Dear Pennies,
It’s Pen here to report on Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. First off, I must state that this is my first ever fashion week and I am enjoying myself so much! When you enter the tents, you immediately feel like you’ve entered into an exclusive club. Since I didn’t attend the Bryant Park shows I can’t really compare the two locations but I love the Lincoln Center location! When you enter the tents, you immediately feel like you’ve entered an exclusive club. There’s a Starbucks station, a free wine bar, and fashion’s night out t-shirts are being sold, additionally there’s a media lounge in the center. The three show locations are the Theater, the Box, and the Stage. Each area is within the tents as well. As you can imagine, the Mercedes-Benz tents are nothing like the tents you camped out with in the backyard. LOL.
Onto the Concept Korea show which featured three different designers, Kwak Hyun Joo, Juyoung, and Lee Jean Young. Concept Korea is actually a project of the Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (Minister Yu In-Chon). Concept Korea was created to help “globalize Korean fashion”, in essence, Concept Korea was created to advertise and market Korean fashion to a world audience. And what better way to begin globalizing than to show at New York Fashion Week?
Pucca by Kwak Hyun Joo was up first and she showed a very impressive collection. She played with color and used bright oranges, greens, and yellows. The collection’s colors reminded me of candy. She showed lots of leggings, short shirts and dresses. The models were styled with high ponytails and very minimal make-up. Overall, I enjoyed her collection.
Next was Resurrection by Juyoung. Juyoung is a woman and I find it so interesting and empowering that she only does menswear. That’s so unheard of for a female designer, most female designers only do menswear after they succeed in womenswear. Anyway, Resurrection was all about European with a hint of Asian rocker chic. The collection was all black. Juyoung seemed to be playing with androgyny by using typical female clothing characteristics on menswear. She used sheer materials for jackets and shirts and the sheer was in the back allowing you to see the model’s skin. The pants were well fitted and she played with dimension. Some were short and other were longer but still ankle length. In the picture (from above), the model is wearing a single-breasted jacket but the button is further over not in the middle like a single-breasted jacket normally is. It was like a double breasted jacket with missing buttons.
Last was my personal favorite, Lee Jean Young. The classical music made the models seem like they were walking through a fairy tale dream world. And yet the collection didn’t showcase long gowns associated with classical music. Instead, the collection seemed to be playing with the mini skirts and dresses of the 1960s. And the colors were awesome! My favorites were the salmon/pink like color and the burgundy color that was a softer wine hue. As I stated earlier, the collection showed formal dresses at the end but even they were above the knee. And there was a veil in the back pinned into the model’s ponytail which made the dress bridal wear but the shortness would shock most impending brides. However, I liked it for that very reason. The dress (and the collection in general), was unlike anything I’ve ever seen and in fashion that’s a must!
Overall, Concept Korea showed that Korean fashion will be the next big thing in New York and the world of fashion. They are clearly on their way to becoming the designers who dress not only Koreans but the world. Make sure you stay tuned for my review of the Guli Collection, Edition by George Chakra, Yoana Baraschi, Rubin Singer, and Gottex. I’ll post reviews as I can. Love ya Pennies!
And there it is. Press Pen reporting live from de la Pen…the Fashion and Style of the Pen.
