Seoul Design Festival Featuring 'Upcycling for Tomorrow'

Opening of the 19th Seoul Design Festival
Featuring a 'Sustainable Design' Section

'The 19th Seoul Design Festival'

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunji Kim] The 19th Seoul Design Festival introduced "Design for Tomorrow" in response to the era of mandatory environmental consciousness.

On the 9th, the largest design exhibition in Korea, the 19th Seoul Design Festival, was held at COEX Hall B on the 1st floor in Samseong-dong, Seoul. Focusing on the trend of "Design for Tomorrow" under the keyword "New Normal," the festival featured over 200 brands and 400 booths.

Among them, the "Sustainable Design Section," a content exhibition proposing mandatory environmental consciousness, which is a hot topic among the MZ generation, attracted attention. Brands such as Cueclef, OWN U, Blueorb, Play 31, Craters, and Grine, located in this area, suggested conscious consumption by utilizing eco-friendly and recycled materials.

Transformation of Scrap Materials

Own U (OWN U)

As awareness of environmental pollution increases, there is a growing responsibility to leave a better world for future generations. OWN U, which participated in the 19th Seoul Design Festival, researches the value of using even a small piece of leather to provide children with a clean Earth, producing upcycled fashion accessories and lifestyle items.

OWN U’s upcycling line is inspired by children’s drawings and made from scrap leather and leftover fabrics donated by brands. OWN U explained, "In the case of upcycled dolls, they are made from fabric of clothes that children can no longer wear, which helps foster attachment. Children’s drawings have wit. We create products inspired by them."

Transformation of Discarded PET Bottles

BLUEORB

Hard-to-dispose plastic waste has been reborn as stylish fashion accessories. Blueorb, Art Impact’s own eco-friendly lifestyle brand, minimized fabric use by utilizing recycled polyester, practicing energy reduction in the production process. According to Blueorb, about nine PET bottles are recycled to complete one Ichibag.

Additionally, Blueorb crushed leftover leather after production to create an eco-friendly material called recycled leather. Blueorb stated, "We collected leather scraps to enhance the value of regenerated leather," hoping for a sustainable daily life through eco-friendly materials. They added, "Recycled cotton is made by repeatedly combing fabric discarded during cotton product manufacturing, and it is light and soft like linen."

Transformation of Weathered Umbrellas

CUECLYP

Cueclef introduced various goods and projects inspired by the issue that 40 million umbrellas are discarded annually. Donated or collected discarded umbrellas are upcycled and redesigned by Cueclef to be reborn with rare value. The brand logo, an umbrella pictogram, expresses the revival of umbrellas that are on the verge of becoming waste.

Cueclef pursues sustainable fashion by creating valuable products using resources such as used banners and posters, as well as by using eco-friendly materials. Cueclef said, "We also produce banners from recycled fabric. If the banner is returned after use, it is made into new products like bags or pouches."

Meanwhile, the Seoul Design Festival, which has recorded a total of 1,850 brand promotions and over 4,730 emerging designers over the past 18 years, with a cumulative audience of 1.13 million, is an exhibition planned to discover and promote talented emerging designers, strengthen the design competitiveness of domestic brands, and contribute to the development of the design industry. The 19th Seoul Design Festival will run until the 13th.

Photo = Guest Reporter Jeongjun Seo