Everything We Learned at Seoul Fashion Week Spring 2016

Date October 29, 2015

For the past couple of years, my interest has been piqued by South Korea. Its beauty scene has been blowing up Instagram feeds, while
Seoul street style has become a treat for sartorial voyeurs worldwide. Add its burgeoning design talents into the mix and you’ve got one mega desirable stop on the Spring 2016 circuit: Seoul Fashion Week. With a cheat sheet of the country’s top designers in mind (Steve J & Yoni P landed on Net-A-Porter and Kye at Opening Ceremony) I headed across the world for 6 days of cross cultural fashion education.

From the must-know designers to homegirl/It model Irene Kim, I compiled 8 of the coolest things I saw and learned from Seoul Fashion Week.

1/8

seoul fashion week spring 2016 j koo

It’s gender neutral

Having just been awarded the Woolmark Asia Prize for womenswear, designer brand J Koo was a must-see for editors and buyers. He’s mostly known for creating men’s and women’s pieces which can be worn by both sexes—something that is in tune with the gender neutral SoKo culture.

2/8

seoul fashion week spring 2016 steve j yoni p

Denim is even bigger in Asia

The Net-A-Porter-stocked denim label Steve J and Yoni P is one of the hottest tickets of the week, mainly for its unique blend of kitch and denim—two of Seoul’s favourite things.

3/8

seoul fashion week spring 2016 studio k

Denim also plays a big role in The Studio K collection, which enjoys layering denim jackets over denim dresses over denim skirts. Did we mention South Koreans love denim?

4/8

seoul fashion week spring 2016 irene kim

Irene Kim

It’s hard to miss Irene Kim at Fashion Month, thanks to her famed bob and rainbow blue-ish tips. But her stardom is without question amplified here on home turf. Aside from being a clear fave for many of the SoKo designers (she fiercely walked 10+ shows!), she’s just as much loved by Seoulites and photographers. This photo is proof.

5/8

seoul fashion week spring 2016 baemin kye

It’s not about logos

South Koreans may not love logos, but they do love text-heavy prints, which designer Kathleen Kye emblazoned on trench coats, crop tops and maxi dresses in her much-talked about collab with Seoul delivery company Baemin this season.

6/8

seoul fashion week spring 2016 lucky chouette

It crowd-sources

Lucky Chouette’s designer Kim Jae Hyun often looks to her chic crew of friends for inspo, which results in easy-to-wear elegant pieces for the younger set.

7/8

seoul fashion week spring 2016 pushbutton

It’s all over the K-Pop scene

Having launched PushButton 10 years back, designer Park Seuggun is a staple in the SFW scene. Not only is he one of the most popular designers in the K-Pop world (his show was packed with the hottest stars of the moment like Tiffany of Girl’s Generation and hip hop artist Zion. T), but it’s his graffiti-style pieces that always make for instant street style bait.

8/8

seoul fashion week spring 2016 street style

Street style is still huge

And what’s Seoul Fashion Week without talking about its impeccable street style game? If there is one word to summarize the scene outside the futuristic-looking Dongdaemun Design Plaza, otherworldy instantly comes to mind. Aside from the style-hungry crowd of photographers snapping ferociously outside DDP, eccentrically-dressed show attendees, models and kids attracted even the non-fashion folks to stop and snap the fashionable scene. Like look at this duo. How could they not?