WHY SOUTH KOREA IS A BENCHMARK FOR ART AND FASHION

In the first week of September, ‘Frieze’, the world’s most important contemporary art fair, was held in Seoul. South Korea is a reference point for skincare, music and television series, but in recent years it is also becoming a trend-setter for fashion and art.

In the last two years, some of the most important fashion houses in the fashion system have organised at least one fashion show in the capital, precisely to underline how important it is for them to approach the Asian market. Among them were Christian Dior in April 2022, Louis Vuitton a year later and Gucci in May 2023.

September’s protagnists were Prada and Bottega Veneta who organised two cultural events in conjunction with the Frieze art fair. Prada invited some of the coolest celebrities of the moment, such as Song Kang, star of Nevertheless and Love Alarm, (two k-dramas you can’t miss on Netflix) Kim Tae-ri star of the k-drama Twenty Five Twenty One and the iconic film Mademoiselle, Lee Jae-Uk star of the beloved k-drama Alchemy of Seouls and second lead of Extraordinary You, but also all the members of the band Enhypen.

The event took place over two days at KOTE, a cultural space that was transformed into a Prada universe coloured in green, the brand’s iconic colour, and pink. The main theme was contemporary cinema and the choice was not random. In 2019, Parasite won the Oscar for Best Picture (but also Best Director, Best Foreign Film, Best Screenplay, Set Design and Editing) and the TV series Squid Game is the most watched TV series in the entire history of Netflix. One of the special guests was director Yeon Sang-ho, the mastermind behind Hellbound (also on Netflix), the Korean series that achieved in 24 hours what Squid Game had achieved after 8 days, and author of Train to Busan, one of the films that made Korean cinema and horror history.

 

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Un post condiviso da RM (@rkive)

Bottega Veneta, on the other hand, chose one of the most famous museums in Seoul, the Leeum Museum, as its location and commissioned an exhibition by artist Suki Seokyeong Kang for the occasion. The most anticipated guest of the evening, however, was Namjoon, the singer and leader of the k-pop band BTS. In March 2023, the brand had announced a new partnership with the artist and Namjoon thus became the first and only ambassador of one of the most hype fashion brands of the moment.

di Maria Sheila Miani