Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Seoul Fashion Week presents fresh talent to world through 'The Selects'
Models present Kijun’s Fall-Winter 2025 collection during "The Selects" at Seoul Fashion Week (SFW), held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of SFW
By Lee Gyu-lee
“The Selects,” organized by the state-run agency Korea Creative Content Agency, showcased a group of promising local designers at 2025 Fall-Winter Seoul Fashion Week, aiming to promote them to the global fashion market. The event was held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in central Seoul and will run until Sunday.
As part of the fashion week program, the runway show, held on Thursday at the DDP, unveiled eight designers poised to make their mark on the international stage, presenting three pieces each from their collection.
Launched in 2018 by designer Kim Hyun-woo, Kijun showcased three pieces of its Fall-Winter collection, including an anorak-style jacket, a skirt set and an oversized gray cable-knit sweater.
Since its launch, the brand has been expanding to men's wear from women's wear, guided by its motto: to break free and present new standards.
A look from KIMHEKIM's F/W 2025 collection during "The Selects" at Seoul Fashion Week, held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of SFW
The brand Kimhekim, founded in 2016 by Kim In-te, presented sleepwear inspired pieces utilizing pillows as part of the look, including a tube top attached to a pillow paired with a low-rise gray miniskirt, and a blue-striped pajama set with a pillow-shaped tote bag. The brand pursues simplicity with minimalistic style, focusing on silhouettes. It aims to become the most Korean yet global brand.
BONBOM showed three chic black looks, styling them with bold belts decorating the skirts and tops. The pieces included a windbreaker-style jacket with a brown belt across the chest, matched with an H-line skirt attached with different colors of belts. Launched in 2020 by Jo Bon-bom, the brand explores beauty between classic charm and uniqueness by adding sportiness to suit designs.
Garnering the spotlight through working on stage costumes with top artists like BLACKPINK, aespa and Doja Cat, the brand has expanded to over 50 stores across 12 countries since its launch.
Models present VEGAN TIGER'S Fall-Winter 2025 collection during "The Selects" at Seoul Fashion Week (SFW), held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of SFW
The vegan fashion brand, VEGAN TIGER, introduced looks with long faux fur coats and a leather jacket, including a leopard print faux fur long coat over a similar print hoodie and pants set. As Korea’s first vegan fashion brand, it focuses on cruelty free methods, inventing a sustainable and distinctly Korean technique to make leather fabric textures using the method for "hanji," known as traditional Korean handmade paper.
Launched in 2017 by designer Park Jin-hye, Enor’s collection included a white fur coat matched with a knitted crop top, and a skirt layered over a pant and brown tube top and pants set. Getting inspiration from nature, the brand uses curves inspired by waves and wind. It also uses textures and colors from stones, wood and sand, reinterpreting the neat silhouettes with asymmetrical elements.
A model walks with EENK's Fall-Winter 2025 collection during "The Selects" at Seoul Fashion Week (SFW), held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of SFW
The brand, which took off at Seoul Fashion Creative Studio, quickly entered the global market, winning the Samsung Fashion & Design Fund a year after its launch.
EENK, founded by designer Lee Hye-mee, showcased its pieces prioritizing timeless designs and quality with looks such as a multilayered blouse and skirt set, and a fur hood coat with leather pants. Having built her career through Korea's top fashion companies, the designer creates a brand that dreams of timeless beauty through materials, diverse color palettes, dramatic confidence, and shared tastes and sensibilities through distinctive garments made through multiple reprocessing, pattern-making and modification.
A look from JULYCOLUMN's Fall-Winter 2025 collection during "The Selects" at Seoul Fashion Week (SFW), held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of SFW
JULYCOLUMN, founded by designer Park Sooy, presented weaving-style looks — from a long black tasseled dress to an oversized jacket and skirt set. Through an in-house custom production process, the brand adopted the craftsmanship of Korean traditional artisans to put variations in production methods. The brand values the significance of heritage and Korean cultural assets by working with master artisans for the collection, ensuring that the meaning and value of tradition are not lost.
This collection also utilized leftover fabrics and fabric scraps from previous runway shows, reinterpreting recycled fabrics into designs.
Models present HANKIM'S Fall-Winter 2025 collection during "The Selects" at Seoul Fashion Week (SFW), held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of SFW
The womenswear brand HANKIM presented an avant-garde ready-to-wear collection, including a spiky top and bottom set and an oversized jacket and pants set. Founder Kim Han, who majored in Fashion Print at Central Saint Martins in London, England, utilizes embroidery, 3D production techniques and recycled materials to expand fresh ideas each season.
Launched in 2019, HANKIM debuted its first collection in Paris and Shanghai, expanding into Europe, China and the United States. The brand pursues timeless designs that can be worn even a decade later.