Final Cultural Project

[Vivian Lee]

Korean%20Fashion%20-%20Vivian%20Lee%20%281%29.pptx

Notes: 

- For my culture project, I explored fashion as well as fashion trends in South Korea.

- In recent years, Korean fashion has greatly evolved, due to several factors such as more inspiration from the West, country’s industrialization and economic growth, social media/technology, and the Korean Wave “Hallyu,” which is the  spread of South Korean Culture.

- Some history on Korea’s fashion trends and fashion industry:

 1950s–60s: Introduction of Western clothing

 1970s–80s: Development of clothing industry

 1980s–90s: Increased popularity of designer brands

 Now:

- Internationalization of fashion, overseas expansion of Korean designer clothes

- Government support and public attention leads to growth of designer fashion, Korean fashion industry broadens overseas

-Fashion Shows: South Korean designers hold Korean fashion shows in many countries, often showing Korean styles (Seoul Fashion Week, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week NY, etc)

- Korea’s developing economy has also had a profound effect on fashion.  After the Korean War, South Korea’s economy grew and the country achieved economic growth through exports of goods. The industrialization allowed the expansion of the fashion industry and currently Seoul, Korea has the fourth fastest growing luxury goods economy after India, China, and Hong Kong.

- "Korean Wave" has been affecting the fashion world, and Korean celebrities are starting to have a real influence in fashion, especially through Korean dramas and K-pop.

- K-pop fashion has gained much more attention as more people are now admiring K-pop idols sense of style. For example, in Girl’s Generation’s MV “Gee.” They wore T-shirts combined with colored skinny jeans. It was one of their most popular songs, and it caused colored jeans and white T-shirts to become the new fashion style of the year in 2010.

- Also, when Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun wore a pair of Jimmy Choo Abel court shoes in the Korean Drama My Love From The Star, the response was so strong they had to reorder thousands of extra pairs to cope with the demand.

- Couple Looks:The phenomenon, which took root in the Nineties when Korean TV stars started matching clothing, and it still remains pretty popular with young couples and newlyweds

- New trends come in very quickly, the young generation are really sensitive to them, especially because aesthetics are important in Korea. Also, with technology, social media, and online shopping,  as soon as a fashion trend on the internet, it becomes a thing.

- Currently, South Korea maintains a unique fashion style that has become an acknowledged influence in worldwide trends.