Analysing the current South Korean fashion scenario

July 16, 2021

South Korea is making waves in Fashion. With the K-culture craze gaining global traction, it has been one of the most significant when it comes to music, movies, dramas, cosmetics and beauty products (this phenomenon often referred to as the Korean Wave), but lately, all eyes have been on Korea for some serious fashion inspiration; its street styles, trends and innovative outfits. Looks range from casual and effortless geek chic to bold punk rock. Western influences can be spotted with a distinguishable touch of ‘K’ in those baggy t-shirts, oversized blazers, bucket hats, ankle-length pants, plaid mini skirts, graphic crop sweatshirts, peter-pan collar shirts and blouses with voluminous sleeves.

Fashion in South Korea is intertwined in the fabric of society. What many are not aware of is the counterfeit culture of South Korea. Due to certain legal restrictions and strict cross-border trade policies, it was not easy for foreign companies to enter the market. Although the situation has changed quite a bit now, many well-known brands were not available in the country until recently. As a major result of this, a huge market of branded knock-offs exists which provides similar latest trendy styles as seen on the runway at an affordable price. Well, this alone says a lot about the scenario of the fashion industry in South Korea. Let’s try and see this closely to understand the big picture.

Firstly, it highlights the potential of a strong market for luxury and high-end, and even fast fashion brands for that matter, in South Korea. The luxury goods market in South Korea is one of the fastest-growing, valued at around $13 billion in 2019, as per Agility’s Trend Lens 2020 Wave 1 report.

Then why haven’t some brands tapped this market yet? This leads us to our next takeaway. Secondly, we clearly see the occurrence of both trickle-up and trickle-down of trends. It is a complex market, impossible to accurately understand just by a glimpse at the statistics or a brief look at the industry. Deciphering the current scenario requires a good amount of local insight. An entirely different strategy is necessary to survive and operate in the South Korean fashion scenario. A key point to note here is that their success would majorly depend on how well brands would be able to adapt and keep up with the rapidly changing trends to fulfil the market demand. Cultural and language barriers are some of the other challenges. Hence, observing the target consumer’s habits and lifestyle closely is the first step. For example, while marketing the products online, it should be kept in mind that Naver is used more often than google in South Korea.

Thirdly, the local industry is quite powerful in terms of its manufacturing capabilities. It is able to deliver and is performing well to meet all the demands when popularity of Korean e-commerce retail websites like Kooding and G-market has been shooting up. The market size of South Korean fashion industry was forecasted to amount to around 40.8 trillion South Korean won in 2020. (Statista) It has slowed down slightly the previous year because of the pandemic but is expected to recover at a remarkable pace in the coming years. Many international brands are exploring new manufacturing hubs and are turning to countries like South Korea, Turkey, Vietnam and Morocco to place their orders.

In a nutshell, South Korea has managed to become a global hotspot, catching interest of people across the globe in various fields, and for different reasons. There is something for everyone. In fashion, it is where every brand, from luxury to fast fashion, is looking at right now. Young Korean designers are getting international recognition for putting fresh looks on the table each day. If you are a fashion enthusiast, South Korea is the place to be at this point of time.

Accurate analysis to identify the potential customers and markets is more important than ever for your fashion business to survive and thrive. Otherwise, it could prove to be a missed opportunity. Schedule a session now to help recognise potential markets, and step into the untapped markets and develop an effective strategy accordingly.

(Featured Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash)