Vegan fashion culture in Korea

You have probably already heard about vegan fashion if you are a fashion lover. Many haute couture clothing brands are joining the vegan fashion culture to protect the environment. However, is Korean fashion also vegan? As a K-Fashion lover, you probably ask yourself that question, especially if you want to contribute to the care of the planet through Korean fashion. Today in Korean Fashion Trends, we will talk about the vegan fashion culture in Korea. We find out if vegan fashion culture exists in Korea. In addition, we discover some other curiosities about this culture that loves and protects the environment. Also, we are going to delve a little into the culture of sustainable fashion. Are you ready? Here we go!

What is vegan fashion?

Vegan fashion is all that free of animal abuse and animal exploitation. In other words, it is a fashion movement that respects animals and does not use leather, fabric, or glue that leads to the suffering or death of animals. In vegan fashion, you can find t-shirt designs of organic cotton or materials as stunning as mushroom leather. These fabrics have advantages over animal leather since they use much less water and do not require tons of chemical products for their manufacture.

What is sustainable fashion?

Sustainable fashion is based on social development without exploiting the planet’s natural resources. A few decades ago, this fashion was scarce. But a few years ago, it began to be called ethical fashion. And today, those who follow all the latest fashion trends call it slow fashion. All this slow fashion has one characteristic: it uses sustainable fabrics.

In other words, its tissues must minimize water and energy consumption. They use the least amount of chemical products and generate the least impact of waste. And last but not least, they are from recycled materials. Sustainable fashion must also design, make, and assemble with the least impact on the environment. Even the packaging and logistics must be as respectful as possible to Earth.

What is the difference between vegan fashion and sustainable fashion?

Ecological, sustainable, and fair trade fashion don’t have as their characteristic not to involve animals in any processes. Thus, a vegan garment has not used any animal product (or any derivative) for its creation. However, vegan fashion doesn’t guarantee that the garment is sustainable, ecological, or fair trade. But most vegan brands also include these tags because their values include caring for the planet and adequate working conditions.

Is there a vegan fashion culture in Korea?

South Korea’s love of fast fashion is creating a glut of cheap, disposable clothing, which is considered trash after a few years, even months. Many of these get dumped in landfills or burned, which pollutes our environment. However, a couple of years ago, several high-end Korean fashion brands started practicing vegan fashion culture in Korea. Vegan fashion culture is spreading more and more in South Korea as it tries to prevent harm to animals through fashion.

For example, we see that the vegan fashion culture in Korea reached some stores in Dongdaemun. There you can find fur coats that are not fur. You’ll also be able to find silk-free silk dresses that are soft and luxurious but without the cost of animal brutality. You may be wondering, so vegan fashion culture means fake clothes? No, the word fake doesn’t fully describe the trend. But why? Because the garments are not designed as low-quality second-hand replacements. In the vegan fashion culture in Korea, these garments are considered more of an ethical fashion statement that rejects the use of animal materials or the cruelty to obtain them.

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Is Korean fashion sustainable?

Not at all. In South Korea, fast fashion is still on the rise. The high popularity of fast trends may be due to the entertainment industry in Korea, such as K-Pop, etc. Consumers, especially younger ones, are heavily influenced by the ever-changing K-Pop culture. To stay relevant and accessible, fashion brands produce new items at low prices. Although Korean fashion is not yet fully sustainable, we can see more brands are practicing sustainable fashion culture in Korea over the years.

What clothing brand practices the vegan fashion culture in Korea?

ATCorner Bossa Jeans

ATCorner is a women’s clothing brand featuring eco-friendly fashion. To meet customer demands, they create products from sustainable textile Bossa Denim. That comes from a company in Turkey that uses fibers from plastic bottles and natural chemicals. The Korean fashion brand also makes vegan leather jackets.

Vegan Leather by Marhen.J

Marhen.J is a Korean vegan fashion brand. Its products match the quality and design of traditional leather garments. The design of their bags uses vegan leather and canvas without compromising the quality of the product. Marhen.J is now venturing into recycled fabrics and other eco-friendly materials like those made from apple peels.

Which clothing brand practices sustainable fashion in Korea?

Although the emerging brand Darcygom focuses on traditional designs through sustainable fashion, it is among the brands that support the environment. Therefore, it would not surprise us in the future to see this brand also practicing vegan fashion culture in Korea. Observing that the fast fashion industry is one of the main polluters, designer Lee Sung-Ju began creating clothing and fashion made from disposed and recycled material. She established her clothing brand called Darcygom, which seeks to prove that fashion can be sustainable, environmentally friendly, ethical, and that, at the same time, it can be stylish.

The name Darcygom derives from an old Korean word meaning “once again”. Since the designer uses traditional outfits and details in her work, she thought the word fit her brand. And she was right. Lee Sung-Ju founded her sustainable Korean fashion brand to show that traditional Korean garments are still possible in today’s fashion, and they can be from recycled materials. Darcygom was born in 2017, under the concept of creating something ecological and low-waste. Luckily, the response has been positive, and the designer has brought her traditional avant-garde sustainable fashion garments to the big catwalks in Korea.

Although its presence is spreading little by little, the vegan fashion culture in Korea does exist. Although there are still many fast fashion brands, some Korean haute couture brands are already betting on vegan fashion. They don’t produce garments or accessories that go against animal rights. There is also a growth in the culture of sustainable fashion. Still, in Korea, you can find many brands that make their designs from real fur. However, although the spread of vegan fashion culture in Korea is slow, we can confirm it is safe. In the future, we may be lucky enough to see many more Korean brands that support vegan fashion and sustainable fashion. Don’t forget to visit us every day! See you in an upcoming Korean Fashion Trends blog!

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