I have always been a great fashion enthusiast since I was a child, after graduating I specialized in this area and this allowed me to work in the sector, so you will understand my total love for what I am about to write. Until recently, I considered the Hanbok only from a historical point of view, I saw it as a traditional dress that I admired in dramas or in videos and photos of tourists in Seoul. It is usually rented to tour the city's various attractions, which I will definitely do when I go to Korea. And yet Hanbok is so much more, come and discover it with me…
Description of the Hanbok
The traditional Korean Hanbok dress is mainly characterized by a short jacket (jeogori) with long and very wide sleeves, to make room for other layers of clothing. For women there is a vaporous floor-length skirt (chima), tied at the waist and held in place by a band positioned under the breast, which gives it greater fluidity and movement, while men wear long, wide trousers (baji).
In ancient times, women rigorously wore at least five layers of underwear, trousers and various petticoats, to make the hanbok appear even more sumptuous and vaporous.
The top jacket is closed at the front by a showy bow on the chest (otkorum), completing the traditional look are some pendants that adorn the dress, hair pins and bands that are tied possibly to the end of a long braid.
Here's a little video about it youtube show how to wear a Hanbok for women.
Like many traditional oriental clothing, the Hanbok is produced in silk, qtherefore, it can be very expensive if done by a Korean tailor or designer; those for tourists, however, are made of viscose and polyester.
Modern hanbok
Obviously nowadays many Korean designers try to keep their cultural attachment alive, continuing with traditions and seeking a fusion between ancient and modern, thus managing to export hanbok fashion all over the world.
Being a proud Army and following K-pop in general, I often see many stars wearing traditional clothes or more modern and comfortable clothes. Many stylists often come from small businesses and have become famous because some stars of the caliber of Bts o Black Pink they wore their own creation.
The house Tchai Kim Studio Of Tchai Kim Young Jin in Seoul is also one of the most famous internationally, as it has an online shop translated into English, where you can purchase beautiful modern creations which, obviously, have refined and sartorial features. Here the level of expertise and refinement of the fabric is truly very high, the designer personally chooses the very precious ones silks, linen and cottons that he experiences on his own skin, to seek immediate comfort with the material. His hanbok are often precious garments with floral prints, created specifically for the collection. At each of his shows, you immediately enter a dreamlike and impalpable world, because seeing those silks with those transparencies and that fluidity truly leaves you with the sensation of being dreaming.
The designer is keen to point out that she not only uses traditional Korean materials, but her creativity is contaminated by places from all over the world. Use often thirst coming from How in Italy, which has them printed in a particular way to match the hanbok and the lace coming from France.
One of its most famous garments is the Cheolik Dress, which was born as a dress for soldiers or palace guards, which she made more versatile and therefore also wearable by female customers, creating a unique piece of clothing. Tchai talks about the work dress which represents something comfortable and adapts it in a more feminine and elegant way, representing a real evolution and tolerance of the dress.
Tchai creations are true works of art, as demonstrated by the fact that this designer often collaborates with the various art galleries in the country, where her hanbok stand out and shine even more next to the various art installations.
Tchai Kim recently designed the Hanbok for the photo shoot of BTS of the last one Dalmajung 2022, a collection of merchandise from the Korean International band for the mid-October holiday called Chuseok.
In the photo we see them illuminated by the moon, which sheds its splendor on the wonderful garments as if to further enhance the tradition of the Korean lunar calendar holiday.
After introducing you to one of my favorite modern Hanbok designers, I leave you with a small docu-interview created by Arirang Culture.
source: interview Tchai Kim for Arirang Culture Youtube
links: http://en.tchaikim.co.kr/ Tchai Kim official website
Vanessa Ranauro
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