Vogue Korea: Fashion into Art

Posted on Aug 24, 2012 in Fashion

God, we just love Vogue Korea. There is no better way to end the week, darlings. You don’t need any more of our blathering, so just sit back and let the pretty wash over you.

Vogue Korea August 2012 Issue
Editorial: “Fashion into Art”
Photographer: Kang Hyea Won
Stylist: Seo Young Hee
Model: Hyun Ji Eun, Stefani Lee, Doo Boo, Lee Hyun Yi, Han Eu Deum, Park Ji Hyea, and Min Young

[Photo Credit: Kang Hyea Won for Vogue Korea via thefashionspot.com]

Tags:

http://www.facebook.com/CatherineKatz Catherine Katz

I got chills at the one with the dog – and they kept coming! So gorgeous!! I think my favorite is the blue with the sketch in the background. Great way to start the weekend!
- http://twitter.com/MajorBedhead MajorBedhead
  
  That’s my favourite, too.
- Lori
  
  Mine too. I want that dress. I have nowhere to wear it and likely never will, not to mention the cost, but I still want it.
- Qdahling
  
  Love that one!!
http://www.facebook.com/D.D.D.Dino Dino Bonačić

wow
PinkLemon

holy gorgeous!! so whimsical and pretty! these are genuinely inspiring.
http://www.notacomplexperson.tumblr.com xclamationmarcus

It amazes me at how strong the editorial voice behind Vogue Korea always is. It comes through loud and clear. A lot of Asian fashion is relatively pre-occupied with what’s “Western” and “new” and Vogue Korea has always been willing to put forth its own Korean identity front and center without fetishizing it. The adaptations to the hanbok are brilliant (though they DO tread a little too much of the same ground over the course of the story), but it’s a fantastic way to tie modern design into tradition and craft. Brava, ladies!
- https://twitter.com/Gayer_Than_Thou Gayer Than Thou
  
  The one with the hanbok with big polka dots on it and the model’s wearing dark glasses? Awesome.
  - http://www.facebook.com/JinyoungUK1003 Jinyoung Bae
    
    big polka dot dress is from Lie Sang Bong, who is a contemporary Korean fashion designer. I think it was from his collection like 2 years ago? Stylist had put a traditional Korean jacket called jogori on the dress.
- Melvis Velour
  
  Yeah, this homage to the hanbok is beyond brilliant! I sent this link to my god daughter who’s mostly Korean and is starting to rediscover her roots – she would TOTALLY rock these looks!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Cortney-Dean/100002491593625 Cortney Dean

Better than anything American Vogue has done in a looooong time. Beautiful.
http://www.thirteen.org/downton-abbey/category/the-downton-dish/ Gotham Tomato

Culture into Fashion would also be accurate.

–GothamTomato
- H3ff
  
  Or even Culture into Fabulousness.
LesYeuxHiboux

Someone at Vogue Korea has an EYE! Fun and gorgeous, like a cutting-edge Grace Coddington. My favorites are the bridge/water/blue dress shot, the shoes and socks, and the war-horse sculpture.
- kimmeister
  
  That wooden horse one is amazeballs.
Sara__B

I’m sipping a cup of tea and taking my time to admire these serene and lovely photos. Thanks, guys! This is enough pretty to last all weekend.
Maria Rosenfire

I really wish we could get copies of Vogue Korea over here, because everything I’ve seen from them is both interesting and jaw-droppingly gorgeous. What an awesome idea for an editorial!
- Lilithcat
  
  You can. Info on subscriptions is here . But it’s not cheap!
  - juliamargaret
    
    Eek! $299.00 for a one year subscription on sale? I wonder if any of my Korean friends can set up a subscription “service” for me!
hughman

What I love about these is that while I can’t see all the designers I assume some must be American or European. Yet the stylists manage to imbue all the looks with an Asian influence reminiscent of kimonos, etc. This I find fascinating and quite transformative.
- Verascity
  
  They’re hanboks, not kimonos. Kimonos are Japanese.
  - hughman
    
    Hence my use of the word “reminiscent” since I did not know exactly what they are. However, they are beautiful!
    - Verascity
      
      Just for future reference, though, it’s not a great idea to reference Korean culture by way of Japanese culture. People on both sides get pretty offended by that.
  - http://twitter.com/PhDKnitter marlie
    
    Randomly, a good friend of mine (who is Korean-American) got married a few years ago and included a traditional Korean ceremony during her otherwise traditional American wedding, for which she wore a handmade silk hanbok. These are beautiful in photographs, but up close and in person, they’re just breathtaking. One of the most unique and personal wedding ceremonies that I’ve been to.
    - Verascity
      
      Jealous, to be honest! My Korean friend showed me pictures of her (also otherwise American, as her husband is American) wedding and I was blown away by how gorgeous she looked in her wedding hanbok.
      
      I live in Japan right now and have a lot of friends who are getting married and are also doing two ceremonies or integrating ceremonies just so they can get wedding kimono, too. Wish I could get away with that stuff.
  - http://www.facebook.com/tiyuju Yuju Ti
    
    I am Chinese. When it comes to traditional costume, I am so jealous of Korean and Japanese girls! Both hanbok and kimono are quite forgiving sizewise. Whether you are a size 0 or size 20, hanbok and kimono make you look good. Hanbok has high waist line and Kimono has a straight outline, both of them don’t show the wearer’s true body silhouette. Busty girls may have to press their sisters flat when wear hanbok or kimono but that’s the only challenge. On the other hand, Chinese traditional costume, chipao, is body-hugging. You can’t look good in chipao if you are bigger than size 6 or have flat hips. Many contemporary designers have revised the pattern and make chipao flatter more body types. But still, there is No way for a size 20 girl to feel pretty in chipao!
SewingSiren

I just love these pictures. Korean Vogue is ever so much wonderful than the US variety. chin dong won,, and moon bong sun are my favorite. I even like the sound of those words together , and I don’t even know what it means.
- kimmeister
  
  I’m under the impression that those are the names of the models?
  - SewingSiren
    
    No, because the models names are listed with the editorial information
    - kimmeister
      
      You’re right. Maybe it’s the names of the artists whose work is in the photo. That makes more sense anyway.
      - SewingSiren
        
        That’s it. It is the name of the artists. I googled them.
joe_tey83

I want that bulldog.
Sara__B

The “sack socks” in these Vogue Korea fashion editorials fascinate me. A quick internet search tells me they may be called beoseon. Anyone know more about these traditional Korean “socks”?
- joything
  
  “Beoseon.” Must Google. They fascinate me.
ASK26

How much of this is really intended to be worn as clothing vs costume (I guess that somewhat applies to American “high fashion” as well.)
another_laura

I just love this, especially the plays on the traditional costume of kim eun ok (is s/he the designer? the artist?). The gorgeous rich colors and exuberance is just so beautiful. And the Frenchie is to die for, of course….
YourBaloneyDontGotNoSecondName

the colors in the fifth dress down are exquisite. i sense there are a lot of social and cultural references here that i know nothing about. but this is definitely art and i want to find out more.
- YousmelllikeAnnaWintour
  
  I think any artform, at its best, always leaves you with a desire to learn more.
http://needtherapy.tumblr.com/ skadi1

BREATHTAKING! Seriously, the mostly white one, 9th down, almost brought tears to my eyes. Absolutely stunning.
- YousmelllikeAnnaWintour
  
  That one is my favorite.
http://profiles.google.com/phyllis.craine Phyllis Craine

The dress and ultra short jacket is a Han-Bok, the traditional women’s clothing of Korea. The dress is a Chima and the jacket is a Chogori
marilyn

Interesting twist on traditional clothing. Isn’t white the traditional color for mourning, while red is for weddings?
- http://twitter.com/lysanderpuck マシエル
  
  You’re thinking more China. As far as I understand, in Korea, the wedding colors are red AND blue, for yin and yang. White signifies purity, so it’s worn for weddings, New Year’s celebrations, as well as what one is buried in. (Funeral attendees, at least in modern day settings, should wear black/dark colors.)
IMNAngryLiberal

I spent a small fortune on Asian fashion magazines when I was in Hong Kong last time … LOVE the fashion shows, pattern magazines and textile arts over there.
butter nut

seriously, these vogue korea spreads are always so inspired – i get emotional. what genius puts this shit together?
http://twitter.com/Wint3rhart Winterhart

God, the saturated colors of the fabric! I would die for a dress in that dark blue (3rd from the bottom). The picture of the painted shoes vs. real shoes is brilliant.
http://twitter.com/#!/Space_Kitty Space Kitty

Absolutely divine.
http://twitter.com/PhDKnitter marlie

The one with the veil over the model’s hat/head is so compelling for some reason. And I think the one with the feet is whimsical and fun. All of these are absolutely gorgeous, though.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3JSTXMWWVZN2QNP2UEKJMTWD7U Isabel

Better than V. Paris!!!

Have a nice weekend, TLo
YousmelllikeAnnaWintour

I want to frame some of these and hang them on my walls. Beautiful.
Judy_J

They’re all so beautiful! I can’t single out any one favorite…each is stunning in its own way.
joything

Those white bootie socks are mysterious and I want them.
dress_up_doll

Exquisite and divine! And nary a silly putty pump in sight.
random_poster

Genuine beauty and art. Thank you, Vogue Korea, and TLo for sharing them.
trisker

Wow wow wow. Every image is amazing. Thanks for this!
PhillipWilde

Oh, Vogue Korea, you never disappoint. You never fail to bring the pretty.
Lilak

How lovely that a real poetic imagination is thriving in fashion media *somewhere* in this world!
The Western rags have been stuck in a dead end, recycling the same old handful of editorial themes and styles, for far too long. (The English-language editions especially, but even the French and Italian in their own way.) Which makes the Korean aesthetic seem even fresher.
MilaXX

I just love the editorials that Vogue Korea does. I just sit back and enjoy the pretty.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_RHLSUVX3NCPB4OSS5BM7GZIXUE P. Capet

okay, i think this is my favorite magazine.

ps that is one winsome doggie smile!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=610791985 Aniela Marie Perry

Dammit, that’s awesome.
quiltrx

The eighth picture down is just amazing. It makes me feel like I’ve gone to heaven…and heaven, to my delight, is an Akira Kurosawa movie.

(I, too, was going to ask about a subscription, but I see the price. Yeesh…that’s too bad. I think it would have done wonders for my psyche.)
http://twitter.com/SparklyCasanova UglyCasanova

My favorite is the girl with a hat on and a white veil over her, c’est tres magnifique!
DesertDweller79

Wonderful, yet again! Why is Vogue Korea so much better at editorials than Vogue here in the USA? I am really glad you keep posting these, T and Lo, because it is saving me the cost of subscribing to Vogue Korea.
Jarethee

This makes me proud to live in Korea. The women here, are, for the most part, gorgeous and FIERCE, especially in the big cities. Even in Western get-up, go to Seoul sometime in the trendy shopping districts, and your jaw will drop at the girls who can WERQ it like no one’s business.
ccm800

I don’t think America even tries any more. We are in such a state of creative and thought malaise. You see nothing this creative in the USA any more.
- holdmewhileimnaked
  
  thats been for about three decades [actually more than three decades now] & came part & parcel w/ art is a business. the scary part is that in all that time there hasnt been any backlash, any sort of movement to eat ones parents, if you will. so you’ve got the people who painted in knotholes [or affixed dots] teaching the people who wound up admiring the people who painted in knotholes [or affixed dots]. then the admirers taught a new generation of people who admired them. & now we’re somewhere on the fourth or fifth generation of people who are so mired in the admirers that theyre never gonna get out. add somewhere in there the appropriation is art people & their admirers & you get everything there has been since, up [or down, depending on ones POV] to gaga. i dont see it ending, i know too many of the people. & once yr caught up in yr life, unfortunately, yr caught up in yr life. thats not even a criticism, it’s just a truth. but it’s just a sorry sorry thing that has caught them.
  - LesYeuxHiboux
    
    That is such a wonderful summation of my art school experience. I wished for a lot more technique to be taught and a lot fewer contradictory subjective judgements of mine and my classmates’ work. There was a definite push toward a middle ground of art style that was considered “just edgy enough”, but hadn’t actually challenged anyone’s perceptions for twenty years or more.
- ojosazules
  
  Why bother when you can haul $23,000 bags around on your denim clad arms?
kahluagal

Everything about them is magical – the models, the styling, the clothes, the final product. Art indeed – inspiring.
Merridith Kristoffersen

TLO, can the class go on a field trip to Vogue Korea’s HQ?
TieDye64

Exquisite.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Louise-Bryan/1177213326 Louise Bryan

so pretty I whimpered; no, really
ChaquitaPhilly

Beautiful! Thanks, Guys.
JulieTy

GORGEOUS. Eye-grabbing, aesthetically pleasing, artistic point of view, and you can still SEE THE CLOTHES!
guest2visits

Pretty as a picture. I like the look of the fabrics, the weave in the linens. And the pink paper pop-up hat.
Kathy Schrenk

Put a bird on it.
Candigirl1968

Fantastic.
mjude

love
http://www.kittenmasks.com kittenmasks

Loving the hanbok references. I feel like Korea’s dedication to modernizing the traditional Korean dress is so awesome.
MRC210

The clothes and the styling are all magic, but … some of the models are sitting or standing on art. Did the artists know that models would be resting their feet on their work?
- ojosazules
  
  None of it looks particularly dangerous to the art.
formerlyAnon

These are worth looking at & looking at again!
pokokpuding

AWE. And then SOME.
PeggyOC

OMG. Are you paying attention, Anna Wintour. Vogue Korea just continues to knock it out of the park.
BigWhiteGrannyPanties

What a wonderful way to combine traditional Korean garb with a new, modern edge. But I am surprised that the sculptor who made that giant horse thing would allow ANYONE, model or not, to sit on it!

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Vogue Korea: Fashion into Art

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