Seoul by Gahyun Kwon

Seoul is a growing metropolis that is attracting interest from all over the world. This year, Gucci had a cruise show at Gyeongbokgung Palace, a prominent location in Seoul, and Louis Vuitton shut the Jamsu Bridge to display its pre-fall collection. Recently, the Seongsu-dong area was filled with photographers due to BLACKPINK Jennie and Calvin Klein's partnership. In this way, Seoul's opportunity to become the global hub was greatly aided by the Korean pop culture sector, which includes K-pop and Netflix series. Every year, the enormous and prosperous Korean music market unearths younger, gifted, and more attractive boys and girls. And the style used by such flawlessly attractive celebrities becomes trend in the metropolis. The most trend-sensitive metropolis overall, according to some, is Seoul. With strong social and political influences, Seoul has developed into the city that moves quickly and follows trends. Korea was liberated from Japan less than 80 years ago and immediately afterward, it had to jump-start its economy and industry in order to endure poverty while going through a war and being split into the North and the South. As a result, it is evident that the fields of fashion, culture, and art are just taking their first steps. However, the city's expanding importance is due to its superior use of the fast evolving media and identification of superstars who fit it.  Relationalism is also the most significant aspect of contemporary culture. This is a «relationship-oriented attitude of life that is willing to change opinions in accordance with the tastes or choices of others», and relationalism in today's world is the main factor behind Seoul's fashion industry being extreme sensitivive to trends.

This socioeconomic base allows for several classifications of Seoul's street fashion. The first is the current fashion, which is influenced by the music business. Because Korean idol groups value engagement and contact with their fanbase above all else, they develop different concepts based on the song they are promoting. Let's use the recently established idol group New Jeans as an illustration. Their overall design has a natural, Y2K appearance. Their idea has influenced Seoul's street fashion, which is current but also inexplicably brings back memories of the 1990s. Fans swiftly assess their fashion information and share the brand and the tag when performers play live or take in the schedule. And the things they wear are sold out and start to boom. The Y2K aesthetic remained popular for a while in Seoul as a result of well-known firms continuing to produce comparable designs.

Secondly, there is minimalism. In Seoul, rush hour is a war of the vehicles on the roads. When viewed from a taxi while the cars are parked on the street, the city appears monochromatic. The minimalist, functional aesthetic with black and white-focused styles can be regarded as the most prevalent street style in Seoul, while this is also true of fashion. This is a simple method to stay fashionable in a city that cares about trends. We are paying a lot of attention to this city's active consumption of music, fashion, and culture without even recognizing it. We consider continuing to browse the collection, saving diverse references, caring for our eyes, and style to be basic skills. Seoul's street fashion blends with the makeup, hair, and accessories to create a polished and fashionable look. The examples so far have been referring to fashion enthusiasts who wear clothes in a more public way. You can see the style going in a different direction if you observe the street style of those who appreciate fashion a little more. Even in Seoul, there are many different types of people who have a strong interest in other cultures, and their attire is a direct reflection of preferences. If you look at the street style of fashion-lovers who like fashion a little more deeply, you can see the style in another direction. Even in Seoul, there are various types of people who deeply like different cultures, and their outfits actively reflect his tastes. Many techno and house genres events have been held in Seoul over the past few years. Accordingly, Gentle Monster, the largest eyewear brand in Korea, introduced a collection that produced Dutch gabber culture in the 1990s, and individuals who had experienced rave culture or club scenes in Berlin or England established a new trend called Seoul Rave Fashion.

In this way, it can be seen that Seoul's street style is shaped in accordance with the community's sense of fashion, which is strongly impacted by the relationship-centered culture. Trends are important, no doubt, but I believe that there will be more pleasure in seeing street fashion more if it develops into a social environment where each person's uniqueness may be recognized a little more. This is due to the ease with which one might lose their uniqueness if they adopt a group's fashion trends. Nevertheless, you can continue to look forward to Seoul's development because it is undergoing a process of cultural and artistic evolution and is having an impact on the world's fashion sector. We’ve only just begun.