More than 50,000 people attended the S/S 2025 Seoul Fashion Week, Korea's largest fashion festival that showcased the upcoming spring and summer K-fashion trends.

The Seoul Fashion Week, which previewed fashion trends for spring and summer 2025, attracted 12,000 people to 24 fashion shows (including off-show) and five brand presentations, and 38,000 people to civic engagement programs such as exhibitions, conferences, and outdoor booths.

Seoul Fashion Week, which took place from Sept. 3-7, generated $6 million (about 8 billion won) in orders, the city said. That's a 6.6 percent increase from the previous season.

“The pool of brands that change every season is very fresh. Last season, we bought womenswear (casual), but this season, we have more choices, so we're going to increase it to three brands. We plan to buy more Korean brands in the future.” - Carrie Loi, Buyer, Newyaohan Department store, Macau

The S/S 2025 Seoul Fashion Week trade show saw a total of 1,354 meetings between 92 Korean fashion brands and 117 international buyers from 22 countries.

This season, big buyers such as -PRINTEMPS (France) -Harvey Nichols (UAE) -Galeries Lafayette (China) -Daimaru (Japan) -Club 21 (Singapore) -VooStore (Germany) -Matchbox Group (Thailand) -SSENSE (USA) participated in the show.

The city attributed the achievement to focusing on excellent buyers with high order performance, while simultaneously seeking new buyers in the U.S. and European markets that are showing high interest in K-fashion. In addition, the reorganization of the consultation method such as the 'showroom tour', which was newly introduced from last season to improve buyers' understanding of domestic fashion brands, also contributed to attracting buyers' attention and increasing orders.

The trade show was held over a four-day period, with the first half (September 3-5 in the morning) consisting of an order exhibition at the exhibition hall inside DDP, and the second half (September 5-6 in the afternoon) consisting of showroom tours and business consultations at individual brands' showrooms.

(Order Exhibition) 62 fashion brands (44 apparel, 12 miscellaneous goods, 6 jewelry) participated, and a total of 967 order consultations were held. In addition, buyers from domestic department stores and online and offline distributors, other industries seeking collaboration with fashion brands, investment companies, and consulting firms visited, helping to create new business opportunities.

(Showroom Tour) Buyers visited 19 designated showrooms and held 387 consultations with 30 brands. The Showroom Tour was first introduced last season and proved to be effective in improving the quality of consultations and increasing the rate of sales by increasing the understanding and likability of brands, so this season, the program was expanded from 12 locations in two regions (Seongsu and Cheongdam) to 19 locations in three regions (Seongsu, Cheongdam, and Hannam).

In addition, the city will continue to support the program through post-consultation until October to ensure that the consultation cases that were only glimpsed during Seoul Fashion Week lead to actual contract signings. In addition, four Seoul Fashion Week trade shows participated in Coterie New York (Sept. 22-24), the leading women's fashion fair in the Americas, to help Korean fashion brands tap into the Americas market, and are expected to win additional business.

The four brands participating in the S/S 2025 Seoul Fashion Week Trade Show at Coterie New York are Dior, Shijianyi, Studio Bridge, and Triflute.

“Although the fields are different, I felt the craftsmanship that fashion designers pursue from the technology researchers. In the age of fast fashion and AI technology, I thought it was time for true craftsmanship, and I wanted to showcase craftsmanship that encompasses tradition, modernity, and the future through the collaboration between fashion and technology.” -LIE Designer Cheongcheong Lee

S/S 2025 Seoul Fashion Week featured a total of 21 runways at DDP Art Hall 1-2, starting with youser by designer Lee Moo-yeol. This season's show also featured a number of unusual collaborations between brands and companies. LIE by Cheongcheong Lee showed the technological evolution of fashion by applying LG Display's stretchable display to the clothes. Ulkin by Sungdong Lee showcased a collection reimagining memorable Disney characters in collaboration with Disney. Greedilous by Yoonhee Park collaborated with Unilever Korea's home care brand Snuggle to dress Snuggle's mascot, Snuggle Bear, in branded outfits for a show at DDP's outdoor plaza, while Snuggle bears were placed on the runway space to create a popular show.

“Seeing various high-end collections from Korean designers, I was able to feel the uniqueness and competitiveness of K-Fashion, and I hope that Seoul Fashion Week will continue to be a leading fashion event for the high-value-added fashion industry,” said Sung Rae-eun, Chairman of the Korea Fashion Industry Association.

During Seoul Fashion Week, off-show fashion shows were held outside of DDP, giving audiences a unique experience to see the uniqueness of K-Fashion in Seoul's modern landmarks and historical spaces. In addition, various programs such as exhibitions and outdoor booths were organized for citizens to participate in, giving them the opportunity to get closer to fashion.

“Seoul Fashion Week is a business platform to expand the international presence of K-Fashion and a cultural platform to present fashion and lifestyle together,” said Lee Hae-woo, head of the Seoul Economic Office. ”We will continue to spare no effort to support domestic fashion brands that showcase the unique fashion of Seoul, which has emerged as a global fashion center, so that they can enter overseas markets more competitively.”

[News source: Seoul Metropolitan Government].