The rising Korean fashion stars making a global imprint

To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here. South Korea is having a moment in the limelight. That’s good and bad for homegrown fashion brands. While the country has long held the status as Asia’s trendsetter, thanks to an endless fascination with K-pop stars Blackpink and BTS and general Korean pop culture, high local and tourist demand, and government backing for foreign operators, in recent years it has emerged as a particularly reliable spot in APAC, while neighbours like China continue to be affected by Covid lockdowns and store closures. LVMH-owned Dior, Kering’s Gucci and French designer brand Ami have targeted South Korea, hosting fashion shows, store openings and parties. This global hunger for Korean culture boosts the country’s profile on the world stage. But for emerging local fashion brands, it means stiff competition at home, where support for domestic talent is already weak. Creativity and commerciality have long been at odds in South Korea’s culturally homogeneous market, says Seoul-based fashion designer Dongjoon Lim. It’s also dominated by chaebols, or Korean conglomerates such as Lotte, Hyundai and Shinsegae (which brought Acne Studios, Proenza Schouler and Loewe to the country in 2013, a year after it launched Celine and Emilio Pucci), due to their strong financial capability and large distribution networks. Unlike cities such as London and Copenhagen, where emerging brands strive for a spot on the official fashion week schedule, many Korean designers eschew Seoul Fashion Week due to low international attendance and visibility. Buyers are not interested either, with many local boutiques often preferring international fashion brands over homegrown labels, due to the belief that they’re “better” and cost the same anyway. This environment has made it tough for Korean creatives to innovate, Lim believes. “Most Korean fashion customers love Japanese or Western brands. They don’t buy domestic labels.” As a result, many Korean designers play it safe, focusing on affordable, everyday basics, Lim says. “They don’t make experimental pieces or try a new design because there will be no-one to buy it.” Now, a cohort of emerging Korean designers are bucking the trend with bold designs and a global growth strategy that’s catching the attention of fashionable shoppers at home. The social media launchpad Lim’s conceptual menswear brand is gaining traction abroad and at home. In 2018, he and Sookyo Jeong co-founded Post Archive Faction (PAF), which uses technical, multi-purpose fabrics to create clever, structural silhouettes. Since 2020, PAF has presented its collections in a Paris showroom, directly to buyers. In 2021, the brand was shortlisted for the LVMH Prize. Today, it counts over 40 global stockists, including Ssense, H Lorenzo and Dover Street Market. PAF, which has been self-funded to date, is profitable, with $2 million in revenues in 2021. The brand will close about $4-5 million by the end of 2022, a 200 per cent increase in sales, says Lim. The turning point for PAF came two months after launch when its signature puffer was worn by American rapper Kendrick Lamar during a Saturday Night Live performance. Lim later learned that Lamar’s stylist had requested “cool down jackets” when shopping at Opening Ceremony in New York, which has since shut its doors. That helped to boost PAF’s reputation in Korea as well as globally. “People were curious and thought if Kendrick wears it, maybe I should too,” says Lim. The late Virgil Abloh, founder of Off-White and former men’s creative director of Louis Vuitton, was also a fan. In November, Off-White and PAF unveiled a collaboration consisting of 12 apparel styles. Abloh was involved in the project from the start and it was one of the last he worked on before his death. The rise of social media platforms like Instagram was a gamechanger, as it lowered the barriers to entry, says Lim. PAF began sharing its designs on Instagram with links to its e-commerce site. The brand began small, with 10 to 20 units of one design. Those pieces quickly sold out, he says. “We just kept making and selling clothes. It was a very gradual and organic process.” About 70 per cent of the brand’s sales currently come from outside of Korea, and the puffer remains its best-selling product. Miss Sohee is another brand that has achieved success through social media. Founded by Seoul-born, London-based designer Sohee Park, the brand uses deadstock and recycled fabrics to make one-of-a-kind couture pieces that are worn by celebrities such as Cardi B, Miley Cyrus and Bella Hadid. It’s remarkable considering that Park only graduated in 2020, with a BA in fashion at Central Saint Martins. “Due to pandemic lockdowns, my graduate show was cancelled. Many other students went home and their collections were not finished,” she recalls. But Park continued working on hers, sharing designs and inspiration on Instagram. The driver of Miss Sohee’s business, which currently counts 11 employees, is couture, accounting for over 60 per cent of sales. Her first clients were royals from Abu Dhabi. “They invited us to their palace and we made some couture gowns. That funded us to move out of my small apartment and get an office and hire a team.” Shortly afterwards, Dolce & Gabbana entered the picture. As part of its commitment to support forward-thinking designers, the luxury Italian house sponsored the making of her collection and show debut at Milan Fashion Week in February 2022. “[It] helped our brand positioning and we got many requests thereafter.” Today, a majority of Miss Sohee’s clients are based in the Middle East. Park declined to share annual revenues but says the brand is profitable. Ready-to-wear, which the brand launched exclusively with Net-a-Porter in September, could become a bigger part of Miss Sohee’s business. Mytheresa and Moda Operandi will join the roster of stockists in 2023. But ready-to-wear does not come cheap — a crystal-embellished cut-out gown by the brand retails for £4,260 — although it is more accessible than a couture look by Miss Sohee, which costs up to six figures. The best-selling style this year has been a ready-to-wear version of a couture look worn by actress Gemma Chan. Future success will hinge on a delicate balance of the two business models, says Park. While ready-to-wear is about getting the right amount of orders and delivering them on time, couture requires one-to-one client relations on a made-to-order basis and production times can range from one month to one year. Her biggest challenge is “finding the right people” to work on what is essentially a dual business model. The calendar isn’t slowing down either, she says. “We’re working on delivering Spring/Summer 2023. We’re also working on our next collection, which we’ll present soon. On top of that, we have couture orders to fulfil.” Miss Sohee will also introduce bridalwear in 2023: Park already has bridal appointments booked for February and September. The K-pop effect One big benefit of South Korea is its star power. More interest is mounting around Miss Sohee thanks to her latest client, Blackpink. Park dressed all four members of the band — Jennie, Rosé, Lisa and Jisoo — for their 2022 Born Pink tour, a remarkable feat as it’s not often that the full cast is dressed by one designer. Blackpink’s stylist team at YG Entertainment reached out ahead of the tour, says Park. “They wanted to wear something with a Korean touch to it, and they also wanted them to be custom pieces” — two areas of Park’s expertise. Andersson Bell has also benefitted from the global popularity of Korean stars. The brand went viral after Jung Kook, a singer for South Korean boy band BTS, wore its clothing and sneakers to the 2019 Grammy Awards. The pieces were not gifted and likely bought from retailers, who discovered the label’s showroom in Paris that season, says founder and creative director DoHun Kim. Kim, who is based in Seoul, launched the label in 2014 after his first European trip to Stockholm. “I was shocked by the completely different vibe. [It gave me] a different world view,” he says. At that time, Kim was studying a variety of topics, including urban city development and film production. He interned at a large retail corporation in 2014 before deciding to launch Andersson Bell, which represents a blend of Scandinavia’s clean design principles with Korea’s eclecticism. While Korean styles tend to be more “calm and relaxing”, Andersson Bell takes a louder approach, he explains. The brand took off in 2017 when Barneys New York, the high-end retailer known for spotlighting emerging brands until it shut its doors in February 2020, became its first global stockist. “I realised that many people were watching. From then on, I focused on improving the ‘completeness’ of the collection to show who we are, rather than just increasing the number of SKUs,” says Kim. Today, the brand counts 31 employees and is stocked by over 140 global retailers, with a majority — 40 — in Italy. Montreal-based Ssense has the deepest buy, according to Kim, and best-sellers are its sweaters, which feature playful colours and textures. Wholesale accounts for 40 per cent of the business, while direct retail accounts for 60 per cent. The brand has been profitable since launch. Total annual sales are expected to be $13 million this year, says Kim. In October, Andersson Bell unveiled a new flagship store in Anguk-dong next to Korea's historical Gyeongbokgung palace. The neighbourhood is uniquely associated with preserving Korean traditions, says Kim. “The contrast of our store, with its modern design, is [reflective of] Andersson Bell’s DNA.” The space is important as it allows the brand to reach local customers who aren’t able to find the label in domestic wholesalers and who may not have known it online, he adds. Despite the brand’s early success, Kim is wary of being overly dependent on celebrities and influencers. “I don’t think that Andersson Bell is successful only because of Korean superstars. They wear many other Korean brands.” But he adds that Korean designers’ tendency to play it safe with basics gives them a “lower impact”, whereas Andersson Bell can be “recognised at one glance”. Kim hopes that by maintaining a clear identity as well as a high quality of products, Andersson Bell will resonate with consumers who are tired of cheap, low-quality designs. “We’re working hard to show something novel, unexpected and fun.” Key takeaway: While South Korea is gaining traction as a luxury hotspot, challenges within its local fashion ecosystem remain. A new generation of Korean fashion designers are looking overseas, winning over global stockists such as Ssense and Net-a-Porter. By offering their own unique points of view, they’ve reached profitability within only a few years of launching. New commerce channels and support from the right celebrities are helping with visibility and sales growth. Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com. More on this topic: Market Insights: Pound for pound, South Korea is a luxury heavyweight Is South Korea’s star fading? Luxury thinks not Luxury weathers the storm in South Korea

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