Fleamadonna Fall 2016 – Seoul Fashion Week 서울 패션 위크

Just passing through at the Fleamadonna Fall 2016 runway show at Seoul Fashion Week. (photo by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine)

How is it that some fashion labels – at times nearly indistinguishable from their domestic brethren – break out of their local markets and make it big overseas? Jei Kim, the head honcho of Fleamadonna, certainly churns out women’s collections that appeal to South Korean celebrities, with savvy product placement on dramas and talk shows airing on major national networks. There is Kim’s e-commerce and brick-and-mortar presence on her home turf, including an online store and a celebrity-favored list of stockists such as A-LAND and BOY+ in Seoul.

Actress and singer Hyomin of T-ARA before the Fleamadonna Fall 2016 runway show in Seoul. (photo by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine)

But most of all, Kim appears to be one of those rare South Korean streetwear designers who understands how to conquer both the East and the West. Fleamadonna is a regular fixture in an otherwise solidly domestic Tokyo Fashion Week, and is sold in more stores in Japan than any other country, South Korea included. It’s featured in the top multi-label retail shops in Hong Kong (Liger, the I.T group chain and D-MOP), and even can be found in the Middle East and both coasts of the United States at Opening Ceremony.

Tossing Kim’s entire Fall 2016 collection into the air, for example, would result in piles of pieces that appeal to the color-saturated street kids of Tokyo, their more conservative counterparts in Seoul and their fickle somewhere-in-between pals in New York. Too timid to wear that flimsy sequined bikini top by itself? No problem, throw it on top of an oversized white dress shirt. Don’t feel like hiding underneath a giant baby blue faux fur collar? That just means that skintight, long-sleeved horizontal striped dress will see greater light of day. The Pop Art-influenced Memphis Group design movement may have influenced this collection, but really what is on offer this season is what we’ve come to expect from Fleamadonna: fun pieces mixing up materials and a lot of flair. With retail prices for most items typically falling below US$200 (a Spring 2016 sweatshirt by KYE, in contrast, is currently retailing for more than US$700), it’s more than just talent that is driving the international presence of Fleamadonna. It’s business savvy.

Photos: Fleamadonna Fall 2016 – Seoul Fashion Week
all photos by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine