Gucci cancels upcoming fashion show at Gyeongbok Palace following Itaewon disaster

Gucci canceled its upcoming fashion show at Gyeongbok Palace following the Halloween disaster in central Seoul's Itaewon on Saturday night. "After talks with the Cultural Heritage Administration, we have decided to call off the fashion show that...

Gyeongbok Palace in Jongno District, central Seoul. Gucci was scheduled to hold a fashion show at Gyeongbok Palace’s Geunjeongjeon on Nov. 1. [CULTURAL HERITAGE ADMINISTRATION]

Gucci canceled its upcoming fashion show at Gyeongbok Palace following the Halloween disaster in central Seoul's Itaewon on Saturday night.

"After talks with the Cultural Heritage Administration, we have decided to call off the fashion show that was slated to be held at Gyeongbok Palace on Nov. 1," Gucci said in a statement on Sunday evening.

"We want to respect Korea's national period of mourning and send our deepest condolences to the victims of the tragedy that occurred in Itaewon on the 29th."

Gucci had planned to showcase its “Gucci Cosmogonie Collection Seoul” through a fashion show in Gyeongbok Palace, in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Tuesday.

The collection was first unveiled at Castel del Monte in Apulia, Italy, in May.

It was set to be the first show in Korea directed by Alessandro Michele, Gucci's creative director. Some 500 guests were slated to attend, including diplomatic and business figures and celebrities.

An aerial shot of the Itaewon stampede near the Hamilton Hotel in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Saturday night [YONHAP]

The event was canceled following a chaotic stampede that took the lives of over 150 people in central Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood on Saturday night.

Many more concerts and festivals are getting canceled or delayed across the country as well, due to the tragedy.

In an emergency briefing held noon Sunday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo declared Yongsan District a special disaster area and announced a delay on all non-urgent issues.

"We will provide the families of the deceased and those who have been injured with subsidies and other necessary measures. We will also work with embassies to make sure that the injured foreigners are properly supported," he said.

By press time Sunday, 151 deaths were confirmed by the National Fire Agency, which added that 19 of the 82 injured remain in critical condition.

A spot to remember the victims of the crush is prepared outside of Itaewon station in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Sunday. [YONHAP]

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]