Runways show off pastel luxury, flamboyance, sustainability

Models wear creations for Greedilous as part of the spring-summer 2025 Seoul Fashion Week at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on Thursday. (Seoul City)

Designers showcasing spring-summer 2025 collections at Seoul Fashion Week were just as diverse in their choice of materials as the messages highlighted on the runway, where 21 brands are making their pitch during the five-day fashion week ending Saturday.

Cahiers, a womenswear brand led by designer Kim A-young, started Friday’s runway shows focusing on what she calls “pastel luxury” -- ready-to-wear fare inspired by ballet costumes -- a symbol of elegance and delicacy, according to Kim.

Pearly satin tops draping over bare skin and fluffy tulle skirts rendered a silhouette of softness and fluidity. “We aim to show its aesthetic value by reinterpreting the beauty of heritage to suit modern lifestyles,” Kim said of her creations, describing a shade of purple -- practically the signature hue adorning the catwalks -- as a mix of city lights and ballerina looks.

The Friday show was a contrast from that a day earlier, when Greedilous, also a womenswear brand, delivered a powerful runway of sheer flamboyant chic, in line with designer Park Youn-hee’s commitment to visualizing what she dubs the “futuristic modernity” of women who do not shy away from expressing themselves

“I aim to present a collection that blends 21st-century postmodernism with the 1970s vintage style, uniquely interpreting the themes of love, peace and freedom from that era through Greedilous’ lens,” said Park, 44.

A kaleidoscope of colors adorned outfits, from a dress with a top in the shape of a heart to column dresses, hinting at the brand’s focus on streetwear rather than formal attire.

Models wear creations for Julycolumn as part of the spring-summer 2025 Seoul Fashion Week at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on Wednesday. (Seoul City)

Meanwhile, the theme of sustainability, the message the fashion week’s organizer, the Seoul city government, wants to put out through the biannual show, was revisited repeatedly. Park So-young, the 41-year-old designer behind Julycolumn, presented creations made using recycled plastic bottles.

The womenswear brand identifying itself with timeless elegance said the creations were inspired by pattern and weaving details found in traditional Korean clothing. Bridging the old and new is how timeless aesthetic sophistication is born, Park explained.

By Choi Si-young(siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)