By Kang Aa-young
| Designer Woo Young-mi speaks to the audience after her Solid Homme runway show at the Opening Ceremony of the Hera Seoul Fashion Week at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Monday. Courtesy of Seoul Design Foundation |
Woo was chosen by the fashion week organizers as one of two honorary designers. The other is Park Chun-moo.
One hundred models presented Woo's chic, contemporary "100 creatures" for the grandiose opening of the nation's largest fashion show, which has drawn attention from global fashion gurus in recent years.
Woo, 58, said she was "honored" to celebrate her fashion label's three decades at the Opening Ceremony of the fashion week.
Mentioning that Solid Homme has survived a turbulent 30 years of men's fashions here, the designer said celebrating the anniversary at the globally emerging fashion week allowed her to have a life-time experience.
"I hope the Hera Seoul Fashion Week can become a venue where local designers can try out their fashion experiments," she said.
Starting from Monday, the fashion week will run until Saturday.
At the opening ceremony, the veteran designer revisited an anti-war concept for the 2018 fall-winter season through a visual interpretation inspired by the global peace movement.
| A model presents a creation by designer Woo Young-mi for the SOLID/BEYOND 30 during the 2019 Spring-Summer Seoul Fashion Week, at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Seoul Design Foundation. |
The setting of the show, inspired by a rural district of Yen Bai Province, about 280 kilometers from Hanoi in Vietnam, saw the ground covered in sand and featured cardboard stair like seats for spectators, creating a view reminiscent of that of the mountainous district, which is well known for its splendid rice terraces.
The show featured military elements throughout the collection in vinyl, man-made and iridescent materials, while large forward-facing pockets and canvas material accessories, reflecting an era of re-appropriated garments by a war-torn population trying to rebuild their everyday lives.
The tropical climate was reflected in the show's color palette where light khaki was contrasted with bright neon accents. New season accessories such as neutral canvas bucket hats and tanned leather satchels offered that rare bit of harmony in the troubled environment of the time.
The collection finished with light and cool materials set against oversized wool overcoats, showcasing Vietnam during the 60s and 70s.
The response from the audience was more than enthusiastic, with its 1,300 seats filled with fashion gurus, press and foreign buyers.
| Models walk down the runway at the SOLID/BEYOND 30 show at 2019 Spring-Summer Seoul Fashion Week at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Seoul Design Foundation. |
As a designer Woo herself has witnessed the rise and fall of the country's garment industry.
Born in 1959, Woo spent her teenage years when Korea was in turmoil with political unrest.
Opening a small boutique in Seoul, she then founded her namesake brand WOOYOUNGMI in 2002.
She has presented her works in Paris for Men's Fashion Week since 2003.
In 2011, Woo became a full member of the French Fashion Association, La Chambre Syndicale.
Her brand Solid Homme has also expanded globally and partnered with leading retailers in China, Hong Kong, the U.K., France, Canada and the U.S., with 28 stores in Korea and more than 20 more worldwide.