Organza, dots lend light mood to dark palettes of winter months


Global warming, or more accurately, global climate change must have been on the minds of many designers presenting their fall/winter collections during last week’s Seoul Fashion Week.

Never mind the unseasonably cold and windy weather ― the gusty wind knocked out a wall of a tent at Olympic Park that housed the press room ― the audiences were treated to some delightful lightness afforded by the use of organza, fine silk, punched fabric and happy dots in all sizes and colors.

At Lie Sang-bong, which opened the women’s collections last Wednesday, the sheer fabrics were accented by patches in the shape of pebbles or rounded stones. Drawing inspiration from the stone walls of old Korea, Lie placed “stones” in a variety of colors over sheer fabrics, combining light airiness with the heaviness of stones. 

Moon Young Hee, presenting a variation of her recent Paris show, showed slouchy silk pajama tops loosely belted at the waist paired with wide pants in organza for a languid Oriental mood.

The mix of light and heavy, sheer and dense was seen also at Jain Song who combined a padded jacket with fur collar trimming with a sheer black lace skirt. Pairing a leather jacket and a lace skirt has been a long-time staple of street fashion and on the runway where masculinity dominated, the introduction of lace somehow worked to reinforce the strength of the woman.

The asymmetrical tunic in punched fabric worn under a heavy knit poncho-like coat at Ultimo was another exercise in dichotomy that was evident everywhere during the fashion week.

Polka dots are a classic will never be out of fashion and for fall, designers brought out dots in all shapes and sizes. Im Seon Oc continued her minimalist look in bright colors this season, this time mixing stripes and large dots all in one look. The neon-bright colors of her stretchy fabric with bold polka dot prints created a happy, light-footed mood.

Dots, this time in the slightly elongated shape of drain drops, were a central motif in the CINU collection. Punched lace detail in the shape of rain drop and rain drop appliqu on sheer organza jacket lent a whimsical air to the collection by veteran designer Lee Cin-woo who made her comeback to Seoul Fashion Week after a six year absence.

While long and lean was the predominant silhouette on the runways, Andy & Debb took a more dramatic turn with exaggerated hips, reminiscent of old Goya paintings or more recently of Balenciaga. An architectural mini print dress with a peplum waist and exaggerated hip was sweet yet severe.

Travels to exotic locales inspire artists of all genres and fashion designers are no exception. Designer Kim Dong-soon at Ultimo took the audience to the exotic Middle East with tasseled outwear reminiscent of Oriental carpets and harem pants.

Model-turned-designer Ruina took inspiration from the highlands of Tibet, showing colorful knits and skirts inspired by traditional culture of the Himalayan kingdom.

By Kim Hoo-ran (khooran@heraldcorp.com)