Dongseo University Fashion Design Department, "The Stage at Busan Design Competition Feels Too Small"

The 27th Busan Fashion Design Competition 'Solo Stage' ... Sweeps Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards

Students from the Department of Fashion Design at Dongseo University who swept the major awards at the 27th Busan Fashion Design Competition.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] This year again, the Busan Fashion Design Competition was a celebration for Dongseo University.

At the ‘27th Busan Fashion Design Competition,’ held via no-audience online live streaming through the Hana ASEAN Fashion Week website, YouTube, and Naver TV, students from Dongseo University’s Department of Fashion Design swept the awards including the Grand Prize (Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award, prize money 5 million KRW), Gold Prize (Busan Mayor Award, prize money 3 million KRW), Silver Prize, and Bronze Prize.

Last year, Dongseo University also won the Grand Prize, Gold Prize, and Bronze Prize at the Busan Fashion Design Competition.

Hosted by Busan City and the Busan Fashion Textile Business Cooperative, this competition selected 40 participants in the first round through a free-theme design map screening, then determined the best next-generation fashion designers through the second round of physical garment judging and stage judging.

The Grand Prize went to Jihee Lim’s work ‘Ecdysis,’ the Gold Prize to Seongeun Lee’s ‘RED MOON,’ the Silver Prize to Jinsol Han’s ‘LOVE for ALL,’ and the Bronze Prize to Yeon Lee Kim’s ‘An Eternal Sleep; Ghost Bride,’ Eunhye Kang’s ‘FREE SPRIT,’ and Doguk Kim’s ‘DYSTOPIA.’

The Grand Prize-winning work ‘Ecdysis’ by Jihee Lim metaphorically depicted the process of humans breaking free from their current state or condition and transforming anew, likened to an animal’s molting process.

The leather layers created in multiple folds represented the hardness just before molting, and the material development using various soft fabrics expressed the process of molting taking place.

The Gold Prize-winning work ‘RED MOON’ by Seongeun Lee was designed solely with an intense red color to maximize surreal imagination within a dream.

It portrayed the infinite nature of dreams, where one escapes reality and power and energy burst forth, through an exaggerated silhouette. Additionally, since a red moon appearing in a dream is considered a very auspicious omen, the design embodied the image of a dream guardian that wards off bad things.

Jihee Lim, who received the Grand Prize, said, “I am happy that this precious work, which I carefully created from start to finish, may be my last piece during my school life and achieved good results at the Busan Fashion Competition. I felt proud to show through the results that the four years of learning were not in vain. I will take one step closer to my goals based on these experiences.”

Seongeun Lee, the Gold Prize winner, said, “If I have plans for the future, I want to broaden my fashion knowledge and perspective overseas through the K-MOVE (Overseas Employment Support Project) program conducted by the school, and grow into a fashion designer who can inspire those who wear my clothes.”