Seoul Fashion Week: Big Park show

This past week was Seoul Fashion Week S/S 2013 and I got to experience the runway for the first time in my life. I scored a couple of tickets to the Big Park show held at the culture hall of the Shinsaegae mall in Seoul.

I must say, it's just like all the pictures you see of fashion week. You got the VIP sitting down and busy on their cell phones and the press flashing away in the back of the venue.

There were actually more people than I think were supposed to be, since the security was not doing a great job of checking tickets. There were so many people in the room standing, pushing, and shoving each other to get to the front. Lucky for me, I pulled out my Galaxy Tab issued by Chungdahm and worked my way to the front. I guess I looked so official that people let me through. 

The show itself was pretty awesome. There was dubstep and techno style music blasting through the speakers as the models took turns debuting their clothes. I wish I got the chance to see some other shows, but it seems like gems, pleather, and patterns will take over the next couple of seasons. I think the designer, Yoon Soo Park had a very funky, yet trendy theme and I can definitely see it hitting mannequins in stores very soon. Another heads up for you fashionistas is that spikes are going to get old very soon!

Being at the show made me feel so plain with my clothes. Every guest had a funky style either in their makeup, clothing, or both. I guess I have to step my game up and take this show as inspiration for my wardrobe for spring and summer of next year.

 Unfortunately for me, my journey in Korea will end very soon so I will not be able to attend any more fashion weeks in Seoul. However, I hope this will not be my last in general. I had so much fun and would love to experience this again!

For those of you interested in going to future shows, the tickets can be purchased on Yes24. Make sure you buy it as soon as the tickets open up because everything was pretty much close to sold out a couple days after. I was lucky enough to score these tickets, but wasn't able to get any more. 

Seoul Fashion Week: Pre-event

I don't really know since when, but I started becoming more and more interested in the fashion world. I may not come off very stylish (my wardrobe definitely doesn't), but it's been a secret hobby of mine for a while now. Since the fashion industry in America seems to be more centralized in the big cities (NY/LA), I was pretty much limited to just following fashion blogs. However, now that I am in Korea I finally have the chance to feel like Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen, wearing my big sunglasses and staring at the super tall models strutting down the catwalk.

This week is officially fashion week for Seoul, South Korea. Still lagging a bit behind those big fashion cities, Seoul is working hard to make its way up the fashion ladder. Before the official week begins, Seoul hosted a fashion week kick-off event on the 21st of October. This event included a flea market sale, a sneak peak of one of the designers' spring and summer 2013 line, and a mini concert.

The flea market was actually not as big as I'd imagined it to be. It lined the side wall of Deoksu Palace in front of Seoul city hall and it had more of a yard sale vibe than fashion week flea market. I did end up scoring a funky bracelet and some awesome fleece lined leggings all for under 4000WON!

I'm not too sure if this was related to the kick-off event, but there was a free show by Crying Nut (famous in the Korean punk rock world) in front of the Seoul Museum of Art at the same time as the flea market.

The show itself was pretty impressive. The hair and makeup booths for the models were opened up for the guests to see what happens live backstage.

The stage was set up right in the lawn in front of the city hall itself. My friends and I were pretty lucky to get seats right on one of the sides of the catwalk. Although it was chilly, the audience was so packed that the body heat from everyone made up for the decreasing temperature.

One of the cool features about this show was that it allowed unknown designers/fashion students to show off their skills. It's definitely a great way to put your name out into the fashion world as a beginner.

The sneak peak for the actual fashion show was quite impressive. Divided by different styles, these models took the stage to show off the upcoming S/S line for 2013. I'm definitely excited to follow some more shows on the actual week of the event!

The event ended with a few performances including Superstar K (Korean version of American Idol) winners, Ulala Session. I'm not too familiar with their music, but I will tell you that their vocal abilities were super impressive. They got the crowd so hype, everyone was running to the stage trying to get a picture or few of them performing.

Unfortunately for me, as a teacher, I have to work all week during prime fashion show hours. However, I did manage to score a couple of tickets to the weekend shows so please stay tuned for upcoming events for SFW S/S 2013!