Never has Korean culture been in such limelight as today. From K-pop to K-drama and Korean food, aspects of Korean culture are winning over global audiences eager for something different. Fashion can ride the momentum, so long as designers focus not only on creativity and quality but also on “sincerely committing to fashion,” according to Jay Song, CEO and creative director of Songzio — a South Korean fashion house known for its avant-garde menswear. “Sincerely committing to the work of fashion matters the most to have your name recognized,” Song said of designers eyeing the high-end fashion scene, in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. Song called out fashion industry practices that go against that mantra. “We can’t overly rely on what’s commercially viable and trendy,” Song said. Such pursuits only hurt the perception of Korean fashion as a whole, Song noted. The 28-year-old designer — who took over the fashion house in 2018, 15 years after his father launched the brand in 1993 — discussed why he had put off opening the brand’s first flagship store. He had to make sure he was ready to open a store commensurate with the brand’s storied legacy in the country, the second-generation designer said. On May 4, the four-story Galerie Noir opened near Dosan Park in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. A Paris flagship store is expected in August with a New York flagship store scheduled to open in the second half of next year. Paris is culturally significant and New York is too big a market to lose out on, according to Song. June 21 will mark another milestone for Song as the menswear label unveils its first womenswear collection at the spring-summer 2025 Paris Men’s Fashion Week. The fashion house has been showing at Paris Fashion Week since 2006. It will be something of a return to the brand’s past — Songzio, originally a womenswear, transitioned to menswear in 2000.
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