SEOUL'S YOUTH-DRIVEN STREETWEAR SCENE IS GOING GLOBAL
“Korea is now what Japan used to be in the nineties,” Gvasalia said at the time. “It has incredible popular culture. Politically, it’s separated from the world because of North Korea. And I feel like everything they do is about saying, ‘Look at us. We’re still here’.”
From irony-heavy slogans on the Seoul Fashion Week runways (think the word ‘UBER’ embroidered onto your crotch) to high-impact logos, streetwear is king. And it’s everywhere. Seoul is a youth-driven city – it’s students, not fashion editors, who attend the fashion shows – where they consume then digest trends at an extremely fast rate. Much like in the UK/US, hip hop is also hugely influential: K-pop rappers such as G-Dragon, Keith Ape and Okasian quietly mix Saint Laurent/Vetements with Korean logo tees. Rap battle TV shows such as Show Me The Money and High School Rapper, in which contestants compete wearing Supreme and Palace, are watched and copied by millions.