Fashion: The Next Korean Wave?

Details: Category: Gallery

Panel Discussion

with

Susan Shin
Founder and President of Shin Advisors LLC

Gemma Kahng
Fashion Designer

Jean Yu
Fashion Designer

Hyden Yoo
Fashion Designer

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

A wave of remarkable fashion designers have recently emerged from Korea and the Korean diaspora. Today, a growing number of designers are grappling successfully with the challenging issue of a "global runway." Fashion, previously focused almost exclusively on local tastes and trends, is now being produced in the context of a world-wide industry. As Korean and Korean American designers manufacture and market their work internationally, distinct cultural influences may become more difficult to identify, leading to questions about the role cultural influences should play in a designer's style.

Join The Korea Society for a discussion moderated by luxury marketing consultant Susan Shin of Shin Advisors, with fashion designers Gemma Kahng and Jean Yu, and menswear designer Hyden Yoo, as they address their creative processes, their influences and the unique cultural and commercial challenges they face in marketing their fashion in the U.S., Korea and a globalized society.

About the Speakers

Susan Shin is the founder of Shin Advisors LLC, a luxury branding, business development, marketing, special events and communications consultancy that specializes in the fashion, jewelry, beauty, art, décor/furniture, hospitality, lifestyle and related sectors. Launched in 2005, Shin Advisors' clients have included Emanuel Ungaro, Bally, Gustavo Arango, Harry Winston, Vivienne Tam, Tumi, The Museum of Modern Art, Moët-Hennessy USA, Diageo and more. Prior to establishing Shin Advisors LLC, Susan Shin was an intellectual properties lawyer at Goodwin Procter and an adjunct professor of international intellectual property at New York University. A graduate of Columbia University, she holds a J.D. and a Master's in international law from Cornell Law School. Ms. Shin often has been profiled and quoted in the media for her philanthropy and expertise.

Gemma Kahng is a New York fashion designer. Born in Korea and raised in the United States from age fourteen, her earliest design experience was making paper clothes for her paper dolls. After studying fashion at the Art Institute of Chicago, Kahng launched her first collection in 1989 and immediately captured a full-page editorial spread in Vogue. Kahng is considered the first Korean designer to make a significant impact in the US.

Jean Yu is a Korean-born fashion designer working in New York City. She was one of the top-ten finalists for the CFDA/Vogue fashion fund in 2005. Yu is known for her architectural approach and seamless technique. Her dresses have been featured in Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New York Times and W. Jean Yu opened up her store on Crosby Street in SoHo in December 2001.

Hyden Yoo is a New York-based designer of menswear. He launched his line, best known for its slim-fit shirts that easily mix formal and relaxed elements in 2005 and sells his fashions in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.