Dior is partnering with the university as part of Women@Dior, a student mentoring and education program.
Dior is staging their first-ever fashion show in South Korea on April 30. To physically present creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri’s pre-fall 2022 collection (initially launched online last December), the French house will set its runway at Seoul’s Ewha Woman’s University.
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Founded in 1886, the Ewha Woman’s University is one of the world’s most significant female educational institutions. The 76-year-old brand is partnering with the university as part of Women@Dior, a student mentoring and education program launched in 2017.
Collaborating with communities
“This year, the house is forging new powerful ties with the Republic of Korea,” Dior chairman and CEO Pietro Beccari said in a brand statement.
“The house is delighted to be part of creating history in such an energetic and dynamic country, collaborating with the local communities while showcasing Dior’s visions and core values through a fashion show.”
According to WWD, this is only the second time Dior has presented a pre-fall collection on the runway. The first was in Shanghai, where 1,000 guests gathered the disco-themed line.
Online, the “see-now-buy-now” event was live-streamed by 126 million people from Dior’s platforms and China’s e-commerce site Tmall.
Luxury hub
In the last two years, South Korea has been climbing the ranks of global luxury spending. Euromonitor reported that the region’s market grew to $14.2 billion—up 4.6 percent from 2021 to 2021.
Although the pandemic boosted domestic spending, K-pop star power is also a reason for the growth. Last year, when Dior named Blackpink’s Jisoo as their global ambassador, her attendance in their Paris show garnered 140 million live stream viewers.
Dior’s LVMH stablemates Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. have also been riding the K-pop wave with BTS, Blackpink’s Rosé, and Squid Game’s Jung Ho-yeon standing as their global brand ambassadors.
Banner photo from @Dior on Instagram.