Seoul, '2025 S/S Seoul Fashion Week' Opens in September

Confirmed visits from major overseas buyers in the US, China, and Singapore

• Seoul Fashion Week will be held from September 3rd to 7th, visiting the fashion hubs of Dongdaemun, Seongsu, and Hannam in South Korea.
• Expansion of optimized programs for business exchanges, including presentation shows (PT shows) and showroom tours.
• Confirmed visits from influential overseas buyers from the UK, US, and China, etc. focusing on evaluating overseas market penetration and growth potential.
• Selection of brands from Seoul Fashion Week to participate in the Milan Fashion Week exchange program.
• Online applications for fashion shows and trade shows for Seoul Fashion Week are open until May 7th (Tuesday).

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will be accepting applications for brands to participate in ‘2025 S/S Seoul Fashion Week’ until May 7th (Tuesday). The event will be held against the backdrop of Dongdaemun, Seongsu, and Hannam, the heart of South Korea’s fashion industry.

Seoul Fashion Week, a ‘global fashion business platform’ aimed at enhancing the global recognition of domestic fashion brands and supporting their overseas market entry, will be held for five days from September 3rd (Tuesday) to 7th (Saturday). Seoul Fashion Week serves as a meeting point for domestic fashion brands, domestic and international fashion professionals, influencers, and the general public.

For this season (25S/S), they are planning to attract over 100 influential overseas buyers. Visits have been confirmed from global distribution (department stores, select shops) chains including ▴Harvey Nichols (Kuwait), ▴Lane Crawford (UK), ▴Nordstrom (US), ▴I.T. China (China), and ▴Dover Street Market (Singapore).

Seoul Fashion Week (Fashion Shows, Presentation Shows)

Starting this year, they will be organizing separate presentation shows (hereinafter referred to as PT shows) that are optimized for business exchanges, along with the fashion shows.

(Fashion Shows) Brands participating in the fashion shows will receive support for systems, online broadcasting, and domestic and international promotional marketing, and will be given the opportunity to participate in the trade show held during the same period. For brands making their debut at Seoul Fashion Week (fashion show), they will receive partial support for fashion show production, models, hair & makeup, etc.

(PT Shows)PT shows can be held up to twice a day (outdoor brands such as golf apparel are eligible to participate), and they provide on-site invitations and networking opportunities for domestic and international fashion professionals (buyers, press, investors, etc.). Consulting services are also available to ensure the successful preparation and operation of the programs.

All brands participating in the fashion show will automatically be able to participate in the Seoul Fashion Week ‘Trade Show’.

The evaluation of brands participating in the fashion show will be based on quantitative evaluation (overseas sales over the past year) and qualitative evaluation (▴brand profile ▴season plan (draft) ▴portfolio of the past two seasons). The judging panel will include editors from overseas fashion magazines, and the key evaluation criteria will be overseas market penetration and global growth potential.

Furthermore, they plan to simultaneously select participating brands for the Milan Fashion Week exchange and cooperation program. The Milan Fashion Week exchange and cooperation (Seoul Metropolitan Government-CNMI*) program consists of online mentoring and tours to visit Italian fashion manufacturing sites. Details can be found on the Seoul Fashion Week website (http://www.seoulfashionweek.org).

In February of this year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government signed a memorandum of understanding with the ‘Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana’. The key components of the agreement include ① global marketing of Korean brands leveraging the Milan Fashion Week platform ② ongoing dialogue on innovation and social responsibility in the fashion industry ③ enhanced exchange and cooperation between fashion and beauty-related organizations in both cities. Milan Fashion Week is considered one of the four major fashion weeks in the world (Paris, Milan, New York, London).

• CNMI (Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana): Italian National Fashion Chamber

Trade Show (Order Taking Exhibition, Showroom Tour)

The ‘Trade Show’ is a business consultation program aimed at opening up overseas sales channels for domestic fashion brands. They are recruiting 100 companies across two formats (▴order taking exhibition ▴showroom tour).

The ‘showroom tour’ involves buyers directly visiting brand showrooms for consultations. It received positive feedback from participating brands and buyers last season, and this year they will be adding the ‘Hannam area’ to the existing ‘Seongsu and Gangnam’ locations.

(Order Taking Exhibition) The order-taking exhibition held at DDP provides individual booths for each brand, 1:1 order consultation with overseas buyers through pre-matching, trade practice training, directory registration, and domestic and international media promotion.

(Showroom Tour)They plan to provide support for managing overseas buyer visit schedules, directory registration, and domestic and international media promotion, focusing on three fashion districts (Hannam, Seongsu, and Gangnam).

Apparel, accessories (bags, handmade shoes), and jewelry brands are eligible to participate in the trade show. The evaluation will be based on quantitative evaluation (domestic and overseas sales over the past year) and qualitative evaluation (▴brand profile ▴portfolio of the past two seasons ▴growth potential). The trade show will only involve domestic committee evaluation.

Applications for the ‘2025 S/S Seoul Fashion Week’ can be submitted through the Seoul Fashion Week website (http://www.seoulfashionweek.org) until May 7th (Tuesday).

Lee Hae-woo, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Economic Policy Office, stated, “Seoul Fashion Week is a global business platform that widely promotes the competitiveness of domestic fashion brands and revitalizes the fashion industry.” He also added, “We will strengthen our support to help capable K-fashion designers enter the global market by introducing sales-focused programs such as presentation shows and showroom tours.”