Can Korea take New York by fashion?

2013-08-20 18:22

Can Korea take New York by fashion?

By Jane Han

NEW YORK ― Korean fashion was covered pretty often by the media here this month. Apparently, it did quite well at the Intermezzo Collections, one of the city’s major fashion trade shows.
Emmy-winning ”Sex and the City’’ costume designer Patricia Field got her hands on styling models wearing Korean labels such as Buckaroo Jeans, Ugiz, and Culture Call.
Honestly, brands that I’m not familiar with. So I checked out some photos of the looks online. Again, I honestly, wasn’t too impressed.
I’m no fashion expert, so if New York City’s biggest fashion insiders say Korean fashion is all that. By all means, I’m sure it is.
Besides, this isn’t the first time Korean fashion has received rave reviews.Top Korean designers including Lie Sang-bong and Son Jung-wan successfully staged their designs at New York Fashion Week in February, drawing the attention of fashion people to Korean labels in general.
Nice. But whenever I see news like this, I always wonder how well Dongdaemun fashion, also known as DDM fashion, would do in the U.S.
Established and reputable Korean brands may bring a new kind of fashion flair to New York’s runways, but anyone who’s been around in Korea know that it is hard to beat DDM fashion in terms of style and affordability.
In the past, DDM relied heavily on copycat designs. But nowadays, young designers from top fashion schools in the U.S. and Europe who have the talent but don’t have the money to launch their own labels turn to DDM to test the market.
DDM is not for people looking for high fashion quality, but it’s ideal for an average woman who wants to look good without breaking the bank. Let’s say it’s for people who would consider buying from fast fashion brands such as H&M and Zara, but feel a little shaky about their quality.
So how about bringing DDM to New York City? That’s the tough part.
Most of the shops at DDM are run by separate owners who don’t have the capital to do anything fancy like that.
Although not through a proper channel, DDM fashion has already been introduced in the U.S. through independent Korean businesses here. It’s not hard to find fashion bloggers who post excited commentary about their hot buys at stores in Koreatown. Too bad they probably paid more than double the DDM price tag because store owners usually hike up the price to make up for their round trip plane ticket to Korea to buy an inventory.
Right now, the Korean government supports established designers through the Concept Korea project to help them debut in overseas markets. But why not give DDM fashion a chance too?
Sure, the clothes don’t have a powerful name behind them. But it would be interesting to see how New York’s fashion people rate Korea’s hidden fashion industry.