Whether cropped, oversized or cut apart, trench coats are back alongside maxi silhouettes and ties left deliberately undone
One garment kept returning to the runway at the 2027 spring-summer Seoul Fashion Week, which kicked off on Tuesday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Across the Re Rhee, HolyNumber7 and Lie Sangbong shows, the trench coat appeared oversized in khaki, cropped in black leather and, in its most extreme form, sliced into three sections and reconnected with safety pins.
Loose ties, long hems, crinkled fabric and power shoulders followed close behind, forming an early read on the 2027 spring-summer season.
Seoul Fashion Week, organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Design Foundation, runs through Sunday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Lotte World Mall. This season's lineup features 19 labels.
Re Rhee adorned the opening of the Seoul Fashion Week for the first time this season, after presenting at Paris Fashion Week for three consecutive years from 2024 to 2026. The womenswear label, led by Rhee June-bok and Joo Hyun-jung, began the show with a male contemporary dancer in a billowing shirt moving against a projected shoreline, waves breaking behind him. Hwang Chan-sung of the K-pop boy group 2PM walked the runway among the models.
The overall atmosphere was cool and unhurried. A white, wrinkled bodysuit gave way to an oversized khaki trench, cropped wide-leg pants and a draped sleeveless dress in silk organza. A high-neck windbreaker was shown as a set with a long skirt, and skirts were layered over pants in matching fabric. Menswear followed the same logic, with an argyle knit cardigan slung over one shoulder, a slouchy bag in one hand and charcoal shirting in a sheer, cooling weave. Ties were left unknotted throughout, and neck scarves stood in for them.
HolyNumber7 turned the venue into a departure hall, opening on a projected airport board. Designers Choi Kyung-ho and Song Hyun-heui titled the collection "Way Maker," a nod to those who cut their own paths. Models entered from several points around the room rather than from backstage, the first pulling a luggage cart, and two dressed alike walked in hand in hand.
Black dominated. A leather half trench, micro denim shorts, wedge flip-flops worn with toe socks, a maxi skirt cut to emphasize the hip and a camouflage set for men. Leather shorts were cut to brief length. Power shoulders and crinkled fabrics recurred, offset by silver jewelry, long drop necklaces, arm bangles and headpieces falling from the crown. Bodysuits, low-rise waistlines cinched with bold belts, slouchy boots and knee-high socks rounded out the lineup. The label reworked discarded billiard cloth, known as rasaji, for its garments and cast models of all generations, races and nationalities.
Lie Sangbong returned after three years away with "Re:Bloom," marking the designer's 40th anniversary. The show opened with a performance by traditional Korean musician Kim Jun-su.
The collection took Frida Kahlo as its starting point, reading the painter's transformation of physical pain into self-portraiture as a parallel to life in an uncertain era. It began deliberately grotesque and closed in full bloom. Safety pins and Kahlo prints ran across belted tops in black and white, and one trench was cut into three and pinned back together. A cape shirt featured Lie's signature Hangeul lettering on hanbok-like silk, a hallmark of his designs for decades.
Mirrors dangling from tops caught the lighting rig and threw it back at the audience. The effect held the eye, though the pieces read as built for the runway rather than the rack.
Blue arrived with teardrop prints, then red, then a bright green backdrop and a burst of florals. The finale sent out a long floral dress with the fabric draped like a veil.
Attention now turns to Thursday, when Kimhekim shows at Lotte World Mall, moving the runway outside Dongdaemun Design Plaza for the first time. It will also be the designer's first show in Korea after building a career on overseas runways, in time for the label's 10th anniversary.
yoohong@heraldcorp.com
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