By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
When it comes to fashion, Busan is not usually a city that comes to mind. The upcoming Pret-a-Porter Busan hopes to change that.
The port city's premiere fashion event showcases not just the best of Busan, but also Seoul, Tokyo, Sydney, Shanghai, Beijing and London for three days, Nov. 19 to 21, at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO).
It may not rival Seoul Fashion Week in terms of size and budget, but Pret-a-Porter Busan offers high quality and global fashion collections.
Organized by Model Center International, Pret-a-Porter Busan has always invited not just Busan- and Seoul-based designers, but also foreign and Korean designers based in other countries.
This year, a total of 11 designers are presenting their spring/summer 2010 collections.
Busan designers Lee Young-hee, Lee Mi-kyung and Jung Young-won will be participating, along with Seoul-based designers An Yoon-jung, Park Jong-chul and Lee Doii.
International designers include Ding Yong from Beijing, Lea Seong from Shanghai, Hiroko Ito from Tokyo, Gina Kim from Sydney and design duo Steve J and Yoni P from London.
``Green" fashion is a concept widely embraced by designers this season. For their women's wear collections, An and Lee Young-hee both strove to create clothes that are both stylish and eco-friendly. An adopted the theme ``Green Energy, Cool Earth." She is using organic fabrics and natural dyes for her designs.
Kim, a designer from Sydney, Australia, will be presenting a collection revolving around the theme ``modern day glamour." Kim uses innovative textiles in modern and edgy but wearable designs.
Japanese designer Ito's collection theme is ``pureness," based on concepts of geometry, and uses white as a base color. Her design patterns are characterized by straight lines and simple shapes.
Shanghai-based designer Seong, who studied at Chung-Ang University in Korea and Parsons The New School for Design in New York, will show a collection inspired by the flapper trend of the 1920s. She updated the era's elegant, sexy dresses with a modern twist.
Steve J and Yoni P, a London-based Korean design duo, will be presenting their youthful collection in Busan for the second time. They are known for creating their trademark volume-draped dress with sleek tailoring and cutting edge style.
Park Jong-chul's menswear collection will feature clean silhouettes, tiny jackets and comfortable pants in black and white. Beijing-based designer Ding Yong will also be presenting avant-garde fashion with the theme ``light."
Lee Doii, a rising Korean designer based in Seoul and Paris, will be presenting a collection of feminine and intricately beaded dresses and gowns inspired by Japanese illustrations. Lee graduated from St. Martins School in London, where she was named one of the 10 best graduates, and has worked with Christian Dior and Kenzo in Paris.
Visit www.papbusan.com.