(MILAN) Hordes of admirers thronged Milan on Thursday ahead of Prada’s show, on the lookout for the star of the day, Jeon Somi, a South Korean singer with blonde hair and 16.6 million Instagram followers. .
A global notoriety that has not escaped the luxury giants, eager to exploit it to increase their sales. These brands have quickly understood the influence that K-pop figures can have on the consumption habits of their audience and have made them their muses.
Jimin, singer and dancer of the most famous Korean K-pop group, the boy band BTS is thus the face of Dior, while Valentino announced earlier this year his collaboration with another member of the group, SUGA.
A winning bet given the frenzy surrounding the presence of South Korean stars in Milan during fashion week which began on Wednesday. At Prada, each time a black car with tinted windows arrives, cries ring out and cell phones go up.
“I’ve been here since 11 a.m. to see Somi. I adore her, her music, her look,” Serena Danimarco, 20, told AFP. featured K-pop song.
The same scenes took place the day before at Fendi and will be repeated all week long at the Gucci, Tod’s and Ferragamo shows: armies of admirers will be watching these idols whose arrival has been carefully announced and orchestrated on social networks.
Hanni, the voice of the female K-pop group Newjeans, is thus expected on Friday at the Gucci show, which has chosen her as its muse.
The members of Blackpink, the girl band rival to the billion plays on the platforms and star of the social networks, are also accustomed to the front rows of the parades. Rosé is an ambassador for Tiffany & Co and Saint Laurent, Lisa is the face of Bulgari and Céline, and Jennie is one of the faces of Chanel.
Squid Games
The world of cinema and series is also in demand and sagas with worldwide success such as Squid Games Or Extraordinary Attorney Woo provide their share of new stars from Asia.
No wonder that Seoul has become in a few years a nerve center and strategic for fashion and that houses are making significant investments there. A brand new Fendi flagship store of 750 square meters inaugurated in January in the luxury district of Gangnam, a new Osteria Gucci or the ephemeral restaurant of Alain Passard of Louis Vuitton are recent examples.
Fashion also travels to organize major events. Like Dior, which has already paraded in Seoul in 2022, Gucci has planned to present its Cruise collection on May 15 in the South Korean capital in a location that is still kept secret.
Earlier in October, the house had canceled its Gucci Cosmogonie show which was to take place on 1er November to Gyeongbokgung Palace, out of respect for the lives lost in the Itaewon mob tragedy.
The figures of Made in Italy confirm this trend: in 2022, exports to South Korea jumped 31%, according to the Italian National Chamber of Fashion.
Studies by the office of the Italian Trade Agency refine this analysis: of the top ten Italian export sectors to Seoul, seven are related to fashion, with growth rates up to 4-5 times higher than mean.
The first position is occupied by leather goods (21% of total Italian exports to South Korea), up 5.8% over 2021. Footwear (+1.4% over 2021), clothing (+16 .7%) and jewelry (+18.8%) occupy the second, fourth and fifth places.