A mini fashion show held in March at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno-gu, Seoul, as part of the Hi Seoul Showroom and Park Shin-yang art collaboration. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
A mini fashion show held in March at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno-gu, Seoul, as part of the Hi Seoul Showroom and Park Shin-yang art collaboration. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

Twelve brands housed in the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Hi Seoul Showroom will participate in CentreStage, Asia's leading fashion trade show, in Hong Kong from Sept. 2-5 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the city government announced Sunday.

Hi Seoul Showroom, which opened in 2016, is a Seoul Metropolitan Government platform that supports emerging designer brands through brand discovery, buyer consultations and participation in overseas trade shows.

This year, Korea has been named guest of honor at CentreStage for the first time, and the 12 Hi Seoul Showroom brands will participate under the theme "Seoul-ness: A Sustainable Future."

The brands will operate a joint pavilion, showcasing the competitiveness of Korea's emerging designer labels to the global market through runway fashion shows and themed exhibitions.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has supported emerging designer brands through Hi Seoul Showroom over the years. Since 2018, more than 100 brands have received support annually, with participating companies recording average annual sales exceeding 10 billion won ($6.94 million).

The city has particularly focused on helping brands break into overseas markets. In its opening year of 2016, the showroom joined the CHIC trade show in China, later expanding to events including the APLF in Hong Kong, TRANOI in Paris and COTERIE in New York.

The showroom also built an overseas distribution infrastructure through partnerships with platforms such as WeChat, Taobao and the NSD Showroom in Los Angeles. Over the past decade, those efforts generated approximately 9 billion won in overseas buyer matching.

Collaborations with companies and the arts sector also drove sales. Products co-developed in 2022 by Canon Korea and six showroom brands generated more than 600 million won in revenue through live commerce and pop-up stores.

This year, 11 showroom brands presented limited-edition clothing, bags and shoes in conjunction with a solo exhibition by Park Shin-yang, an actor and painter. Sales at the exhibition's goods shop reached approximately 230 million won as of late July.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to draw on the brand discovery and development experience accumulated through Hi Seoul Showroom to shape future policy supporting Seoul's fashion industry.

"We will use this joint participation in Hong Kong's CentreStage as an opportunity to further expand the overseas market support we have built up, and to strengthen the global competitiveness of Seoul's fashion industry," said Jo Hye-jeong, the city's director of creative industry planning.


ken@heraldcorp.com