In the midst of the global economic crisis, K-fashion is gaining popularity in overseas markets based on its unique designs, excellent quality, and innovative marketing strategies. I believe now is the right time for K-fashion to enter the global top 5.
Seong Rae-eun, president of the Korea Fashion Industry Association (Youngone Holdings vice president), said this on the 6th at the '2024 Global Fashion Forum' hosted by the association. She noted that the time has come for Korea to stand shoulder to shoulder with leading global fashion countries such as France, Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
In her opening remarks, President Seong stated, "This year marks a significant milestone as the Korea Fashion Industry Association celebrates its 40th anniversary," adding, "The association aims to use this year as a starting point to reflect on the past and present of K-fashion and take a strong step forward into the future." She also said, "The association plans to promote practical and effective projects to support K-fashion's global expansion, enhance clothing manufacturing competitiveness, protect K-fashion intellectual property rights, and improve cooperation and management capabilities among streams."
President Seong serves as vice president of Youngone Holdings, which operates the outdoor brand North Face, which recorded a revenue of 1 trillion won last year. She was appointed as the president of the Korea Fashion Industry Association last year.
At this forum, Kang Young-hoon, a partner at McKinsey & Company, delivered a lecture on the theme of 'Fashion in 2025: Comprehensive Challenges,' pointing out that one of the key keywords for the global fashion industry this year is 'restructuring of global fashion trade.' Recently, as the tariff war of the Trump administration in the United States has expanded, fashion corporations in the U.S. and Europe are diversifying global sourcing locations and are focusing on Asian markets such as India to reduce their reliance on China.
Kang noted, "In the next five years, key sourcing countries such as India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh are gaining attention, and the U.S. is emerging as a nearshoring hub in Latin America, while Turkey is becoming a major nearshoring hub in Europe," adding, "In particular, there is a growing atmosphere to establish India as a manufacturing base, and its potential as a purchasing market needs to be highlighted."
The actual number of middle-class individuals in India is 430 million, which exceeds that of the middle-class population in the U.S. and Western Europe. Furthermore, the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals with assets exceeding 400 billion won is projected to grow from 13,000 in 2023 to 20,000 in 2028, showing the fastest growth rate in the world. In response, global corporations such as Decathlon, Mango, and Bulgari are also increasing their investments in India.
The use of AI platforms, including ChatGPT, for product curation suggestions was also mentioned as a change to watch this year. Kang emphasized, "There is an accumulation of customer fatigue regarding too many products and social marketing, and brands are caught in a vicious cycle where expenses are increasing," adding, "We need to use AI to recommend suitable products to customers, not just to search for products."
There is advice to think about how brands should appear not only on Instagram and Naver TikTok but also on ChatGPT.
Kang referred to the recent shift in consumer trends toward dupes, illustrated by a product imitating the Hermes Birkin bag that has gained popularity at Walmart, stating, "Consumers think it is reasonable to buy replicas if they feel the original has no value," and emphasized the need to grasp consumer's top values and harmoniously integrate the brand's core values and trends.