[Regina Walton's Expat Interviews] A style icon visits Seoul

Yipee! Today the Korea Herald's Expat Living section published my interview with style and fashion icon, Diane Pernet. That was really exciting. I saw her on the second day of Seoul Fashion Week when she got out of a vehicle. I was talking to a few attendees at the front door of SETEC.

I'd read that she was coming and I was like "Wow! There she is!" I had to explain who she was because, for people who don't know about her, all they see is her appearance: black beehive hair topped with a black veil, vintage sunglasses, layers of black skirting with a pale face and red lips. Her appearance is a mysterious constant in the ever changing world of fashion and trends. I was pleased to discover she's simply a very nice lady because I got the privilege to meet and interview her at Daily Projects in Apkujeong during Seoul Fashion Week.

My editor did a great job with images from her compilation of films on style and fashion, A Shaded View on Fashion Film (linked below). It's not really captured well on the webpage. However, like always, I've attached an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) version of the actual page as it appeared in the paper today.

Before you head in, here is the link to a Q&A I did with Diane for the DeepGlamour website.

Enjoy.

[Regina Walton's Expat Interviews] A style icon visits Seoul

It's not every day you get to sit down with someone who is routinely described as a fashion and style icon. That happened to me a couple weeks ago during Seoul Fashion Week. It was my second time covering Korea's biggest fashion event.

In addition to Korean designers, the event planners brought in a handful of fashion experts.

Diane Pernet was one of these experts.

She has been in the fashion business for years, and has an impressive resume. For over 13 years she had her own New York City-based fashion label. Her designs were featured in high profile magazines from around the world, including Vogue, and worn by supermodels, such as Janice Dickerson.

But before all that she was a photographer and in college she studied filmmaking.

Pernet has been a fashion journalist and critic for heavy media like Elle.com and VogueParis.com. She is an associate editor for Zoo Magazine. She is also a consultant and editor for the biggest online fashion network, Igons. She also works as a curator and fashion and photo scout for the d'Hyeres festival.

Most important, to those plugged into the internet and fashion, she is probably best known for having one of the most influential fashion websites: Her blog is named A Shaded View on Fashion (ASVOF). It draws upon her iconic look: towering dark hair, black cat-eye shades, a black veil with layers of black clothing, which contrast with her pale white skin and dramatic red lips.

Pernet's blog is known for featuring new fashion talent and locations that help to keep fashion edgy and interesting. What's interesting about her look is its evolution. On Pernet's website you can see photos of her before she developed her look and you can also get a feeling for how she got there. You can get wrapped up in her image, but essentially Pernet is a creative and sensitive soul with interesting, and sometimes quite sad, events in her life. Thus, she's taken on a static look while working in an industry where looks change season by season.

You can say that in the midst of the dynamic world of fashion, Pernet's look remains a constant, adding an air of mystery.

In addition to her very popular website, she has another project - A Shaded View on Fashion Film (ASVOFF). This project merges her knowledge and love of fashion with her interest in images and film. ASVOFF started off as a project named You Wear it Well with photographer Dino Dinko in 2006. The project is currently in its third year and Diane is now its head. ASVOFF launched at the esteemed Jeu de Paume in Paris.


As someone who has had so many roles in fashion, I asked her what had been her most satisfying role. "It's two things, actually, because I was a designer myself for 13 years, which of course was very satisfying, because I was creating something. And now that I'm doing my own film festival ... I make low-fi films," she said. "But the whole idea (is to put) together what I believe is the strength of the future: directors, designers and a new way of presenting fashion.

"Traveling around the planet with my festival and meeting people and hoping, like from this trip, I would love to find new Korean directors that want to collaborate with Korean designers. And we have one film in the festival from Steve and Yoni."

Pernet said she would like to expand the international aspect of the festival.

When speaking with her about fashion, you're talking to someone who is well-versed and knowledgeable. You also realize she's someone who doesn't just keep up with the established designers. She's also someone who makes an effort to see new designers. whom she features on her blog.

When I asked her which designers she was excited about, she gave me a list that differs hugely from the standard names most people discuss. "Well, I like Gareth Pugh a lot. I really like Marios Schwab a lot. And people that are a bit more established like Raf Simons ... Christopher Kane. I think London has the strongest creativity, in fact."

When it comes to Korean designers, of course, she has a list of some that she admires. "Well, I also like Steve J and Yoni P, but I've seen them in London and I saw them here. Jin Lee at her shows in Paris. The collection we saw last night, Woo Young Mi," she said. "I liked KIIIM. I liked the two collections we saw the second day at Daily Projects (JAIN by JAIN SONG and Suh Sang-young). I also liked the first collection that was shown at the Next Generation show."

Pernet continued, "I'm not into destroying people. If I don't like collections I just don't report on them. It's not my way. For one thing, I was a designer myself for 13 years, which most critics have not been. And I know, even if you do a horrible collection, there were probably months of work and a lot of people involved in creating it.

"I'm just not about destroying people. ... I know that's what sells. I do know that, but I'm not going that route."

Regarding her film career, Pernet said it had started nine years ago when she wanted to put together a festival, but that there wasn't the material for it. Mark Eley - half of the design team Eley Kishimoto - had a hand in her beginnings when he asked her to make a road movie for him. "There was lots of runway on video but that's not interesting to me. So I forgot about it for awhile." She said that Eley asked her to do a movie for the Gumball 3000 rally - a car race. The result of filming Mark and the Gumball 3000 was a film named "Adventure of Pleasure."

"So I had a collaborator in L.A. and he was a contributor to my blog. ... I sent him 'Adventure of Pleasure,' which was the road movie and he said 'Do you want to screen it in L.A.?'

"Then my other contributor in Mexico City had sent me a film which I really liked. ... Then we (all) just decided to do a film festival, a fashion film festival." Last July she decided to work on the film festival as a solo project and "that's when it became A Shaded View on Fashion Film."

When asked how it feels to merge her two loves, fashion and film, Diane answered decisively. "It's great. That's why I did it," she said. "It feels really good and I want it to keep growing. I just want to build it and I think it's the future."

"It's a new way to present fashion."

You can keep up with Diane, her travels and the fashion that she likes at her blog: A Shaded View on Fashion, ashadedviewonfashion.com and you can keep up with her film project at A Shaded View on Fashion Film, ashadedviewonfashionfilm.com

Diane's link to my article...yeah! And thanks!
KH11122008

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Seoul Fashion Week, S/S 2009 - Picking Up

In all fairness to Seoul Fashion Week, let me write a quick update. Today is the last day, so check out some of the events if you can.

The last couple of days have been better. The crowds have increased and the energy is up. It's still not the crazy huge standing room crowds that were VERY frequent last time. However, the shows are good. It's great seeing the hard work of these designers come together on the runway.

What's been greatest in boosting the energy were the off site events I mentioned in my last post. The events at Daily Projects and De Vill Hwa Soo Mok have lots of young and enthusiastic talent. Also, the Woo Youngmi, 우영미, show at COEX I heard was amazing. I missed it because after a day of work, I'd already rushed from my office to the venue listed on the press info only to find out it had been moved to another location. After that, I was just irritated and wasn't up for running from a show in Apkujeong to another in COEX and then back home. Unfortunately, that was a mistake because I heard the show and the small after party were just amazing.

However, the issue of me running to one venue to find out that it had been moved is part of the mass disorganization that's staining the event. I just don't have the energy to chronicle it any further.

I did make it to Ha Sang Beg's runway show and after party. His shows are always fun and that jacket he had on was in the show. I loved it. Of course, being the designer, he had dibs on wearing it at his party.



I had a chance to speak to and interview Diane Pernet last night before the screening of the A Shaded View on Fashion Film (ASVOFF) at Daily Projects*. During our conversation, she asked me why the paper I write for, the Korea Herald, hadn't bothered to cover the events? She asked because the paper has been delivered to her hotel room daily and there have been no mentions of the events in the paper. I have no clue how the culture desk runs, so there wasn't much of an explanation I could give her beyond my theories as to what was behind it.

It's just not good for such a major event be ignored by all the Korean papers on a daily basis. Again, I think it comes from this "if we build it, they will come" mentality that Koreans have where they think that just planning something and pouring money into something that alone is sufficient.

No, it's a big world and you've got to let people know what's happening but, beyond that, you've got to give them a reason to care that it's happening. Part of upping the profile of Seoul Fashion Week is getting the local media to care enough to cover it. That would pull in other media. However, it's the last day, and I lack the energy to wax analytical on how to promote this event. It would be much different if it was my job, but it's not.

*A note - ASVOFF is an interesting selection of various films expressing fashion from various points of view and differing techniques from interviews to animation. It was fun to watch. If it comes to a city near you, make the effort to go see it if film and fashion interest you.

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Seoul Fashion Week, S/S 2009, is kind of blah.

This is one reason why the current Seoul Fashion Week is just blah: Seoul Fashion Week’s Got a Rift. Believe me, there are others, but I'll wait on those for now.

It's unfortunate because fashion weeks are the time for local designers to show off their collections to both local and international press and buyers. If the designers don't all show together, there is no way the international contingent is going to double back. It's basically a lost marketing opportunity. It just seemed extremely odd that quite a few big players weren't showing this time. Unfortunately, their non-participation dampens the entire production.

It's not a completely boring event. It's just in contrast to the energy at the last one, this one is lacking. However, yesterday the International Fashion Exchange was great. They featured four Asian design collections: Thuy, Steve J and Yoni P, Eley Kishimoto and Ravage by Raj Shroff & Neetu Gunta. It was nice to see collections by Asian designers from other regions. There was also a Global Fashion Forum featuring three notable fashion specialists: Diane Pernet, Nicole Fall and Félix Boukobza. However, neither event was publicized widely, so attendance was very light. I was a bit embarrassed for the organizers because of the low amount of people in attendance. These things should be packed and, this time around, they're not.

Also, the folks in charge haven't been the most accommodating with the press. I've heard a range of murmurs and rants about bad experiences from others. I've seen some crazy behavior from the organizers before the shows begin regarding press and seating. (Basically, things like demanding that press not sit in seats designated as "press".) I now officially have one "crazy ass Korean" fashion week story of my own. Even though I'd scheduled an interview with the PR contact for one of the designers bought in for the International Fashion Exchange and was escorted in by a PR rep, someone else approached me as I was starting my interview and asked "who are you?!" I do get that these designers are VERY high profile people, but that's why I made sure my access to her was legit. Knowing I'd done the right thing by communicating with the designer's PR division directly, getting the okay from them to interview her last week and making sure I went out of my way to let the with the PR reps on site know I'd set this up, I knew all was good. So when someone approached me like I was some interloper, I was nothing but cool. However, it did feel like I was in one of those old David Spade "and you are?" Saturday Night Live skits.

As the most important person in this situation, the designer, knew I'd been in direct contact with her company to arrange the interview, I didn't mind the rudeness too much. It was yet another case of arrogance coupled with botched communication on a few levels; and stories like that in fashion are legion. I just answered the questions and wondered how this person's lack of graciousness and, frankly, lack of class was playing out in the head of the designer sitting across from me. It was more funny than irritating because this was coming from a woman who is also a well-known member of the Korean press and this person was also a prominent figure in the Global Fashion Forum event. It's the epitome of non sequitur behavior since, again, fashion weeks are merchandising and publicity events. The point is to get press and generate sales. It's more of a shame that there is such a high level of unprofessionalism in an event that claims it's trying to establish itself as "world class". I mean really. I wasn't pulling an impromptu interview ambush on, American Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour*. There are moments to be harsh with the press, but it's not really when someone has actually gone out of their way to play by the rules and has scheduled an interview. What is showed was, as usual, Koreans have a very hard time organizing themselves and communicating effectively. (* Here is that blogger's take on what happened and why she bum rushed Anna Wintour.)

My little story is nothing actually. I just heard a doozy of a story that I'm not at liberty to disclose, but I'm truly shocked that someone I know with backstage access press pass got harshed so severely right before a show.

It's not all a loss. And, don't get me wrong, the shows I've attended at SETEC, the main venue for Seoul Fashion Week, have been very nice and well put together. But there is a clear lack of energy and, even worse, some serious arrogance coming from some of the people putting on the event. I'm not the only person commenting on it.

For interesting, energetic and still happening, there are the Generation Next events over at Daily Projects and De Vill Hwa Soo Mok. Both venues are also in Seoul and they will have events going all week long. I went to the opening runway show of some of the featured young designers at Daily Projects tonight and that was both fun and exciting to see. There were also a few great pieces. Kudos to Lauren Kovin whose draped pieces were just lovely. My favorite is this blue dress.

So, as you can see, all is not lost. It's only Tuesday, so here is hope that things just might continue to pick up. I hope so.

Here is some visual proof that all is not amiss. here are three photos from the Resurrection by Juyoung runway show.



And yes, the model in this last shot is Andrew Gordon. He is an American model who is based in Seoul; I interviewed and wrote about him a few months ago.

Runway photos by Denise Lejcar and courtesy of FeetManSeoul.com

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Culture All Around Me... ;)

Lucky me.

With it being midterm exam week at my job, I essentially have the week off from work. However, Sunday was my birthday and my department just HAD to get me a cake. Last week they asked me if it was possible to come to work this afternoon. It worked out because the Korean professors had to proctor this huge exam for the department. So I met them at 2:30pm and they presented me with a cake, sang Happy Birthday (Korean style) to me and that was that. Granted, it could have waited until next week, but really, would it kill me to just go? No, so I went.

I then went to my office to take care of stuff completely unconnected with my teaching job. Cirque du Soleil's Alegria opens in Seoul this Wednesday, October 15th at Jamshil Sports Complex. I'll be there later this week to interview a couple of their performers for my interview column for the Korea Herald.




Then on Saturday, October 18th, Seoul Fashion Week starts. I've had a few people ask me about it. I think for the general public a one day ticket is only 7,000 won. The lines to get into shows are crazy long, so get there early and plan an attack plan for which collections you want to see. FeetManSeoul has put up something to help Seoul Fashion Week newbs out, so check it out: Wanna Go to Seoul Fashion Week?

Honestly, it sounds like both Saturday and Sunday are going to be very good. On Saturday the men's collections are up and, last time, the men's collection day was one of the best days by far. However, on Sunday, Lee Ju Young among others are showing their collections. Ju Young's show last time was pretty much one of the best. I have no doubt she'll live up to that this time too. Plus, she's just a pretty damn cool person, so check out her show if you'll be there. (previous mentions of Juyoung on this blog 1 and 2).

Also, FeetManSeoul has a great piece on the development of Korean fashion and his predicted "fashion wave": The History of Korean Fashion and the Coming “Fashion Wave”. I think the fashion wave claim is jumping the gun a bit because Japanese fashion dominates the NE Asian fashion scene and they will for awhile. However, I think there are some great Korean designers who can challenge the best of the best. The FMS piece is a good primer. Check it out. It's really informative. I know I needed it (and I'll be using it because it will help me with an upcoming piece I'm writing for DeepGlamour.net).

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[Regina Walton's Expat Interviews] Trailblazer for foreign models

I'm laying low these days with blogging because, as I've written, it's just time to spruce up my personal life and focus on some other things.

However, I have been plugging away at getting interviews for my Korea Herald column. I've got a few interesting people lined up to write about. I've also been working behind the scenes with the Look to the Stars website that I write for. With that, I'm helping them maintain their MySpace and ThinkMTV pages.

I estimate I'll get back to blogging in earnest in a few weeks.

Here is my interview with Andrew Gordon. He's an American model who lives here in Seoul.

[Regina Walton's Expat Interviews] Trailblazer for foreign models

Andrew Gordon is an American model from New York who is quite successful in the fashion industry here in Seoul. He speaks near-fluent Korean - not an oddity in itself - but many models here tend to have short stays.

A few foreign models are flown in for a few weeks at a time. For example, Elyse Sewell of America's Next Top Model was here for a few weeks, but left in May to work in China. You just don't see many foreign models that make Korea their home - let alone take a deep interest in the culture or language like Gordon has.

Two years ago, Gordon moved to Gimhae, near the city of Busan, and stayed there for around a year. He moved to Busan, then eventually found his way to Seoul.

He explained that it was friendships made in high school that gave him an interest in Korean culture and language. "I went to a private high school and there were a lot of Korean people there. And so I just became friends with them and, through that ... I developed an interest in Korea."

Because of his interest, he came here to study the language. "I graduated very early and came to Korea. I was planning on only staying here for vacation, and it ended up being a life choice, so I live in Korea now."

He began his modeling career in the United States. "I did a little bit of modeling in the United States for American Apparel. And then came to Korea right after that. I didn't really do anything right off the bat ... I was going back and forth to Japan (to model). I actually debuted in Tokyo Collection ... and that was my (runway) debut."

A typical day for a model in Korea is that there pretty much isn't one. "There is really no typical day here, because everyone is busy and does their own thing. But I would say a normal day with a good amount of work would be starting with a meeting with someone, like an editor or a designer. If those people like you, then you continue on and talk about money. Then, usually, you'll go into a fitting and schedule the day - if it's a show or a shoot. "

Andrew Gordon, American model in Seoul

When asked to describe both the good and bad about working as a model in Korea, Gordon is honest but tactful. "(Korea) is a small country and I understand that, but things like money and pay are very low and sometimes none. I think that designers separate themselves from the models. There are so many models in Korea, so everyone wants to be a model. It's kind of hard for people who really have the potential to do well to be successful." When it comes to the positives, "Being foreign (helps); there aren't a lot of foreign models in Korea. Also, being young is an advantage because I'm younger than a lot of foreign models here. The language is definitely a plus. If I didn't speak Korean, I would not be a freelancing model. It helps with issues like pay."

With his recent assignments, Gordon has had a couple of notable successes. In May 2008, he was featured in a solo 12-page spread in Korean GQ. That was a first for a foreign model. "To be alone for a 12-page spread is a big, big accomplishment, especially for a foreign model."

He is the model for this summer's Hugo Boss campaign that will be seen in Korea, Japan, Europe and the United States.

Having worked with a big fashion house like Hugo Boss opens many doors. "The Boss campaign has gotten me a lot of calls from other countries and ... having something like Hugo Boss in my profile allows me to be viewed on a high-fashion level because Boss is such a fashion icon."

Being a model who has been able to adapt and live in a foreign culture outside of traditional fashion hubs like Paris, Hong Kong or Milan works in his favor when it comes to expanding his profile in other markets.

Here is an Adobe Acrobat, .pdf, version of the interview:

kh07162008 - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: kh07162008

Other links: A Fashionable Day

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Repost - Feet Man Seoul: Korean Fashion Designer Profiles: Choi Bum Suk

The second of many Korean designer interviews to come.

On day two of the last Seoul Fashion week I had a chance to ask men's wear designer Choi Bum Suk some questions. I got a chance to get backstage after his runway show, so there is some noise in the background because they were breaking things down and setting up for the next show. My apologies.





Here is the link on FMS: Korean Designer Profiles: Choi Bum Suk

Here is the website for his clothing line: General Idea

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Repost - Feet Man Seoul: Korean Fashion Designer Profiles: Hwang Jae Bock

Finally, the interviews are getting subtitled and published. This is the first in a series of interviews we had with Korean designers during the 2008 F/W Seoul Fashion Week this past March.

Hwang Jae Bock was one of the designers we had a chance to interview on Day 6.

Korean Fashion Designer Profiles: Hwang Jae Bock

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Seoul Podcast; Episode 2 and April Fool's K-Blog Style

I'm on another podcast. This time it's with Joe, aka ZenKimchi, and Jen who have taken over the Seoul Podcast website.

It was fun doing a more news style/talk show podcast where it wasn't just one subject. I'm on it to talk about my opinions of Seoul Fashion Week. However, we hit a list of various subjects.

Click over and listen for all of the fun: Episode 2: Seoul Fashion Week — Regina Walton, EV Boyz

Oh and note Joe's April Fool's post at my expense: Not Again, ExPat Jane

He did a few of them. I'm not the only K-blogger that got hit.

Here is another good one he got from the JoshingGnome: Government to Fund Pouting as National Treasure.

The initiative comes as no surprise to long time residents of both South and North Korea. Korean culture places a great emphasis on the power of Bbijim, an untranslatable native Korean concept that represents the sense of injustice one feels when something that never should have happened, happens.

I think this is hilarious because Korea is a nation where pouting and other forms of baby-ass behavior in adults is thought of as cute. Women do it to excess, but I've seen men pout and whine too. It irritates me quite a bit because instead of taking action, accepting responsibility or just moving the hell on it ends up becoming the problem of every person surrounding the selfish person who is acting out for attention.

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Seoul Fashion Week, Day Eight

Yesterday I was just tired and so ready for it to be over. I think I wouldn't have been so tired if it wasn't basically a week of me having two jobs. I was at work teaching in the day and in the evenings I was at the shows and interviewing people. Because the show went through the weekend that means I was there Saturday, Sunday and Monday too (Mondays are my days off.) I'm looking forward to next weekend where I'll make sure to give myself a whole day to myself.

Here is a picture of me, Korean-American signer Park Jeong-hyun and her friend backstage before the last major designer Gee Choon Hee's, 지춘희, show.

moi, Lena aka Jeong-hyun Park (박정현), and friend

In the meantime to entertain you, if you don't know who Lena Park is, here is a video from YouTube of her performing the Eagles classic Desperado at the Korea-Japan Friendship Music Festival in 2005.



I'll add fashion videos soon. Right now I'm in heavy edit and upload mode.

Update 1 - April 3, 2008 @11:20am:

Okay, it's been a few days off from fashion week editing for me. Between a fair amount of social engagements last week and Club Spektra (covered here by FMS), I was just tired when I finally made it home. However now it's time to flip and crop these videos so you can get a feel for what I saw. I'll just add them as I go.

Miss Gee just had an onslaught of tasteful retro inspired clothes coming down the runway. One of my favorites is Barry White. So when the show started off with one my favorite songs from him "Let the Music Play" it was hard to suppress the desire to want to dance around. Of course, I didn't and was able to satiate that desire by looking at the lovely garments coming down the runway.

I also discovered 박희현, Park Hee-hyon, who was one of the runway models. I really liked her look because she has a more authentic look. Yes, I alluding to the excess of eyelid surgery and stuff like that - although she just might have a nose job, it's hard to tell.

Here are a couple of video slices of what I saw.

The start of the Miss Gee F/W 08/09 show:

The end of the Miss Gee F/W 08/09 show:

Here is the beginning of the Lee Young Hee, 이영희, show. She had a great selection of pretty semi-formal and formal dresses and gowns.

Here is the end of the Maison de Lee Young Hee show. She had some wonderful Asian inspired evening gowns. If you can spot it, pause on the strapless hanbok one. I thought it was a lovely dress in what was a lovely collection.

The start and end of the Edward Shin, 신영재, collection, Publicka. The website is embarrassingly sparse, so don't expect to see much. However, if you're Korean you might want to register to see what's there after you register.

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Seoul Fashion Week, Day Seven

Today was straight up great at Seoul Fashion Week. I've named it "March of the Bad Asses" in my head.

I say this because I saw the Ha Sang Beg, 하상백, show first. And take a look at the video and you should get what inspired me to use the word "march".

What a way to start the day. He's all the rage here. He's a former illustrator, turned model, turned TV fashion correspondent, turned designer and I hear he DJ's from time to time too. He's pretty much doing all of these things simultaneously. That makes him fierce.


He had an awesome show. I also scored an interview with him which turned out great. He's fun to talk to. That interview will make its way to the FeetManSeoul site as soon as we can get through all of the great pictures and interviews we've gotten.

Since Ha has modeled, he's not shy and he opened the show with videos of himself. Now I saw it as him visually giving the crowd an idea of his design concept. I could be wrong about that though. However, whatever the concept was behind it, I liked it.

I'll add more of what I saw, but I LOVED the model who came out first. He basically did a subdued robot (very popular pre-pop locking) routine to the music and then the rest of Ha's fashions followed. It was all wonderful theater and there was a pink jacket that was about thigh length in his collection that I just LOVED.

This is the end of his show.

More videos from this and the other shows I saw will follow. Now, however, it's time to get ready for tomorrow and then it's sleepy time. One more day of Seoul Fashion Week to go and I hope it only gets better from here.

Here comes more video. I'm uploading in reverse chronological order.

The end of the Andy & Debb show.

Their collection was really nice. However, my video shots weren't, so I'll only upload the end of the show. They had great pieces that I could see being stocked and sold in department stores back home. They had a cool 60s retro theme in both the pieces, the styling of their models and, of course, the music. Also, the clothes just kept coming. They have a few stores here in Korea and just seem to really know what they're doing.

The day ran so late that I didn't get a chance to interview them for FMS. However, I hope to sometime soon.

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Seoul Fashion Week, Day Six

Update: May 7, 2008 @ 4:49pm

Finally, an interview has been published. I'll post more as they're uploaded on the FeetManSeoul site.

Korean Fashion Designer Profiles: Hwang Jae Bock

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There is no day five because I didn't go to a show on Friday. Instead, when I left work, I ran home because I'd left my cell phone behind that morning. After writing and answering some emails, I headed out to the other side of town to party and spend time with some of the cool folks I've met this week. That was fun because I rarely spend my time south of the Han River. The group I was with made our way back to my side of town later for a party. However, the end of my evening was showing a journalist I met around the big shopping centers of Dongdaemun and that translated into me not getting to sleep until just before 5am. It was all great fun.

I headed back the shows on Saturday and saw a few shows. I took it easy though and out of eight shows I only saw four: Hwang Jae-bock, 황재복; Jeone Mi-young, 전미영; Yang Hee-deuk, 양희득; and Jung Hun-jong, 저혼종.

Hwang Jae-bock's show was great. It was a great way to start a Saturday. She designs beautiful gowns for formal events and celebrity weddings, and even the most cynical girl likes a pretty gown.

She had celebrity Ahn Seon-yeung, 안선영, a comedic actress, modeling in her show.

Here are a couple of videos from her show.

I've got to edit quite a few more video clips from other shows and don't be impressed. By "edit" I mean use a program to flip the video upright. I shoot most shows sideways to get full shots of the outfits on the runway. However, it takes time to edit and upload so this post will evolve with me adding the video clips over the next few days.

Here is video from Jeone Mi-young, 전미영. Her collection is college Lilycomes. I got a chance to sit next to her at the dinner Seoul Fashion Week had for buyers and press. She's a nice lady. We also interviewed her for FMS, so that interview will get posted as soon as it's edited and translated.

Ms. Jeone had a collection of really great dresses with a lot of vibrant patterns and sensuous fabrics. I'm telling you, these Korean designers really know how to make pretty dresses.

The end of her show:

Now for the life of me, I didn't get the Yang Hee-deuk, 양희득, collection. It was a lot of bright colors over bright leggings that you have been able to order from Capezio Dancewear for years. You can't like them all. I mean kudos for throwing the color combos out there, but I didn't see much design or marketability. However, he's got previous collections that do show his design talent.

Here are two clips from the Jung Hun-jong, 저혼종, collection. This was another one that I wasn't feeling. I'm not into over sized appliqués and this collection was full of huge gaudy roses sewed on to otherwise lovely dresses. Since I love pairing red and black together, this collection hurt my otherwise fashion forward sensibilities.

Here is the start:

Here is the end:

Day 6 wasn't a consistently great day for me. However, this is about sharing what I saw, so opinions may differ.

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Seoul Fashion Week, Day Four

Another partial day for me at Seoul Fashion Week. I got to see two really great shows in the evening, Lee Ju Young, 이주영, and Lie Bong Sang, 이상봉. Both of these designers had exciting and unconventional collections. Lee Ju Young has a love for hard rock music which is apparent in designs and was also apparent in her show. With her clothes you could step out and go to a club or concert. Lie Bong Sang's collection seemed to be like art you can wear. That means some pieces seemed to be more experimental than not, but it was very pretty collection with lots of circle patterns and florals.

moi and Lee Ju Young

I had a chance to interview Lee Ju Young and, like the other designer interviews, it will end up on the FeetManSeoul site.

Here is video from the end of Lee Ju Young's show. She had quite a few celebrities walking down the runway for her. However, since Korean isn't my first language, I'm going to have to look the spelling of their names up. I'll post that info here later. Here is a link to the website for her collection Resurrection.

I was scheduled to interview Lie Bong Sang but tonight everyone was in hyper mode tonight. Even though I had no problem with waiting for him, between parties that were happening later on, lots of peer pressure and a bit of fatigue from the people working there, I didn't get a chance to speak with him tonight. However, I'm hoping I'll be able to track him down sometime soon. We'll see.

Here is video from the end of the Lie Bong Sang show.

I'll be taking Friday off. The general buzz is this weekend is what's going to be kickin'. Tomorrow there will be no fashion week shows for me, but there will be fashion week parties this evening for sure.

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Seoul Fashion Week, Day Three

Like I said, I didn't go to the shows at Seoul Trade Exhibition Center today. However, I did catch Jain Song's, 송자인's, collection at Daily Projects in Apgujeong.

Daily Projects is an AMAZING space. At least, it looked nice at night. On the link check the "Garden 1F" page. That gives you wide shots but it still doesn't capture how it looked tonight.

During the show my diabetes reminded me that running too much will get me in trouble. My blood sugar crashed in the middle of the show so badly that after the show I had a can of Welch's grape soda in one hand and a can of lemon lime soda in the other, so the best video I have is from the start of the show. Once that insulin reaction hit full force the shots I got were just horrible.

It's late and I have a couple more that aren't bad. Since I shot the video sideways you get a full picture of the outfits. I couldn't get that right side up. However, it's late now, I'm tired and it's sleepy time.
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Update: March 20, 2008 12:15pm

Okay, I've had a chance to flip the videos upright, so here are two with full length shots of what I saw last evening.

Here is the Daily Projects blog. They take orders via email, both domestic and international.

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Seoul Fashion Week, Day Two

Update: October 25, 2008 @ 3:30pm

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr...for some reason Google has indexed this particular post pretty high up when you search for "Seoul Fashion Week". That means people are landing on a page from the March 2008 F/W shows.

Click HERE to get to all the posts in reverse chronological order (basically, the most recent post is first).

Thanks for stopping by too ;)
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I had to work today, so I was only able to make it to a couple of the evening shows at Seoul Fashion Week. I figured today would be really good as it was the last day for men's fashion. It pretty much was.

I had a chance to see two shows, Choi Bum Suk, 최범석, and Song Zio, 송지오. I also had a chance to interview both of them. Those interviews will find their way to the FeetManSeoul site soon.

The treat was the great fashion but also the celebrities showing up. The problem is I keep a far distance the celebrity thing. I know who my favorites are, but, beyond that, I wouldn't know a Korean celebrity if one was right in front of me. It's happened a few times that I've met someone socially not knowing who they were and the people around me are frantically either trying to act cool or they're trying to get me up to speed so that I know I'm talking to so-and-so. I like being wonderfully clueless about the celebrity world. If it's someone I've met a few times over, they seem to appreciate that I don't seem to care much about their notoriety.

One bad thing and this is a constant in Korea with just about every international event: the English is horrible. Because the shows are scheduled so close together, when I've signed up to interview a designer I'll pretty much miss the next show. That means I had time to go through the Lookbook and the designer's concept booklet. Both were over flowing with errors. Seoul Fashion Week is still developing and the designs are so good that I'm sure they'll get more international attention with each show. I just hope that for the next one they hire a competent English editor. (Hint, hint...I'm free.)

I'm not even going to compare the two shows I saw. The designers were totally different and both shows had wonderful clothes.

Choi Bum Suk's, show was very young and fresh. It had a classic rustic influence with lots of plaids and traditional winter patterns, but he changed up the dimensions and jazzed the clothes up with lots of color. This video clip is of the start of his show.

Me and 최범석

Song Zio's show was much more dynamic but structured. He stuck to primary colors, like black and white.

Me and 송지오

The colors he did use were subdued taupes, olive greens and grays. He also had a great treat as two of the models were Korean celebrities.

The crowd gasped and the flashes went off as Cha Seung-won, 차승원, started off the show and there were more gasps as Kim Heung-soo, 김흥수, was at the end of the cycle.

Cha Seung-won

Here is video of the end of Song Zio show. Mr. Cha is the first model and Mr. Kim is the last model.

Sorry for the over exposure in both videos. I think between my bad photography skills and tons of flashes going off, it's just how it is.

I'll be taking tomorrow off from the shows, so I'll give another update on Thursday. The women's collections I'm sure are going to be tons of fun to see too.

Okay, it's been another long day and it's time for bed.

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Seoul Fashion Week, Day One

I've spent the whole day running around Seoul. First, just on personal business. However, I got to the Seoul Fashion Week in the afternoon and had the best time.

Now I've come to finally admit I'm a horrible photographer. However, someone did take a shot of me and designer Han Seung-soo, 한승수. So I can prove I was there ;)

Today was the start of the event and it will go through next Monday. Today and tomorrow will feature men's clothing.

Out of the shows I saw today, my love was the "beyond closet" collection by Ko Tae Yong, 고태용. As stated though, I suck at photography, so keep tabs on the FeetManSeoul website for the pictures.

Here is the start of the "beyond closet" show. The camera is a hand held and it's askew, so forgive me. But, from it, you can catch a quick glimpse of some of the stuff I saw today:

Okay, it's late and I'm tired. I've got to work tomorrow and then I'll get myself over to see the last shows tomorrow.

Here is a shot I found of his show...very nice, no?


FMS has some great shots of Ko Tae Yong's show too.
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Here is a funny update. I finally got this pic Mike, aka the Metropolitician and FeetManSeoul, took of me and Korean celebrity Hong Suk Chun. I know Mr. Hong from socializing way too much at his restaurants. Only at an event like this or San Francisco would I be at risk of getting felt up by a gay man ;)

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Fashion is Feeling

I was on the subway heading home Friday night when I saw these ads on the subway door.

I just thought it was interesting and somewhat clever. It's the slogan for the doota! fashion mall in Dongdaemun market that caught my eye "Fashion is Feeling."

I think that is it. It's how it makes you feel whether direct, 'cause you're looking good, or indirect, because people draw certain conclusions about you based on how you're dressed. But it really ultimately is how wearing whatever it is makes you feel.



Since Seoul's fashion week, Seoul Collection, is next week and I'll be there, I figure why not start with a little fashion philosophy.

Links:

Feetmanseoul's: Doota Podcast
NYTimes: April Can Wait (ready to wear fashion week in Paris and its street fashion)

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