From 9th to 28th July 2019 Palazzo Morando in Milan will host “Connecting Borders: Hangeul x
Fashion Art”, an exhibition entirely dedicated to Korean fashion and culture. The exhibition was
organized by The Korea Fashion and Culture Association in collaboration with Comune di
Milano and Consolato Generale di Milano, curated by Sunhee Park, President of the Association and Professor of Fashion Design at the Ewha Womens University of Seoul, and has as objective to consolidate the links between the two countries under the banner of a cultural confrontation; about 73 artists from the world of fashion, from academia and the industry will participate, along with some artists from 5 countries overseas and some of the leading Korean designers together with other emerging ones.
The focus of the exhibition is on Hangeul, the typical form of Korean writing whose invention dates
back to the fifteenth century, characterized by the combination of graphic form and phonetic
harmony. The choice of this theme lies in the intention of the Association of Korean Fashion and
Culture to commemorate the centenary of the Movement of 1° March, which marked the liberation
of the Korean people from the Japanese Empire. The clothes on display convey in a creative and
innovative way the Korean tradition of writing, by interpreting its main signs and characteristics.
“This exhibition introduces the art of Korean fashion in Milan, a city that has embraced the spirit of
art and culture through its long history” stated Dr. Sunhee Park “Milan will become a place for the
international promotion of the essence of Korean aesthetics and the affirmation of the greatness of
Korean fashion. In particular, the exhibition represents a great opportunity to express the
extraordinary creativity and deep sense of Hangeul”.
The exhibition is divided into three thematic paths: the first, “Form and Writing” is characterised
by clothes that study and enhance the structural form of Hangeul. The second path “Style and
Writing” presents a historical excursus, through a reinterpretation of fashion, on the various styles
and meanings that the Hangeul has had over the centuries until today. The third and last path
“Form e Graphics” focuses instead on the symbolic elements of Hangeul, the dot, the traits, the
lines and the surface, drawing a line of continuity with the modern design characterized of
futuristic traits, created through the use of colors such as red, blue, black and white, and expressing
the creative potentialities of Hangeul and its perfect association with fashion.
words Ludovica Mucci