TV and pop stars use market brands for image makeover
The actress Park Si-yeon caught the eyes of fashion reporters earlier this month when she appeared in a TV drama in her market brand clothes.It turns out Park shops in Dongdaemun Market in Seoul just like any other Korean woman.
In a TV commercial for LG Electronics, actress Kim Tae-hee dances in front of an ice cream parlor in kabuki pumps.
The pumps are a footwear fashion item that sell for 70,000 won ($67.20) wholesale or 110,000 won retail at the same market.
The majority of products there range from 20,000 won to 30,000 won, making kabuki pumps high-end shoes.
Actress Yun Eun-hye wore the same shoes when she played a princess in the popular TV drama series Goong [Palace].
How did market brands end up as royal fashion accessories?
The heels use provocative colors and look unlike other brand-name shoes, says Kim Sang-yeop, the owner of the Dongdaemun store Kabuki.
Kim hired seven young designers to dream up 150 styles of kabuki shoes each season.
Other stores usually employ an average of one or two designers.
The designers start with 300 different styles and whittle that number down after trials with consumers.
The final selections get placed on the shelves of 500 shops across the nation.
Kim also opened sister brands like Song and Amy.
There are certain rules for the way market brands adorn the feet of the stars.
First, the shoes need to catch the attention of the wholesalers who flock to the market looking for new styles.
When this happens, other shops copy the original design and wholesalers end up looking for the shop that produced the original design.
Then there are the stylists who frequently shop at the market for unique items.
I buy whatever catches my eye, says Seo Su-gyeong, a fashion stylist who comes to the market twice a week.
Unique designs are a must in order to create my own color in any kind of fashion shoot. You have to know this place inside out, Seo says.
Seo has used accessories and shoes from Dongdaemun in many of her advertising shoots.
Many celebrities try on these items and like them so much that they want to buy them.
Indeed, Dongdaemun has become a shopping heaven for female celebs. Top actresses and singers like Eom Jeong-hwa, Lee Hyo-ri, Ha Ji-won and Jang Na-ra are known to visit there.
Ellen A, a clothing shop run by Ku Jun-yeop of the male pop duo Clon is considered a brand-name store in Dongdaemun.
Ku opened his shop in Jeil Pyunghwa Market in Dongdaemun in 2001 and uses a cunning tactic to beat the competition.
Ellen A designers develop highly original designs, focusing on the smallest of details, such as on shirtsleeves and collars.
My girlfriend told me that clothes worn by Gong Yu, the male lead in the TV drama Coffee Prince Branch No. 1, come from this shop, says Lee Su-yong, a 33-year-old office worker who went to the market last week.
I was sure that they were designer-brand goods. I was quite surprised, he says.
Half the clothes worn by Gong in this drama were from Ellen A.
Ku explains that there isn t enough stock to sponsor clothes for celebrities. The stars or their stylists tend to buy the items you see them wear on TV and in commercials.
Perhaps because I m also a celebrity, it s hard for me to push people and say, Hey, you should shop at my store , says Ku, who has also launched a women s line and an online shopping mall.
Gong s stylist shopped here for the drama, Ku says.
Mary Jane Story is another popular store at Dongdaemun Market.
The place first caught the public s attention when an actress showed up in the TV show Coffee Prince wearing the shop s clothes.
The store sells shirts, cardigans and dresses. T-shirts with unique prints are hit items at the shop, staff say.
The clothes range from 20,000 won to 100,000 won.
By Kang Seung-min JoongAng Ilbo [myfeast@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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