Written by: Andrew Mkhize.
Photography: Andrew Mkhize and Kozo Zwane.
A thorough breakdown of what our attires for the Seoul Fashion Week consisted of and our experience.
-Day 01
Andrew: an Adidas sports jersey paired with Adidas originals pants with crisp white socks and glossy loafers and of course tassels and a black panel cap.
Ntokozo: came through with black and white Adidas gazelles, along with black and grey tapered formal pants, topping it all of with a white long sleeve shirt, covered with a dark grey rain suit – long trench coat and finally accessorized with a black cap and an umbrella.
Filled with excitement and taste for a new adventure in an unfamiliar environment, we woke up earlier than usual, got ready and headed to the event.
Our hotel was located 5 minutes away from the venue of the fashion week so it was easy to get there. The experience was overwhelming I can say that much, everywhere you looked you see people draped in jaw-dropping outfits that consisted of different styles and varieties in color. From minimal looks to avant-garde looks, everyone clearly didn’t come to play. In terms of how the venue was set up, the long walk way went down to the main part of the event. That is where all the street style pictures began.
No photographer would let you pass without wanting to take a picture of you! As for us, two Black African men in a place filled with Korean people, we were sure to steal the show. It went from posing for one photographer to having 15 to 20 lined up in-front of you in a matter of seconds. I got the chance to attend one show on the first day as I was actually supposed to walk for the brand, by.d.by but there were some hiccups and I unfortunately couldn’t.
-Day 02
Andrew: black and white Adidas gazelles with white socks, baggy beige chinos with a black belt and a white custom made t-shirt I made along with a colorful summer shirt with white framed shades accessorized with a black camera bag.
Ntokozo: black and red Jordan 1s mid with corduroy army green cargo pants, a black hoody underneath covered by a white kitkat sweat shirt and a black panel cap with gifted black swan shades.
Day 2 was more of a relaxed outfits kind of day because we solely wanted to focus on shooting content and street styles. I don’t know how many times I was asked “ are you a model or photographer “ and my response was always yes I do both. We didn’t manage to get into any shows on day 2, but it wasn’t a train smash as we shot many faces and made many connections.
-Day 03
Andrew: a silk green and blue pj two piece with converse 70s in black and a black Patagonia beanie.
Ntokozo: wearing The Spear (@thespear_sa) green and gold hoodie, a black Dress actually with gold detailing of a black dress with Egyptian print detailing on it paired with OG adidas sambas and a brown Carhartt beanie.
Because we were sort of in contrast to each other with our outfits and matching them with the beanies, we stood tall in a chaotic crowd filled with many faces and outfits. With every shooter wanting a piece of us , 20+ shooters lined up with their cameras looking directly at our faces. Within the crowd we got approached by a designer who was showcasing the next day, called us to come watch his show and even gave us free tickets. We even got an opportunity to work him with and got offered a gig, but unfortunately our stay was for 10 days.
With the day coming to a close end, we met a videographer and photographer who asked to shoot a short video of us for a campaign. I’m eagerly waiting to see that.
-Day 04
Andrew: this was one of my best days of the five, I debuted the green suit I had bought at a thrift spot 2 days before leaving for Seoul and also debuted a pair of olive green and black Jordan 1 mids and a white t-shirt and a silver linked chain accessorized with a black and silver vintage camera bag.
Ntokozo: A black thrifted blouse, black formal pants paired with a leather black beret and chunky loafers.
Half-way of our crazy trip. The day started out pretty normal, we woke up, got ready, left and arrived at D.D.P (the venue for Seoul fashion week 2019) We were modeling almost the whole day for cameras and didn’t get a slight break to eat or do anything besides posing for cameras. There was a point where we had been waiting for a friend, but as soon as he got there we couldn’t even talk because if we weren’t taking pictures, it was him or it was all of us together and you know you can’t talk when you pose.
After all the chaos we then decided to hit the streets. We wrapped up at fashion week at about 7pm. After a 3hour nap back at the hotel we decided to meet up with our friend at 12pm.
We took a train to a place called Hongdae where all tourists and the youth hang out, clubs on every corner and everyone ready to spark a conversation with you. Everyone seemed to be interested in interacting with us. All I can say is that the night life is 100x better and crazier in Seoul. We got home the next morning at 6am and had to be up at 12am for the last day of fashion week and this was said to be the biggest day of the whole week.
-Day 5
Andrew: kept it comfy and casual with a black Patagonia beanie with a black Patagonia hoodie and black formal pants and red and black Jordan 1s.
Ntokozo: a black leather cap, black formal shirt with a chest rig, a skirt, knee high black socks and loafers.
After being out all night, we were up in time for the biggest day of the fashion week. We were still out of it for a while, but quickly got back in on it in time for more pictures to be taken and see the what the big leagues were wearing. There were no limit to what could be worn, it was Seoul fashion week after all.
Celebrities could be spotted everywhere, but of course we didn’t know some of them and apparently we spoke to a few and took pictures and we didn’t know at the time they’re big names lol. After the day we took to the streets as it was our last day so we went all out. We started in hongdae again but it was kind of the same vibe as the night before so a friend suggested we go to Itwaewon and so we did, got in a taxi and ended up there. Now we had reached the masses of youth and fashion heads, with tourists everywhere and kids in high end outfits and sports cars everywhere.
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