Bringing K-Culture Into Your Designs

What is that one thing with fashion that never changes with time? It is that fact that fashion constantly changes. It is a blend and reflection of almost everything the designers know, feel, experience, and see. From the changing seasons to cultural influences, fashion seeks inspiration in everything. However, is the influence of culture more relevant than any other factor like trends, demographics, weather, to mention a few? 

As far as cultural influences on fashion are concerned, one cannot miss the model of Hallyu, the Korean Wave. Yes, the success of the K-wave and the way it is ruling the roost are highly commendable. 

How and when did it gain momentum?

Probably, it gained the heights of success in the year 2012. Remember! Gangnam Style, Park Jae-sang's (Psy's) internet-breaking music number? It indeed became a global phenomenon.

Since then, South Korea has never looked back. Since then, it has always been successful in entering and making a mark in the world panorama. It all started with K-Pop, K-Drama, K-Beauty, and now K-Culture in the fashion realm. 

No wonder the fashion designers worldwide are so inclined towards Korean culture and finding ways to incorporate the same into their designs.

The moment people hear terms like Korean fashion, words like k-pop idols, Hanbok (traditional Korean Clothing), Korean street fashion, colorful and eco-friendly fabrics, minimalism, cute outfits, casual dresses, and so on, voyage through their minds.

For designers who want to bring in the reminisces of K-culture into their designs, this blog would be a good read for sure!

Budding talents paving the way for high-end fashion

For quite some time, the designers of South Korea focused on fast and budget yet desirable fashion. However, this scenario is slowly evolving, with the country nurturing its budding designers and preparing them for the global audience.

Some brilliant examples include - Juun J, Steve J & Yoni P, and Kathleen Kye. These designers have started breaking the ceilings with the high-end female and Korean street fashion brands. 

Aspiring designers can get some inspiration from these phenomenal brands.

Go sustainable and low-on-waste

Designers who follow K-Fashion profoundly would definitely know about Darcygom, the famous fashion brand with tradition and culture at its heart. 

Founded by S.J. Lee, the brand advocates sustainability and has achieved international recognition. This brand shows how designers with the knack can transform trash into fashion. Darcygom's collection Upcycle Jungle: K-Style Upcycling, designed using banners and coffee bags, was also appreciated by the celebs and international forums. 

The designer said that the word Darcygom means yet again in Korean. So, as she was working on traditional outfits, she selected the name that symbolizes back to the roots. Other elements that make Darcygom's designs stand out include low-waste, sustainable, and nature-friendly.

Aspiring designers can work on these components and incorporate K-culture into their designs. 

Folk painting inspired designs

Designers can also bring the reflections of Korean culture into their designs using folk paintings as symbolisms, as Lee (the brain parent of Darcygom) did. Jakhodo, a traditional Korean folk painting showing a tiger, a pine tree, and a magpie, was supposed to keep evil spirits away. Earlier, people used to hang or stick the Jakhodo painting on their doors during the Lunar New Year to attract good luck. 

Given the world health crisis, everyone wishes to keep bad luck at bay and ensure health and wellbeing. So, embroidering such paintings in face masks and outfits can be a good idea to bring K-culture into designs. Another piece of culture-inspired ideas by Darcygom is the Corona Beauty, the designs incited by Irworobongdo painting.

An art form on the verge of dying to inspire

Saekdong, in Korean, means multiple colors. This art is almost dying in the country. Therefore, noted Korean designer and the founder of Darcygom used these fabrics in her designs in the best possible way. 

Enthusiastic designers looking for inspiration in K-culture should unquestionably go for it. Saekdong represents the seven colors of the rainbow, lots of colors and full of life, just like kids and their innocence. 

In Korea, this fabric is mainly used to design buttoned jackets (magoja), short jackets with bands (jeogori), overcoats (durumagi), among others. Designers can think of using the Saekdong to work on their designs. Korean culture is rich enough to help the designers pull something interesting, provided they do their homework well.

How about some Hongdae style?

Hongdae is a neighborhood near Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea. It is yet another kind of Korean street fashion, mainly adored by people in their early 20s. It is a type of relaxed streetwear that presents the perfect blend of hip hop and rock fashion. It is a sort of unisex look with baggy and oversized tops paired with complementing bottoms. 

Budding or even pro designers who are so-very-inspired by Korean culture should incorporate these into their ideas to bring a difference and refresh their designs.

Let school life and fashion prevail!

People wear their school uniforms throughout their school years, making more than a decade of their lives. However, what if the oh-so-loved school dress look remains integral to everyday fashion? Yes, in Korea, many women still admire their back-to-school look and love to wear a-line skirts, either in checks or solid colors with plaid with almost endless top-wear options, starting from shirts to vests.

Designers looking for fresh Korean street fashion ideas can also go down memory lane to create mind-blowing outfits using school uniform themes. To some, this idea might not make sense. However, there are endless possibilities in being back to school.

Ewha street fashion, casual but elegant

A famous neighborhood around the Ewha Woman's University, another popular Korean fashion street, is the right place to look for casual and laid-back Korean fashion. However, what makes it stand out is - although it is casual, it is feminine and graceful. Identified by their soft colors and comfy fabric, these outfits can be easily worn as school, office, and domestic wear. No wonder why these never go out of trend!

Designers who want to create something cozy and comfortable while not compromising on the elegance quotient of their clothing range should go for the Ewha fashion street designs. 

Minis that call for the max

Shots, mini skirts, and mini dresses are the all-time favorites in the Korean street fashion brigade. And as the adage says, some things never go out of fashion, minis of all kinds make this one-liner come true. The skirts are either bodycon or tennis skirts and high-waist.

Incorporating minis into their designs can give designers a competitive edge. This edge is important for them to sustain in a market that sees fashion brands mushroom almost every day.

The bottom line

So, these are some actionable insights into the Korean fashion industry and how the entire world of fashion is going gaga over their traditional designs with a modern touch. For designers looking forward to bringing K-culture into their designs, these ideas can work wonders. After all, playing with ideas often leads to beautiful serendipities.

And for sourcing clothes to turn their ideas into reality, Fashinza is the right place to be. This B2B apparel manufacturing platform makes the entire process quick, hassle-free, cost-effective, and transparent.