Seoul Fashion Week to Open This Month

by YuGee / Oct 06, 2016 06:21 AM EDT

SEOUL, KOREA- MARCH 26: (CHINA MAINLAND AND SOUTH KORIA OUT)The forth day of Seoul fashion week, PUSHBUTTON fashion show on 26th March, 2016 in Seoul, South Korea.(Photo by TPG/Getty Images)

On October 17, the Spring/Summer 2017 Hera Seoul Fashion Week will begin and it will be held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. The event will have an opening reception honoring designer Han Hye Ja, the brain behind Korean couture brand HANEZA, Kpop Heral reported.

During a press conference on Wednesday at the DDP in Seoul, Jung Ku Ho, Seoul Fashion Week Executive Director, stated pertaining to the exhibition of Han's work titled "Tactus," "There will be a heavy focus on recording and archiving."

Jung was appointed as the new Executive Director in May and some of the new goals of the institution under Jung's leadership are creating and maintaining an archive of Korean fashion. In December, Seoul Fashion Week, together with Google, will open an exhibition that will present the growth of fashion in the country.

Another major task under the new leadership of Seoul Fashion Week is to continue winning the interest of key players in the global fashion world.

Jung stated, "Our main focus this year is to publicize Korean fashion to the world. This is the first year that we are working directly with foreign outlets and journalists for special Seoul Fashion Week feature articles."

In order to increase the hype given to Korean fashion, Jung has been working with major global merchandisers in establishing pop-up stores in some European cities such as Milan and Paris. In January 2017, London will be having a pop-up event that will run for one month and will feature collections from 10 Korean designers.

Jung further said, "Until this year, we had to actively urge buyers and press to attend Seoul Fashion Week. But now, they turn to Korea when they are looking for something that is inspired by pop culture and youth."

From October 17 to 22, 41 designers and six national brands will participate in Seoul Fashion Week. Hundreds of emerging designers will also be featured at the Generation Next Seoul trade show. The event will end with an award ceremony honoring the best of veteran and up-and-coming designers.