K-fashion Odyssey at Korean Cultural Centre

Hyein Seo - Photography Che Soonhyun

Korean designers are emerging and this was underlined during London Fashion Week.
Korean designer Hyein Seo, exhibiting at K-fashion Odyssey at Korean Cultural Centre UK, has won British Council and British Fashion Council’s International Fashion Showcase Emerging Talent Award 2014 for Best Designer.
150 designers exhibited in more than 30 embassies and cultural institutions was in the competition for this acclaimed prize. The winner was announced on Sunday 16th February, during a private reception at 180 The Strand, which houses 14 of the showcases for the first time.
 "Extraordinary talent" – Sarah Mower MBE, contributing editor Vogue US and British Fashion Council Ambassador for Emerging Talent, speaking about Hyein Seo.

Hyein Seo - Photography Che Soonhyun

The jury for the International Fashion Showcase 2014 included: Sarah Mower MBE, Alison Moloney (Centre for Fashion Curation, London College of Fashion), Alistair O’Neill (Central Saint Martins and Fashion Curator), Andrew Groves (Westminster University), Anna Orsini (British Fashion Council), David Hayes (Financial Times), Kendall Robbins (British Council), Imogen Fox (The Guardian), Mandi Lennard (Mandi’s Basement), Maria Lemos (RainbowWave), Marie Schuller (SHOWstudio), Oriole Cullen (Victoria & Albert Museum), Robb Young (Contributor: International New York Times and Business of Fashion) and Susie Lau (Style Bubble).

Currently studying for her MA at the prestigious fashion departments at Royal Academy of Fine Art Antwerp, Hyein Seo’s latest collection ‘Fear Eats the Soul’ takes an unexpectedly humorous twist on the classic horror-film aesthetic. Inspired by 1990s fashion, Dario Argento, Jim Jamusch and old school hip hop, she explores strong characters and adopts the creepy horror film heroine as her muse. Drawing on the powerful energy and atmosphere surrounding the new generation of Korean avant-garde designers, her horror-film collection takes a contemporary view on luxurious fur coats, decadent jewels, red lips and pale skin.

K-Fashion Odyssey, Korean Cultural Centre, Hyein Seo ( Photo Junyong Cho)

This is the second time Korea is taking part of this exciting competition. In the competition's first year ‘A New Space Around the Body–Emerging Korean Fashion Designers’ won the British Council and British Fashion Council’s International Fashion Showcase Emerging Talent Award 2012 for Best Project at London Fashion Week.

For more information, please visit: http://www.britishcouncil.org/organisation/press/international-fashion-showcase-2014

You can see Hyein Seo’s work at K-Fashion Odyssey at Korean Cultural Centre UK in London until the 2 March 2014.

‘K–Fashion Odyssey’ exhibits work by Chloe Kim, Gigi Jeehyun Jung, Hyein Seo, Narae Park and Rejina Pyo. These award-winning designers are graduates of some of the most prestigious fashion schools from across Europe. This new wave of Korean fashion holds an exceptionally high aesthetic value, producing sculptural pieces that frame the body.
Through five varied installations presenting film, garments and headdresses, the exhibition offers stories and hypo- thetical worlds from the newest and brightest experimental talents and their Korean roots. The installations have been developed from conversations between the exhibition-mak- ers, Sofia Hedman & Serge Martynov, and the designers.

K-Fashion Odyssey at Korean Cultural Centre
Rejina Pyo, Courtesy of Han Nefkens, On loan from  Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, and Hyein Seo
 Photo Junyong Cho

Rejina Pyo, Courtesy of Han Nefkens, On loan from  Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen,
Photo Junyong Cho