The 2024 Autumn/Winter Seoul Fashion Week, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, unfolded from the 1st to the 5th at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) and E-Factory. This event, under the banner of “Change, Expansion, and Diversity,” captured significant attention by introducing a novel format of shows and sales across Seoul, marking a transformative approach in engaging audiences and participants.
Innovative Exhibition Formats and Expanded Participation
The Seoul Metropolitan Government enhanced the “Off-Show” system, allowing individual designers to freely conduct their shows at external locations. This initiative successfully reduced overall event congestion, offering designers more freedom and creativity.
Indeed, this initiative subtly optimized crowd distribution across venues. This innovative approach to show planning not only alleviated congestion but also enriched the attendee experience. Coupled with expanded exhibition formats and a broader geographical spread from Dongdaemun to Seongsu-dong, these strategic elements significantly contributed to the event’s success. Despite the more distributed audience, the event witnessed a notable increase in participation, with attendance rising by approximately 3,000 from the previous year, reaching a total of 37,650.
Diverse Designers and Collections
This year’s Seoul Fashion Week saw the integration of established designers’ “Seoul Collection” with the emerging designers’ “Generation Next,” showcasing a total of 21 designers. The event kicked off with designer Park So-young’s Julycolumn opening show, followed by positive receptions for collections from KwakHyunJoo, Sunwoo, AjobyAjo, WhySoCerealz, BLR, Greedilous, Demoo Parkchoonmoo, Doucan, Lie, Ulkin, and wrapped up with Hannah Shin.
Highlights of the 2024 F/W Seoul Fashion Week by Brand
AjobyAjo (아조바이아조)
AjobyAjo’s 2024 F/W collection garnered significant attention at Seoul Fashion Week with its theme, “The Chain”. This concept, inspired by the work of Taiwanese photographer Chien-Chi Chang from the Magnum Photos collective, explores the complex relationship between individuality and social connections through the imagery of people linked by chains. The collection is designed to appear as a unified image from afar but reveals individual uniqueness and stories through distinct poses and face tattoos up close.
Designer Kim Se-hyung reinterpreted elements of contemporary street fashion such as varsity jackets, loose-fit shirts, layering, cargo pants, and wide pants to highlight AjobyAjo’s unique color. Additionally, by selecting non-professional models from diverse social backgrounds, including drag queens, transgender individuals, people with disabilities, and the elderly, this collection powerfully conveyed messages of social diversity and inclusivity. This approach further solidified AjobyAjo’s position as a brand that transcends mere fashion to narrate personal and societal stories.
SUNWOO (선우)
Gaining attention for managing stage costumes for the LaChica team in “Street Woman Fighter”, SUNWOO, launched by designer Jang Sun-woo, draws inspiration from one-touch tents to represent “a movable temporary safe space”. This concept underpins the ‘fun-to-wear’ collection, focusing on expressing the attributes of clothing in a challenging and sophisticated manner. The 2024 F/W Seoul Fashion Week collection explored the space between the human body and clothing, emphasizing structural and experimental silhouettes under the themes of “Variation of Planes and Solids” and “Visualization of Mathematics”.
The stage showcased SUNWOO’s humor and wit through geometrically shaped looks and a particularly creative yellow geometric dress, all presented by models who stood barefoot, enhancing the brand’s unique ambiance.
KWAKHYUNJOO COLLECTION (곽현주 컬렉션)
The theme of KwakHyunJoo’s 2024 F/W collection was “Alice in Search of the Future”, presenting a collection filled with dreams and explorations of the future. This collection offered futuristic yet mystical girlish romantic looks, reminiscent of a journey to a future wonderland. Utilizing paper folding details and sculptural beauty, the designs showcased KwakHyunJoo’s creativity and signature style, while a collaboration with vegan cosmetic brand “WISMIN” conveyed a message of sustainable fashion.
KwakHyunJoo emphasized the journey of individuals seeking their own paths amidst an uncertain future through the collection. Incorporating recycled denim, check patterns, and signature dresses, the collection created a futuristic yet romantic atmosphere, proposing garments that allow wearers to encapsulate their stories. This approach highlights personal expression through fashion, encouraging everyone to harbor dreams and hopes for their future.
WhySoCerealz (와이쏘시리얼즈)
WhySoCerealz caught the eye at the 2024 F/W Seoul Fashion Week with a collection themed around “Friendship”. This show, blending various performance arts into a musical-like format, broke traditional fashion show molds. Drawing inspiration from the biblical friendship of Jonathan and David, it explored the true meaning of friendship through fashion. Designer Lee Sung-bin enriched the show by reflecting each model’s individuality and style in the garment designs, making each a muse, thereby enriching the fashion show’s depth.
WhySoCerealz focuses on conveying personal stories and social messages through fashion. This collection prompted a reevaluation of relationships and connectivity beyond mere clothing, introducing a novel reinterpretation of fashion show formats that left a lasting impression on the audience. Each design emphasized the wearer’s personality and freedom of expression, reaffirming the importance of self-expression through fashion.
BLR (Bluer Lives in the Rough)
BLR presented its collection under the theme “Quiet Riot: Capitalism” at the 2024 F/W Seoul Fashion Week, showcasing a deep philosophical and aesthetic approach centered around denim. This collection, which was held at S-Factory in Seongsu-dong, deeply explored the essence of denim, combining traditional allure with modern interpretations to offer a new aesthetic experience. BLR reimagined the denim archive with a rough and opaque mood, strengthening its identity as a denim-based brand.
The collection utilized various materials like cotton, leather, nylon, and wool to create heavy silhouettes, offering a sense of comfort and coziness as if covered by something, reflecting the brand’s contemplation on quiet rebellion and capitalism. Notably, a collaboration with sports brand Reebok showcased new endeavors, elevating the brand’s uniqueness and completeness. Through this collection, BLR delved into the beauty of denim and the responsibility of sustainable enterprises in the fashion industry, voicing a unique stance at the intersection of fashion, art, and commerce.
—-Jiyoung Lee
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