LF's DAKS hosts British culture-themed VIP event
Sales among top 10% of customers grow at twice the brand's overall rate
"Carrying on tradition while achieving innovation — that is what William Turner and DAKS have in common."
On Tuesday, the Yeongbingwan banquet hall of the Shilla Hotel in Seoul played host to a VIP salon show by DAKS, LF's modern British classic brand. The event offered guests a chance to experience both the British art that underpins the brand's more than 130-year history and its contemporary fashion sensibility.
About 90 female VIP customers attended from department store locations across Seoul, the greater metropolitan area and the central regions of the country. The program opened with a lecture by Jung Woo-chul, a docent and DAKS ambassador, who introduced the life and artistic world of J.M.W. Turner, the master of British landscape painting, and drew parallels between Turner's reinterpretation of tradition through a modern lens and DAKS's own heritage.
Stylist Seo Su-kyung, whose credits include styling for artists such as Girls' Generation, Sung Si-kyung and Psy, then led a premium styling class built around the brand's fall/winter 2026 collection. Working from 14 looks presented by three top models, Seo shared styling tips applicable to everything from everyday wear to formal occasions.
The styling was organized around two concepts drawn from the season's theme, "The Londoner's Diary." The "Day to Night" segment featured looks built around a 100-percent cashmere coat and baby cashmere knitwear from Italy's Loro Piana, as well as a reversible shearling jacket. The "Christmas Party" segment proposed end-of-year ensembles centered on a velvet dress, a floral jacquard skirt and a mink outer.
The class was conducted as an interactive session with the audience. Some customers stepped onto the stage to try on pieces themselves, while others photographed the models and felt the fabrics as they walked through the seating area. After the class, key fall/winter 2026 pieces were displayed on racks for guests to try on and place advance orders.
A DAKS representative said the sheared mink coat drew the most inquiries, noting that its lightness was comparable to a transitional-season coat. Strong interest was also noted in pieces made with premium Italian fabrics from Loro Piana and Piacenza, as well as colorful mink vests and shearling jackets and the full range of looks introduced during the styling class.
DAKS also paid close attention to the overall VIP experience. A photo zone evoking an English garden was set up in the banquet hall, with a professional photographer on hand to take portraits of guests. Moët & Chandon champagne was served as a welcome drink, accompanied by a premium multi-course meal. Attendees received a limited-edition mink bag as a gift, and a lucky draw offered additional prizes including a down coat, a cashmere cape and a cashmere muffler.
The brand has been deepening its culture-driven approach to customer engagement. Following a premium fashion show for VIP customers in October last year, it held two afternoon tea parties in April this year, then in August co-hosted a class with Glenfiddich combining London suiting culture with whisky. The aim is to connect the British identity embedded in its products with a range of cultural activities, conveying the British lifestyle the brand stands for in a more layered way.
The strategy also aligns with the growing emphasis on customer retention across the fashion and retail industries — a shift away from chasing new customers and toward creating experiences and relationships that bring existing ones back on their own. DAKS said it is focused on building long-term loyalty by fostering a sense of cultural affinity and differentiated hospitality, moving beyond simply locking customers in to making them genuinely want to stay.
Sales data support the approach. From January through October this year, revenue growth among the top 10 percent of DAKS customers ran at more than twice the brand's overall average. Average spending per customer in that group also rose about 15 percent from the same period last year. Over the same period, sales at the brand's top 10 department store locations grew 15 percent year on year, while sales of premium fur items from the fall/winter 2026 collection climbed 20 percent.
Yoon Jeong-hee, head of LF's DAKS division, said the quality of its premium products may bring customers in for the first time, but the tastes and experiences they build with the brand are what bring them back. "We plan to translate DAKS's British heritage into diverse cultural content to connect more deeply with customers' everyday lives and strengthen our appeal as a brand they will want to return to for years to come," Yoon said.
DAKS will take the salon show to Busan on Thursday, hosting about 40 VIP customers at the Library Hall of Ananti at Cove. The brand plans to continue rolling out differentiated programs to broaden and deepen the brand experience going forward.
spa@heraldcorp.com
