South, North Korean architectural history to showcase at Venice Biennale

Korea will show 100 years of architecture in South and North Korea at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2014, according to Cho Min-suk, commissioner for the Korean Pavilion of the world’s biggest architecture exhibition. “The Korean exhibition will focus on the history of Korean architecture, not contemporary architecture or architects, which corresponds with the central theme of the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale,” said Cho at a press conference on Tuesday to unveil the direction of the Ko

April 10, 2013

Koolhaas unites architecture, design and fashion

MILAN (AP) ― Shedding his “puritanical’’ attitude against architects designing objects, Rem Koolhaas has shifted scale to create 11 pieces of furniture for the U.S. industrial design house Knoll. The Dutch architect’s creations, which premiered Monday ahead of Milan Design Week, include a dynamic counter ― a stack of three horizontal beams that can be transformed from a screen-like unit to cantilevered shelves and benches that invite people to sit, climb and lean in. The end result is a social/i

April 9, 2013

Diggin’ in: It’s time for daffodils

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance...And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.(“Daffodils” by William Wordsworth)It’s been a rainy winter with early spring winds blowing away any remnants of fall leaves.Through it all, daffodils by the thousands emerge to remind you spring is here.Daffodils are easy, enjoyable and enchanting, looking like oversized cousins to the smaller buttercups that later fill meadows and open fields. Voles, squi

April 3, 2013

Traditional Korean crafts to go on display at Milan fair

South Korea will showcase its traditional crafts at one of the world’s largest international furniture fairs set to open in Milan, Italy, next week, the culture ministry said Monday.The government-led exhibit, “Constancy and Change in Korean Traditional Craft 2013,” will be part of the Milan International Furniture Fair on April 9-14, the ministry said, adding that it will be the first time Korean crafts will be on display at the trade fair.The annual fair, also known as “Milan Design Week,” is

April 1, 2013

What modern women want

In today’s fiercely competitive fashion world where fast fashion poses a formidable threat to emerging designers and local brands struggle against global brands, an understanding of what women really want might be just what smaller players need. Seoul’s position as a fashion capital may be weak, but Seoul Fashion Week for fall/winter 2013 seemed to have just that. How and What by Park Byung-kyu lived up to modern women’s wish to look powerful, confident and smart in sexy, bold looks. Park, the d

March 29, 2013

Surprises in traditional winter black and gray

There seemed to be a unifying theme in the fall/winter menswear collection of Seoul Fashion Week, which kicked off Monday, as designers presented safe variations of traditional tailored suits, and fitted or oversized overcoats. Black and gray dominated the color palette as expected for the season. But some twists and fun came from Vanhart di Albazar. For the third season Italian celebrity designer Lino leluzzi is working with designer Jung Doo-young, artistic director of the brand. Contrasts in

March 27, 2013

Grown-up Minnie Mouse gets mature Lanvin make-over

CHESSY, France (AP) ― Forever-young Minnie Mouse is growing up and moving on from her old red and white polka dots.Lanvin has designed the loveable Disney rodent a new dress ― a more mature frock in royal blue and long sleeves that she can wear at special Paris events.It was unveiled at a catwalk show in Disneyland Paris on Saturday evening.Gone was the oversized hair bow that has been the signature of the character since she was created in 1928. In its place, the catwalk presentation showcased

March 25, 2013

Seoul Fashion Week begins next week

Seoul’s fashionistas will get a preview of what’s hot and in for the fall/winter season next week when the 2013 F/W Seoul Fashion Week kicks off on March 25.Some 75 shows will be presented by both established and up-and-coming designers during the week-long celebration of fashion.Some of the leading designers participating include Lie Sang Bong, Gee Chun-hee, Chang Kwang-hyo and Song Zio, while 12 young designers will present their innovative designs and creativity at the “Generation Next” shows

March 20, 2013

Iconic Princess Diana dresses fetch $1.2M in UK

A collection of some of Princess Diana‘s most memorable evening gowns, including one she wore to a White House dinner where she danced with John Travolta, fetched over 800,000 pounds ($1.2 million) at a London auction Tuesday.Diana famously wore the deep navy, figure-hugging velvet gown to a gala dinner hosted by President Ronald Reagan, during her and Prince Charles’ first joint state visit to the U.S. in 1985. Photographs of her taking to the White House dance floor with Travolta have become s

March 20, 2013

Japanese architect Toyo Ito wins Pritzker Prize

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Japanese architect Toyo Ito, whose buildings have been praised for their fluid beauty and balance between the physical and virtual world, has won the 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the prize’s jury announced Sunday.The 71-year-old architect joins such masters as Frank Gehry, I.M. Pei, Tadao Ando, Renzo Piano and Wang Su in receiving the honor that’s been called architecture’s Nobel Prize. Ito, the sixth Japanese architect to receive the prize, was recognized for the librari

March 18, 2013

‘Modern elegance’ theme of Wang’s 1st Balenciaga show

PARIS (AFP) ― New York fashion star Alexander Wang last Thursdsay presented his much anticipated first show for Balenciaga with a collection praised as “elegance, modernity, structure.” Wang paid homage to the founder of the illustrious fashion house Cristobal Balenciaga in what he modestly described as a “prologue.”Wang, one of the hottest names in U.S. fashion who also has his own label, was announced last December as a replacement for Nicolas Ghesquiere whose surprise departure came after 15

March 6, 2013

Chanel turns 100, as McQueen turns Elizabethan

PARIS (AP) ― A hundred years ago, the legendary Coco Chanel opened her first boutique in the Normandy seaside town of Deauville. Today, the boutiques number 300 and Chanel spans the globe.Karl Lagerfeld celebrated this century’s skirt-suited success story Tuesday with an incredible Paris collection that had journalists gawping at an enormous globe right under the Grand Palais exhibition hall’s glass roof. Dotting the sphere were 300 Chanel flags, each representing a boutique.“The spirit of the s

March 6, 2013

Clothes speak volumes

On her inauguration day, President Park Geun-hye was seen wearing five outfits. While Park cannot be charged guilty of vanity for changing so frequently ― each event did call for attire appropriate for the occasion ― those who had looked forward to a fashion moment or two from the country’s first female president were largely let down. Wearing a lightly padded coat to the Seoul National Cemetery was a fashion faux-pas: Such a solemn occasion calls for a classic long coat, in wool or cashmere.The

Feb. 26, 2013

Ex-lawmaker in U.K. draws fire for blog on ‘looking nice for men’

A fashion blog run by Louise Mensch was subject to criticism after she posted tips on how to look attractive for men.The former lawmaker and self-styled feminist recently set up a blog, Unfashionista, on which she posted fashion advice for women.In a post named “The Holy Grail of Heels,” she encouraged women to abandon their flats for heels, saying heels were “sine qua non (indispensable and essential action)” for looking hot in a dress.“Most women give up and switch to flats. No! Don’t go gentl

Feb. 25, 2013

Weather’s silver lining: coat comfort on runways

NEW YORK (AP) ― Rain, snow, ice. There’s a lot of grumbling about the stiletto-adverse weather during New York Fashion Week. But there’s a silver lining: cozy coats, especially styles with oversized fur hoods, never looked better.Phillip Lim, for his 3.1 brand, sent out his big coats in navy and black during a show in a cavernous space south of the Lincoln Center tents.Houndstooth set off one of Tommy Hilfiger’s coats for women. On a bomber jacket, he moved the comfy lining to the outside, putti

Feb. 13, 2013

Men’s skin care products drive male cosmetics industry

Korean men more than ever are braving the makeup aisle for themselves, leading to a boom in the retail market for men’s cosmetics and skin care products. “Flower men” are in right now, encouraging men to groom themselves. The term “flower men” refers to good-looking K-pop stars with feminine features. Many men have adapted to the popular clich, “appearance is power.” Indeed streets are lined with makeup boutiques featuring handsome male celebrities posing as models with phrases like, “For men, t

Feb. 6, 2013

Cosmetics battle rages between ‘purple’ and ‘brown’ bottles

Korean cosmetics brand MISSHA’s “purple bottle” (Night Repair Science Activator Ampoule), a type of nutritional face oil product, sold 1 million bottles in January. As a reinvention of Estee Lauder’s “brown bottle,” it has been well received by Korean women. Estee Lauder’s brown bottle (Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex) has been a popular facial oil product across the world for several decades.  When MISSHA launched its purple bottle in January 2012, the Korean company was cri

Jan. 28, 2013