Concept Korea continues to highlight the work of rising Korean designers

New York - Concept Korea returned to NYFW: Men's this season for their annual runway show, again featuring DYDB and Ordinary People. Concept Korea's mission is to highlight the work of Korean designers who are just starting to find their footing in the United States. This season, Hyeong-cheol Jang, the designer for Ordinary People, and Dong-jun Kang, the designer for DBYD, presented their original and stylish offerings to the industry, and were met with high praise again.

This is the second season for both designers, and they've changed things up a bit from last time. Jang took his inspiration from hotels he was traveling around the world. The theme of the collection was hotel residents and showing every moment happening in a hotel with their own "ordinary" style. Colors used in the collection include dark green, neutral gray, bottle green, midnight blue, yellow ochre, and camel. Fabrics used include wool, silk faille, cotton, silk cady, faux fur, and suede.

In terms of what he feels sets Korean fashion apart from other offerings, Jang emphasized the focus on bright colors. Men's wear is certainly embracing more color in their offerings, and we are deviating away from just neutrals dominating.

On the other hand, Kang took his inspiration for this season's collection from the Academy-Award nominated film Her by Spike Jonze. The two key words of the film that contrast with the colors are "owning" and "being." The color palette for the collection includes sand beige, melange grey, cool grey, burgundy, blue, red, black, and white. Fabrics in the collection include wool, cotton, denim, nylon, polyester, rayon, and tencel.

In terms of the collection, looks for DBYD included items like elaborately patterned robes, joggers and hoodies feeding off of the athleisure trend, and easy to wear jackets. While some offerings like grey turtleneck sweatshirts seemed a bit more gym appropriate than fashion appropriate, there would plenty of redeeming offerings like high-waisted belted coats that were very Korean street style worthy.

Ordinary People's collection included loose fitting tan pants, free flowing shirts and sweaters, and a lot of the cool Korean vibe to the clothing. The collection was very cohesive with all the looks blending very well together. Jang has proved that it is possible to make a loose silhouette look expensive, which is not a challenge that many designers can take on well.

All in all, it was an excellent highlight to the first day of NYFW: Men's, and an excellent way to further diversity among the American fashion scene through highlighting Korean designers.

photo:conceptkorea.com