London’s Korean Cultural Centre was turned into a fashion catwalk this week with the launch of Hanbok Wave, a project to interpret and transform traditional Korean dress into a modern collection of women’s and men’s day/eveningwear “for a new generation”.

A collaboration saw the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Craft and Design Foundation and 10 Korean fashion designers combine to stage a one-off show in London presenting 30 outfits out of an overall 60 created.
 
However, as part of the ‘wave’ theme, images of collection are to be featured in Marie Claire France, and on electronic billboards on New York’s Broadway/Times Square as part of a project “that supports the Hanbok industry to pioneer overseas markets through collaboration with Hallyu cultural artists”.

In addition, the fashion event video will be shown on the V&A museum’s social channel related to the ongoing ‘Hallyu! Korean Wave’ exhibition “adding a synergistic effect to the spread of the Korean Wave”.
 
The Hanbok Wave fashion event, first devised in 2019 but interrupted by the pandemic, is part of the 2022 ‘Hallyu Collaborative Content Planning and Development,’ with the Hanbok-style collection inspired by the “personality and image” of the country’s star former figure skater Yuna Kim.
 
The 10 selected designers are Morinori, Liv Damyeon, Lee Young-Ae Traditional Clothes, Hyeon, Heyum Hanbok, Happly, Haemi By Saimdang, Guiroe, Geumuijae and C-Zann E.

Executive director of KCDF Kim MinKyung told Fashion Network: “The link between Korean culture and Great Britain’s culture is very strong especially among the young, so it was important for us to launch Hanbok Wave in London before spreading the wave internationally.”
 
She noted the fashion resulting from the project is especially for a fashion- and music-conscious consumer aged 20-30, “creating a spin on the traditional clothing their way that is both sexy and cute”.
 
She added: “Interest in Korean Hanbok is increasing abroad through popular culture so we look forward to global audience discovering the charm of Hanbok and designers in the Hanbok field to expand into the world.”
 
While the 60 designs presented by the 10 designers are mostly conceptual, many of the pieces can be purchased on a made-to-measure basis.