Towering models walked down the runway in Seoul on Tuesday wearing uniquely designed fur coats.

The “Future Fur” fashion show at Seoul National University’s Museum of Art featured mink and fox coats designed by the university students in collaboration with the Kopenhagen Fur company and the Danish Embassy.

Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science Sofie Carsten Nielsen, who visited Korea last week to invigorate educational cooperation, said the venue was an example of Korea’s push for a “creative economy.”

“In Denmark, fashion creates jobs and growth, making up the country’s fourth-largest export,” Nielsen said. “It is also a creative process of trying to find the perfect fit for our body and identity.”

Students got their ideas from various sources, including city skyscrapers, cactuses, fish scales, Buddhist lotuses and medieval emblems.

Kim Go-woon, a doctoral student who participated, said, “It has been a wonderful experience to work with rare new materials. We’ve been able to broaden our design spectrum through new crafts and concepts.”

Professor Ha Ji-soo, who teaches textile merchandising and fashion design at the university and directed the event, said, “We are so grateful to Kopenhagen Fur and the Danish Embassy for their support. The scope of assistance was truly beyond our imagination.

“As a de facto developed country, Denmark has the capacity to invest heavily and wisely in long-term partnerships.”

Through bilateral cooperation, secured through a memorandum of understanding last March, students received high-quality materials, a sewing machine and expertise in working with furs, while Kopenhagen Fur has gained innovative designs.

Aside from collaborating year-round, a weeklong Korea-Denmark exchange took place last year featuring workshops and training. The exchange helped expand mutual cultural understanding, according to the professor.

“At first, there were students who were thin-skinned about making fur coats due to the killing of animals,” Ha said. “But our main philosophy has been to break the stereotypes that fur coats are unethical, expensive and wasteful. We have worn furs for millions of years. We can also wear them as casual, affordable and friendly clothes.”

Kopenhagen Fur’s vice-president of marketing Ditte Hejberg Sorknaes said, “Our collaboration has truly been a win-win situation for both sides. We really need the innovation, creativity and courage of young talented designers.”

Sorknaes said that many students who participated in the program had been hired by leading European fashion firms after graduation, including Diesel, Dior and Louis Vuitton.

“After spending several years in the professional field, they go back to Asia with their hands-on expertise and know-how, bridging both markets,” she said.

Kopenhagen Fur has partnerships with 12 universities around the world, and is working to add three more universities by the end of the year. Three selected winners from Seoul National University will travel to Denmark in late January this year to participate in the Copenhagen Fashion Week, the largest fashion event in the Nordic region.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)