CHARM’S Fall 2016 – Seoul Fashion Week

Pieced together, they comprise snappy business casual-meets-streetwear outfits for men and women. Deconstructed, each trench coat, sweater and blazer borders on bland save the occasional use of mixed materials. It’s an alarmingly frequent occurrence at each passing Seoul Fashion Week – which, this past season, was noticeably devoid of the usual ready-to-wear designers pushing the envelope such as Lie Sangbong, Parkchoonmoo and KAAL E.SUKTAE. But when a formula is tested and true, why deviate, especially if K-pop stars and Seoulites will buy your wares at moderate price points?

CHARM’S, which just turned three years old this past week, is yet another label championing this streetwear chic. The collection title may have been “CHROMITE,” but the palette favored fire engine red (an admittedly welcome sight for Fall 2016) and an overabundance of moss green. Unisex pieces generally fared better for the men, as overalls, and oversize scarves and skirts tended to look unnecessarily heavy on the women. The finale disappointingly consisted of black branded hoodies bearing the CHARM’S company logo. Although these were immediately sold online following the conclusion of the show, as the least interesting aspect of the collection, they collectively led to a visual diminuendo.

Park Sung-jin in the CHARM’S Fall 2016 runway show at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. (photo by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine)

Models at the finale of the CHARM’S Fall 2016 show wearing the label’s Distant Future (KRW78,000), 必死則生 (KRW78,000) and Logo (KRW72,000) hoodies. (photo by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine)

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