Baemin X Kye fashion show inspired by Hangeul
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Models present a collection by Baemin X Kye at the 2016 Spring/Summer Hera Seoul Fashion Week in Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Oct. 18. Courtesy of Hera Seoul Fashion Week
By Kim Jae-heun
“Baedal Minjok,” one of Korea’s leading delivery service firms, presented its first fashion show “Baemin X Kye” in collaboration with designer Kye Han-hee aimed at promoting the Korean alphabet, Hangeul, at the 2016 Spring/Summer (S/S) Seoul Fashion Week in Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) on Oct. 18.
Baedal Minjok’s mother company, and a developer of smartphone applications, Woowahan Brothers, provided its Korean font Hana type to write whimsical slogans on Kye’s signature oversize sweatshirts, MA-1 jackets, silk-print shirts and one-piece dresses.
“The brand KYE prints witty sayings on its clothing and Baedal Minjok pursues a theme of B-list culture, such as using playful slogans in its service. Our common interest brought us together to hold a collaborative show,” said Kye while backstage after the show’s finale.
The delivery service’s collaborative fashion show with the fashion designer first created confusion among people because they were two businesses in different fields. Baedal Minjok is a popular nationwide delivery service company while KYE is an iconic contemporary fashion brand among those in their late teens and early 20s.
The show, however, came off successfully as it drew special attention from foreign fashion moguls like Susanna Lau, or also known as Susie Bubble, a popular British fashion blogger.
Models wear a collection by Baemin X Kye backstage at the 2016 Hera Seoul Fashion Week, Oct. 18. / Courtesy of Hera Seoul Fashion Week
“I actually quite liked this Baemin. I mean I know Kye, but the collaboration with the delivery company (was) really random, but cool. I think it was nice to see Korean typography used in graphic ways and I think it was a really great idea,” said Lau during the interview with The Korea Times at Seoul Fashion Week, Monday.
The idea of a collaborative fashion show was first suggested by Park Seo-won, the chief creative officer of advertizing agency Or!com.
“Kim Bong-jin (CEO and designer of Baedal Minjok) and I were having a meal together and Kim said it would be really cool to see a good-looking European guy wearing a shirt with Korean words printed on it. I thought it was a cool idea too, so I suggested to him that we could make a fashion line together,” Park said. “You may think that Baedal Minjok has nothing to do with fashion but it does. It provides delivery service and, at the same time, witty content. The app asks you questions in catchy phrases like ‘How was your meal?’ or ‘How was the delivery?’ which revolves in your mind while using the service.”
The chief creative officer chose designer Kye to make the clothes as he is a big fan of her and her fashions.
Kim first started his company with Hangeul and still promotes the Korean language.
“It can succeed or it can fail. I just want to try many things. Hangeul has been used seriously up to now so we tried to play with it this time with a twist,” said Kim.