Concept Korea Spring/Summer 2012

The Concept Korea presentation was a spectacular showcase of collections by Korean designers Doho, Lie Sang Bong, Resurrection by Juyoung, Song Jung Wan, and Steve J & Yoni P at Avery Fisher Hall. Concept Korea is a popular design competition held by the Ministry of Sports and Tourism and the Korean Creative Content Agency held a presentation of the 5 winners of the competition.

Son Jung Won, who has been established in Korea since 1989 showed a strong collection called “The Power of Fusion”. The concept was that there are no trends, a “blend of retro and modern”. The color palette was simple with white, different shades of blue and silver.

Designer Song Jung Won

Lie Sang Bong, who founded his company in 1985 is one of the most well known and established designers in Korea. He’s nicknamed as the McQueen of Korea and it’s evident in his sharp and structured pieces with intricate cutouts in bright colors in pink, purple and yellow. His Spring 2012 collection is inspired by traditional Korean architectural elements known as Dancheong, “the decorative colors painted on wooden buildings and artifacts”.

Designer Lie Sang Bong on left

Lie Sang Bong

Doho, established in 1998 in Korea was a collection influenced by the “image which changes moment to moment by light”. Extremely femine and frilly, the Doho collection was very textured and in beautiful light jewel hues. My favorite piece was the beautiful chain and crystal harness that sat on a models hips and decorated the front of her pants.

Doho

Resurrection by Juyoung menswear line’s concept for Spring/Summer 2012 is about the contrast. Known for their signature men’s skirts, this season was about “soft flowing materials contrasting with masculine structured silhouettes”. I noticed a lot unconventional layering of different materials in different weights. There were also lots of contrasting colors in red, blue, orange in traditional Korean checkered pattern.