Fashion Friday: Two Major Apparel Trends in South Korea

South Korea’s apparel and footwear market is a mature market and is stagnating, showing less than 2% growth in 2019. In this matured market, there are two trends that could spark growth in the future. The first is “newtro”, which is a combination of the words “new” and “retro”. This is a huge pop culture trend in South Korea across many consumer goods markets, and recalls trends of the 70s, 80s and 90s.

In apparel in footwear, younger consumers are revisiting brands and styles they were too young to experience when they were first popular. The second trend is inclusive for all, meaning that fashion and beauty trends are becoming more inclusive to sizes, age and gender. Again, this trend started with the younger population in South Korea, who are starting to pay less attention to makeup and personal grooming and more attention to comfort than their predecessors.