College Fashion Week was conducted for the first time in 2008, to delve into the stylistic world of fashion from November 21 to November 22. For two consecutive days, there were over 12 different fashion shows staged at the Seoul Fashion Art Hall located at Dongdaemun. Twelve selected universities participated including Hongik University, Seoul National University, and Ewha's Department of Clothing & Textiles. What was more was that the glamorous models walking down the runways were the winners of the Asia-Pacific Supermodel Contest 2008.
Fashion week was sponsored by the Seoul Fashion Center and the Seoul Business Agency (SBA) to provide an opportunity for fashion businesses and talented young designers to build a strong human network among themselves and to further vitalize the fashion industry in Korea.
"We hope this showcase provided a chance for potential designers to show off their gifted talents through delicately designed pieces shown in the mecca of hottest trend, Dongdaemun. I believe that firms also were able to seek the next Lie Sang-bong, a leading Korean designer," said a member of the SBA.
At the heart of this massive fashion festival, 10 brave Ewha representatives from the Department of Clothing & Textiles are proud to present their 50 uniquely designed pieces which they have been working on since last winter.
"To graduate, we can choose either to take an exam or to work on a fashion show. Ten of us wisely chose to produce our very own clothes," said Suh Young-one (Clothing & Textiles, 4). "I think we made the right choice since we had the privilege of being supported by the SBA and marked history by taking part in the very first college fashion week in Korea."
Even though the whole process of preparing was tough work, Suh says she has not regretted her decision even for a single moment. "What is more special is that we even had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with Korea's renowned designer Lie Sang-bong this summer. We actually went to his atelier and worked with him," said Suh. "H is keen mind for design really helped our work go to the next level." The 10 students did not work under a specific theme in designing their clothes, but rather chose to work freely.
"Since we worked without a particular theme, all of the 50 pieces are unique and strongly represent the color of each designer," said Suh. "And we felt some kind of pressure that the event has to be exceptionally good for it to continue." Students say that this was such a significant event for them since it showed that Korea is actually showing growing interest in the fashion industry. In England and Japan, these types of events are regularly held compared to Korea. The students hope that this kind of fashion events will continually be opened to many young talented designers and be a stepping stone for the further development of new artists.
Among four fashion shows each day, Ewha presented on the second day, November 21. Outside of the fashion show room, there were exhibition booths which impressed many visitors.
