Although Seoul’s Mayor, Oh Sea Hoon, has made clear Seoul would stay optimistic and invest in fashion, the collections shown at the 18th Annual Seoul Fashion Week had a melancholy very indicative of an economic weather change that even the presence of Korean supermodels Ji Ho Choi and Park Hee Hyun could not shake off.

For example Yang Hee Min opened its shows with a very mysterious gothic feel, Kang Dongjun had some splashes of color in his accessories and a few leather jackets but overall, his collection maintained the somber theme. Song Hye Mung opted for hair and makeup with a gothic defined look while Ko Tae Yong finished off the melancholy theme with military inspired suits and jackets with models walking down a runway that with autumn leaves used as decoration on the runway “sidewalks.”

Men’s wear designers that showed were: Yang Hee Min, Mvio’s Han San-hyuk, Kim Gyu-sik, Ko Tae-yong, Lee Ju-young, Song Hye-myung, Park He-rin, Park Jong-chul, Song Zio and Chang Kwang-hyo. Women’s wear followed suit in subsequent days with with designers Lee Young-hee, Hwang Jae-bock, An Yoon-jung, Ha Sang-beg, Hong Eun-ju, Moon Young-hee, Son Jung-wan, Cho Sung-kyong, Imseonoc, Lee Moon-hee, and Han Song. The event was held from March 26th to April 2nd, 2009. Visit Seoul Fashion Week Website for full viewings of the shows.





Photocredit:Getty images