WE11DONE: Express Eastern Fashion Using a Globally Design Language

After its global ventures, WE11DONE chose to return to its origins.

From September 6th to 9th, the Frieze Seoul and Kiaf Seoul were held concurrently, drawing the global art world's attention to Seoul. Over 120 top galleries from Asia and around the world, collectors, and art enthusiasts came, making those few days the peak of Seoul's art concentration.

Such a lively scene is just what WE11DONE was thrilled to see. Both brand founders, Jessica Jung and Dami Kwon, are passionate about contemporary art and frequently incorporate artistic elements into their designs. Importantly, with these two international art events, WE11DONE had the chance to directly interact with the international art scene. This explains why WE11DONE chose to hold its Spring/Summer 2024 show in Seoul on September 7th.

The show was broadcasted live on a massive 3D LED screen above the plaza. Pedestrians around the plaza stopped to watch, democratizing fashion and turning the show into a "promo video" showcasing Seoul's culture diversity to foreign tourists.

On the day of the show, Asian fashion idols and brand friends like G-Dragon, Edison Chen, Lee Soo Hyuk, Lee Jae Wook, JUYEON, Han Ji-hyun, and LOCO graced the event. Thanks to these high-profile stars, the WE11DONE Seoul show's related hashtag #WE11DONESS24 had over 9 million reads on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, and #WE11DONE surpassed 1.8 million reads. For a fashion show not held in China, the social media impact WE11DONE made is considered top-tier.

The fashion show, titled "Remnants of Home", like the two art fairs, was held at the COEX K-POP Plaza, seen as the birthplace and landmark of K-pop culture. The brand set up a pure white gallery-like stage in the plaza, featuring several white panels as a tribute to Korean installation artist Do Ho Suh. The simplistic setup allowed the audience to focus on WE11DONE's evolving style.

In their show notes, WE11DONE said, "Imagine waking from a dream to see a white canvas unfolding before you, reminiscent of an empty gallery, slowly transforming into a tapestry pieced together from fragments of memories. These fragments coalesce, giving rise to forms that are both familiar and surreal."

Rather than detailed design and sources of inspiration, the brand's statement is clearly more imaginative. Though one can still see the brand's iconic black silhouette suits, WE11DONE has adopted more diverse integrative design techniques, emphasizing decorative pockets, textures, and more.<