Seoul Fashion Week 2021: Fall/Winter Season

A lot happened in this last month’s New York Fashion Week (NYFW) for Fall/Winter 2021. With trends like “witty” knits, blanket dressing, and chill pantsuits, we are in for something just as great in Seoul Fashion Week 2021 (SFW). There are even KPOP stars like TXT’s Yeonjun and WayV’s YangYang who collaborated in the Concept Korea section of NYFW. This means we may see other idols, musicians, or actors in SFW. (For a view of the full NYFW schedule, click here.)

For those of you who may not know, SFW is a global fashion event like NYFW. It happens twice a year in Seoul, South Korea, for the Spring/Summer season (October) and the Fall/Winter season (March). And like many things in 2020 and 2021, the SFW Fall/Winter show will also happen on a digital platform for health and safety reasons from March 22-27. However, the SFW Digital Tradeshow will last through April 4^th.

Apparently, there are still moving decisions in the process for runway venues. But according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, landmarks around Seoul could serve as venues for the show.

Seoul Fashion Week: The Actual Event

Photo by Tycho Atsma on Unsplash.

According to The Korea Herald, there will be 45 fashion designers involved in this event. About 28 of them are top designers for the Seoul Collection and 17 are rookie designers for Generation Next. The tradeshow, which promotes sales through their digital retail platform, will feature about 100 brands.

You can see on the official website (www.seoulfashionweek.org), that the Seoul Collection is the largest collection in Korea that features the top designers in the country. This is like a business event for these designers.

You can also see that Generation Next is a collection for new and independent designers (with one to five years of experience). Generation Next is like a “new fashion designer development program” that serves as a first step through the door of the fashion industry for many talented designers.

Designers and Brands

On the site, you can also check out some of the designers, their profiles, and brand concepts. For example, designers like Miss Gee who also participated in the SFW Spring/Summer 2021 show in October are on the site under the Designers tab. Some of her designs entailed a sailor theme throughout her collection with red, white, or blue stripes and sailor-like collar designs.

There are many others, but some that were featured in past shows and in the NYFW Concept Korea show are UL:KIN, JARRET, and WNDERKAMMER. TXT’s Yeonjun and musician BIBI worked with UL:KIN and WayV’s YangYang worked with JARRET in NYFW’s Fall/Winter 2021 show.

UL:KIN came out with the LSD collection this Fall/Winter season for NYFW 2021 under Concept Korea. UL:KIN is known for its artistic upcycling, deconstruction/reconstruction, and hybridization of garments. They like to separate the old from the new and break from the traditional looks men and women may wear. In this collection, you can see this with the use of leather, chains, camo, and denim for a cool streetwear look.

WNDERKAMMER on the other hand is much more simple and minimalistic in design and colors. For their newest collection under Concept Korea, they featured many garments in muted shades. Each outfit is simple with sophisticated silhouettes.

Lastly, JARRET is known for its contemporary looks. This season the outfits are shades and patterns of reds, purples, pinks, and gray/black/olive-toned garments. It focused mainly on suits, trench coats, and dresses for a fresh and modern look.

Past and Future of SFW

Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash.

In the year 2020, the SFW Fall/Winter week canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Before the pandemic, SFW hosted the shows in person, usually at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. This meant in-person viewing with seats near the catwalk and other in-person interactions were the norm. Now, everyone is doing everything digitally to continue business and tradition. In the future, there may possibly be more online events versus in-person events. As for different styles, it is said that in the Spring/Summer 2021 shows metallic fabrics and layering skirts/dresses over pants were spotted in both Seoul Fashion Week and European Fashion Weeks. This may be something to look out for in the up-and-coming collections and year.

Another bold trend to be on the lookout for is the “utilitarian” look. This means cargo pockets, safety fabrics, zip closures, and other practical additions. This could be a popular trend among streetwear brands for sure!

Viewing Seoul Fashion Week 2021

If you want to actually watch Seoul Fashion Week events and stay up-to-date on the new trends coming out, be sure to follow them on their social media platforms. Any updates about the event will be on the website and their social media. SFW also has its own YouTube Channel where you can watch past shows and new shows when they come out.

According to The Korea Herald, SFW gained more than 670,000 views collectively from its runway videos during the Spring/Summer 2021 fashion week in October. Don’t miss out!

For more information on fashion trends and Korean culture, check out KWorld Now. Here is also a short video on the biggest shopping malls in Korea. Enjoy~