andre Kim (Korea?s legendary fashion eccentric)
Considered by many as one of Korea?s most influential designers, Kim is all set to invade Japan. This 75-year-old fashion designer is known for his signature space suit attire and has often been accused of upstaging even his own runway collections. In recent years, he has lent the Andre Kim brand to cosmetics, sunglasses, golf equipment and apartment interior design, as well as washing machines, refrigerators and other home appliances manufactured by Samsung. But it is really his clothes ? usually baroque, in bright, bold colors, with Byzantine or Renaissance motifs ? that have made Kim famous. They exude a Western sensibility, sometimes loudly, reflected in his collection of dresses featuring prints of paintings by Rubens, Ingres, Michelangelo and Raphael.
?Fashion should portray grace, intellectual and artistic beauty, youthful energy,? Kim says. ?Not too classic. I don?t like ?old.? Even though I was born in 1935, I don?t feel my age. I feel like a teenager who is 10 or 15 or 20 years old ? fairy tale, fantasy, young and brilliant.?
Corey Pak (Korean American)
Trained as an industrial designer, the South Korea-born Pak says her designs are inspired by ?everything from Parmalat Milk cartons to building architecture.? As she explains: ?I design simple, functional clothing ? stuff you can wear when going grocery shopping, and still wear appropriately when stepping out for the evening just by a change of shoes.?
Corey, who put up Pak, a store on 220 Mott Street, New York, was named ?Champion of Fashion? during the December 2005 2nd Live Hard (LVHRD) Fashion Duel, a design competition where each designer is paired with a model and given a basket of raw materials and an hour to come up with a unique fashion design.
In the nail-biting match, the reviews later noted, ?Team Pak paired the sinister devil horns with equally conical Madonna-esque breasts (overdone and truly disturbing) and an intricately draped and gathered grey bubble skirt. They draped a furry stole around her shoulders, suggesting that the devil really does wear Prada.
?In the final five minutes, the frenzy of the crowd, fueled by Red Bull and vodka martinis, was more intense than the finishing touches the designers put on the outfits. The two models, Julia and Angel, glared at each other playfully as the duel wrapped up.?
Ji Haye: Lighting Up Paris Runways
Ji Haye was hardly ever recognized in Korea. But in Paris, the center of world fashion, she became the first Korean to hold two fashion shows in a year as guest designer in the fashion show Haute Couture.
During the show?s July 7-10 run, Ji Haye had the opportunity to exhibit her work beside design institutions such as Christian Dior, Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Hanae Mori.
The Haute Couture section of the Federation Francaise de la Couture is the pinnacle for the world?s fashion designers, but it is also where most become frustrated or discouraged, realizing the steep standards of international fashion.
In the mid-1980s, Ji Haye left for Japan to study Japanese literature but ended up studying fashion design instead. Later, she signed a contract with a Japanese fashion company and worked in its branch office in Paris. While working as a freelancer with a famous fashion designer for three years, she quickly learned the ropes in the fashion industry. She received support from the artist Felix Boukobza, who appreciated her talents and offered to be her manager.
Last month?s show was to be her eighth at Haute Couture, though her first three were not formal. ?Although a Haute Couture show lasts for only 10-15 minutes, famous fashion designers prepare for a whole year with help from the best workmen,? Ji Haye said. ?But because there was no one to help me, I had to work on my own, sewing one stitch after another. Later my arms were all swollen from needles.?
The first show, which she worked on with Boukobza, drew little attention. But the TF1, a French broadcasting company, televised it, and not long afterwards, wealthy Middle Eastern people started to place orders. Her second show started to attract attention from the fashion industry in Paris. She was able to hold her fourth show as a guest member of Haute Couture.
Ji Haye adds Korean sensitivity to her clothes. She gets her ideas from designs of monk clothes, and she uses Korean fabrics.
?Many designers apply for the show every year, but if they give themselves even a second to rest, they will fall behind at the Haute Couture,? she said. ?I always live as though I am standing at the edge of a cliff.?
Forever 21, the fashion mecca
Forever 21, the American chain that recently opened in SM Megamall, is poised to compete against local market retailers by selling high fashion designs at ?tiangge? prices.
This is obviously the fool-proof formula that catapulted the store from specialty boutique to mammoth clothing warehouse. The waiting lines outside the doors are quickly becoming legendary.
Originally known as Fashion 21 and founded in Los Angeles, California in 1984, it is actually the brainchild of South Korean Dong-Won Chang and his wife, Jin Sook. The couple opened their first store in LA on April 21, 1984. The first store was only 900 square feet (84 sqm), but it remains in operation till today, bearing the chain?s original name.
Trendy designs seen in South Korea were sold and targeted to the Los Angeles Korean American Community. Catching the attention of many other ethnicities, the fashion forward designs and the store became increasingly popular. By the end of 1984 sales had risen from $35,000 to $700,000.
Fashion 21 eventually expanded at the rate of one new store every six months and changed the Fashion 21 brand name to Forever 21. Now with retail outlets ranging up to 33,000 square feet in size, it?s a definitive sign that the Korean fashion invasion has truly begun.
Yeojon Bae (Australian Korean)
Yeojin Bae is a Korean-born Australian women?s wear fashion designer. At 15, she was the youngest student attending the Melbourne Whitehouse Institute of Design. Yeojin won the 2007 Tiffany & Co Young Designer of the Year Award, and in 2009 was nominated for the Prix de Marie Claire Designer of the Year Award.
She achieved international recognition through the successful sale of her collections in the US, UK and UAE. Stockists have included Barneys and Henri Bendel of New York, Matches in London, Sace and Harvey Nichols in Dubai, and Satine. Yeojin has also undergone internships in New York with Marc Jacobs and Anna Sui.
In Australia, her collections are sold in Myer, and she collaborated with Target Australia in October 2007 to design dress collections. Her label has been listed in publications that include Nylon, Russh, US Harpers, US Elle, Harpers Bazaar Dubai, Australian Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and Marie Claire.
SPAO: Hot upcoming new retailer
The Korean fast fashion brand SPAO was launched recently by leading fashion retail conglomerate E-Land. SPAO, which stands for ?specialty retailer of private label apparel original,? hopes to challenge foreign brands by offering a Korean take on fast fashion. The company produces its own clothing line and sells it exclusively in its stores.
SPAO made a big splash when it opened its three-story flagship store in Myeongdong, alongside Uniqlo, Mango, Gap and Bean Pole, last month. While it offers the usual range of T-shirts, jeans and sweaters, SPAO has set itself apart by tapping Korean pop groups Girls? Generation and Super Junior as image models. Girls? Generation and Super Junior members have also collaborated with SPAO to design a special line of shirts, sweaters and jackets, which are quite popular among fans.
Though this list is just the tip of the Korean fashion iceberg, it should give a flavor of what wonders Korea has in the store for the intrepid fashionista looking to amp up her wardrobe a couple of notches. Happy shopping! ?
