[Photo courtesy of Seoul City, 26 S/S Runway Scene]

Seoul Fashion Week, which has led the globalization of K-fashion for 25 years by promoting domestic fashion brands and designers to the world, is a week away from opening.

Over the past 25 years, Seoul Fashion Week has been a platform that has recorded and driven the growth of K-fashion, as well as a site of endless transformation. From the first generation of Korean fashion represented by designers Ji Chun-hee and Jang Kwang-hyo to brands like SONGZIO and ENNK active on the global stage, Seoul Fashion Week has consistently contributed to the journey of Korean fashion reaching the world.

The keyword that transformed the nature of Seoul Fashion Week is 'business.' With the introduction of trade shows as an official program in 2016, Seoul Fashion Week evolved from a runway-focused showcase to an industrial platform where brands, designers, and domestic and international buyers and media are practically connected.

This shift reached a turning point in 2021. As Seoul City took over the hosting and organization of Seoul Fashion Week, the event's management direction and strategy entered a new phase. Amid the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19, Seoul City did not just maintain Seoul Fashion Week but turned the crisis into an opportunity through various initiatives.

[Photo courtesy of Seoul City, 26 S/S Trade Show Scene]

Seoul City quickly adopted non-face-to-face operations such as digital fashion shows, 1:1 online order consultations, online select shops, and sales exhibitions, restructuring the operation of Seoul Fashion Week. By combining live commerce, they expanded the traditionally B2B-focused business model into the B2C realm, broadening the scope of Fashion Week.

The results were evident in numbers. A fashion film produced against the backdrop of Seoul's historic sites in 2021 garnered 74.33 million views within a month of release, and in 2022, a live commerce event targeting Chinese buyers achieved approximately 1 billion won in sales. These initiatives led by Seoul City have expanded Seoul Fashion Week from a domestic event to a global platform involving audiences and buyers worldwide.

[Photo courtesy of Seoul City, Berlin Showroom Scene]

Through the hybrid operation of online and offline events, Seoul City has solidified its foundation and, amidst rising global interest in Korean culture such as K-pop and dramas, has initiated a global collaboration strategy for Seoul Fashion Week.

In 2022, it supported runway shows for brands participating in Seoul Fashion Week during Paris Fashion Week and established a dedicated hall at the Tranoi Trade Show, an official program of Paris Fashion Week. In 2023, it collaborated with Lotte Duty Free to showcase a Seoul Fashion Week exclusive space at the Tokyo Ginza store, and in 2024, expanded the scope of collaboration through a joint runway with Japanese fashion companies.

This global expansion strategy continued into 2025. Seoul City, in collaboration with the German Fashion Association, planned a Berlin showroom in downtown Seoul and conducted exhibitions in Berlin, expanding exchanges between the two countries. In the same year, the trade show featured major international buyers such as France's luxury department store Printemps and Singapore's select shop Club 21, showcasing the depth of the global network Seoul Fashion Week has built.

Another noteworthy change is the 'timing' of Seoul Fashion Week. After transitioning to being hosted and organized by Seoul City, the event has realigned its position within the global fashion week schedule. Seoul City has adjusted the timing to avoid overlaps with the four major fashion weeks and other key international fashion weeks, placing Seoul Fashion Week at the start of the season to provide buyers with more favorable conditions to review collections and facilitate actual orders.

These efforts have led to tangible results. The 2025 S/S season recorded $6.13 million, the 2025 F/W season $6.71 million, and the 2026 S/S season achieved a record-high order consultation amount of $7.45 million, proving the changes brought by Seoul Fashion Week under Seoul City's hosting and organization in numbers.

This season, Seoul Fashion Week sets another milestone. By signing an MOU with Milan Fashion Week, one of the four major fashion weeks, a total of five brands, including KIMHEKIM, AMOMENTO, JADEN CHO, BESFXXK, and DAILY MIRROR, will take the stage at the 2026 F/W Milan Fashion Week. This is a symbolic scene showing that Seoul City's strategy has officially integrated Seoul Fashion Week into the global fashion system.

Furthermore, Seoul City plans to significantly expand the scale of the trade show, where direct business takes place, and enhance showroom tours to diversify buyers' brand experiences, building a more advanced global network.

Meanwhile, the 2026 F/W Seoul Fashion Week will be held for six days from February 3 to 8 at DDP, and the trade show will take place for three days from February 5 to 7 on the 1st to 4th floors of the DDP Design Lab. Connecting designers and brands, industry and market, and city and world, Seoul Fashion Week is set to once again showcase the global expansion potential of K-fashion this season.