Wooyoungmi Charts A Preppy Course From Paris To Seoul
Review of Wooyoungmi Fall 2024 Men’s Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
The influence of South Korea has never before seen such a dominance over pop culture, and now that momentum is filtering its way into the fashion sphere with gusto. As both Milan and Paris have been witnessing (and in some cases was wholly unprepared for) the hysteria that comes with K-Pop fandom, luxury brands have been busy working BTS (no pun intended!) to secure the latest, most charismatic names as brand ambassadors, opening up a lucrative new world of customer acquisition along with it.
It makes perfect sense then, that fashion designers from the region are also experiencing a resonance and becoming even more key to the fashion show schedules of both cities. There is no doubt that these brands inherently know their market – who they are selling to and what sells, meaning that they don’t have to edit or adjust their handwriting, but in the case of Wooyoungmi creative director Woo Youngmi who has been dedicated to her craft for over 22 years, she is demonstrating the importance of global voices telling their own stories, or new stories as a result of interpreting atypical ‘western’ trends through a different perspective.
For fall 2024 Youngmi explores the mystique of her hometown city of Seoul, a city whose reputation precedes it and has become a bucket list destination for the TikTok generation. Saluting the everyday businessmen and the casual passer-by, the collection is an amalgamation of what a stroll around Seoul’s city streets would turn up, sartorially speaking. A new way to dress down formality, there were relaxed wool suits (talking to the corporate worker heading to his office) paired with collarless tweed jackets (signifying the bourgeois lady). Button-down shirts were styled with utility field jackets, and textured peacoats were paired with silk scarfs and wide-leg shorts. Communicating to a wide audience how “…the dress codes of Seoul inherently cross-pollinate South Korean and European wardrobe traditions” according to todays show notes. Schoolboys and scouts were also surely pinned on the moodboard, as their uniform of preppy looks and sportswear were reimagined as rugby tops and graphic jerseys – emblazoned with the logo ‘PariSeoul’ – sure to be a sell-out hit for the brand.
THE BUZZWORDS
Pure prep, luxe and loose, category clash
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #19
The blend of the casual passer-by in their denim jeans, paired with the clothing characters you spot on the street would also wear, work together to channel the “codes of the city”.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
The spirit of Seoul, as seen through the creative lens of someone for whom the city is their hometown, will always bring a fresh spin to everyday ensembles, whether that’s remixing traditional tailoring with feminine layers or cracking the preppy code. Wooyoungmi’s fall collection was an expansion of her narrative and a challenge to all those superfans to get to know the city that once birthed her brand.
