The Korean Heritage Fashion Show

Monday October 3rd was a holiday in Korea. It was to celebrate Foundation Day. On Sunday evening there was a big event in the fashion industry in Seoul. It was held in the beautiful surroundings of Gyeongbokgung, the royal palace. It's name translates to "The Palace of Shining Happiness".

The theme of the show was "Yesterday in the service of tomorrow." It's goal was to incorporate both traditional fashions with new cutting edge designs. It was an opportunity to look back at more traditional styles from history (like hanbok, Korean tradional clothing style), while simultaneously looking forward to future Korean fashion trends.The backdrop to the catwalks were the main inner gates to Gyeongbokgung.

The models had to walk through these majestic doors in order to strut their stuff down the catwalk.
Unlike most fashion events, this one opened the doors to the masses and was underway shortly there after. It all kicked off just past 7pm, as planned. There was seating for the VIPS in the inner circle, and then lots of standing room for everyone else. The stage was elevated so even from the very back, seeing the models wasn't a problem (and there were jumbo screens projecting them on stage).

There were 11 designers showcasing their work and a few traditional performances in between. Unfortunately I am not familiar with Korean fashion designers, but here is a list of those who were involved:

Park Youn Soo, Park Chun Moo, Jang Kwang Hyo, Kang Dong Jun, Kwak Hyun Joo, Lee Juyoung, IMseonoc, Ha Sang Beg, and Hong Hye Jin,  Kim Hye Soon and Lee Seo Yoon

 The juxtaposition between old and new was everywhere I turned. The historical palace was decked out in state of the art sound and lighting systems. The fashions emanating from the gates echoed both the past and the future in their designs. The music was a beautiful collection of sounds, again both modern electronic music and more culturally Korean based music. There were also three drummers off to one side of the stage adding to the rhythm of the night. Even the crowds followed suit, there were old and young there to see not only the fashions but the brilliance of Gyeongbokgung all dressed up for the event.

Below are just a small glimpse at some of the things that caught my eye...