Hollywood style drives Korean trends
Marc by Marc Jacobs [JoongAng Ilbo]
While some people keep an eye on Hollywood trends so that they can have a good laugh at them, others excitedly scour Internet shopping sites for “it” items.
Jeans by True Religion
And they’re certainly the people to watch. What 2535 Fashionistas buy are very likely to be the next big trend.
Moccasins by Minnetonka
There are three main reasons 2535 Fashionistas frequent overseas Internet shopping sites.
First, that’s where you buy brands that are not imported into Korea. Plus, they can sometimes be cheaper than offline stores.
But the main reason is to know what’s hot before anyone else.
Hong Sun-young, 26, an office worker who is a frequent customer of these sites, says, “You can get wind of global fashion trends earlier than everyone else at the click of a mouse.”
To find out what 2535 Fashionistas will be wearing, I checked out the most popular brands on Korea’s leading buying site, Wizwid (www.wizwid.com) from Sept. 15 to Oct. 5.
Premium jeans were the most sought after and scarves and hats from diffusion lines - products created by a designer that are priced lower in order to appeal to price-sensitive customers - were also popular. Hollywood stars are going for these trends in a big way.
Premium denim brands True Religion, Diesel and Hudson took the first, second and fourth places, respectively.
Premium denim brands are jeans produced directly at a brand’s headquarters or factory, rather than outsourced and mass produced.
These jeans are popular as they accentuate and flatter the curves of the body, and are unique. They are available at Wizwid from 100,000 won ($81) to 500,000 won.
“The popularity of premium jeans started in 2002 when Seven Jeans became a big hit,” according to assistant manager at Wizwid Lee Yi-wha.
True Religion is especially famous for its unique horseshoe-shaped back pocket stitching in rainbow colors or orange and white.
During the research period, the best-selling products were True Religion’s Joey Vintage, Billy Super T and Joey Basic cuts.
In terms of diffusion lines, those by Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs, who is also the creative director of Louis Vuitton, were two searched for the most on Wizwid.
But naturally the more famous the designer is, the more expensive the duds.
Which is why savvy 2535 Fashionistas who want designer brands but can’t afford to cough up the price choose diffusion line products.
Miss Grace, one of the most purchased brands of handbags, is a diffusion line of Billy Bag, a favorite of supermodel Heidi Klum.
According to Wizwid, Miss Grace bags range from 100,000 won to 200,000 won while Billy Bag products cost from 300,000 won to 400,000 won.
Marc by Marc Jacobs, the designer’s diffusion line, is also popular.
“For this fall and winter season, we posted more items from Marc by Marc Jacobs than the original brand,” said Wizwid.
The brand’s Vintage Blue Washing Denim Zip Jacket costs around 280,000 won.
Brands favored by Hollywood stars are obviously popular among 2535 Fashionistas.
By saving money with diffusion lines, 2535 shoppers tend to splash out on accessories such as scarves and hats.
On the Web site, Sir Alistair Rai ranked sixth and Eugenia Kim was 10th in the most-searched list of Hollywood stars’ favorite accessories.
Popular among stars such as Katie Holmes, Drew Barrymore and Jessica Alba are Sir Alistair Rai’s hand-printed scarves, which are made by Indian craftsmen and valued for their designs.
Depending on the item, prices range from 120,000 won to 340,000 won.
Korean-American designer Eugenia Kim’s hats are also becoming famous in Korea.
Her hats are worn by Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera and many other Hollywood stars. Some of her stuff sells for more than 1 million won.
On Wizwid, though, items were priced in the 100,000 won to 200,000 won range.
Moccasins by Minnetonka, which have been a hot winter item for several years now, were in third place.
Preppy casual wear, including items by British brand Fred Perry, all made it into the top 20.
By Song Ji-hye JoongAng Ilbo [estyle@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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