Seoul Fashion Week to host forum exploring global competitiveness of K-fashion
The 2025 fall-winter Seoul Fashion Week kicks off Wednesday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, offering a first look at the collections of 19 brands on the runway.
Designer brands Jisoo Baik and Daily Mirror are making their runway debut in Korea this season. Jisoo Baik, who debuted at the 2023-24 fall-winter Haute Couture season in Paris, has quickly gained international attention with her designs worn by celebrities including Ariana Grande and Bjork.
Daily Mirror, a brand blending modern masculine and feminine elements, will showcase a show inspired by the late video art pioneer Paik Nam-june, interpreting his performances and artworks.
The opening show will be led by Hannah Shin, a brand known for merging fashion technology with the latest IT trends. This season’s collection, themed "Cosmogony," will feature collaborations with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), incorporating PolyJet 3D printing technology and traditional crafts.
A new addition to the biennial fashion event is the Seoul Fashion Forum set to explore the global competitiveness of K-fashion.
Global fashion authorities James Fallon, chief creative officer at WWD & Fairchild, and Antonio De Matteis, CEO and creative director of Italian menswear brand Kiton, will share their insights at the forum.
Seoul Fashion Week will also host a trade show featuring 80 K-fashion brands. Participating brands include Marhen.J, BLR, Ajobyajo and Aecawhite, which have drawn the attention of international buyers.
“The trade show includes showroom tours which allow buyers to have in-depth one-to-one meetings with brands at their flagship stores. We’ve carried out showroom tours for three seasons in a row and now more brands are participating. This is something that a local brand by itself would find almost impossible to do,” said a representative of the event’s PR agency The Opening.
With 103 overseas buyers from 25 countries expected to attend including representatives from Samaritaine Department Store in France, Harvey Nichols in Kuwait and online platform Ssense, Seoul Fashion Week aims to increase its global influence.
“Through our sales program, contracts worth a total of $ 5.5 million was signed for the 2025 spring-summer season. Even though the number of buyers did not see an increase for the 2025 fall-winter season, sales are expected to increase by 5 percent, with a target of $5.8 million,” said the representative.
“The fall-winter season has been moved up significantly. Holding the event earlier than other renowned fashion weeks helps us attract more buyer visits and results in more participating designers securing orders.”
Seoul Fashion Week is not just for those in the industry. Show tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the 1664 Blanc promotional booth at the DDP Oullim Square, with 350 tickets distributed across 16 fashion shows.
"Twenty-five years of Seoul Fashion Week, which has played a significant role in shaping the city’s unique identity, is an achievement in itself. We will continue to strengthen our efforts to establish it as a global business platform and cultural soft power,” said Joo Yong-tae, head of Seoul Metropolitan Government‘s Economic Office. Seoul City is the organizer of Seoul Fashion Week.
