Wooyoungmi Fall/Winter 2026 Fashion Show

South Korean winters are cold. The snow-covered mountains around Seoul veil the capital in icy winds and transform the land into a frosty Far Eastern fantasia. Last year, as temperatures plunged below zero and South Korean commuters travelling across the city and country transitioned into their warmest wardrobes, Madame Woo imagined what the same scene looked like in winters past. Her research brought her to the turn of the century when the nation’s first railway – the Gyeongin – ushered in a new era of travel. It was an age of heightened elegance when sculpted winter hanbok, woollen greatcoats and leather luggage lined the stations’ icy platforms as steam trains pulled in: when travel was something you dressed for, even in the freezing cold.

For Fall-Winter 2026, Wooyoungmi’s studies of elegance take on the cold of winter in an exchange between historical elegance and contemporary dress codes. Inspired by winter travellers across eras and geographies – from the steam train to the metro, through mountains and cities – the collection embraces the elegance of the warm wardrobe and the drama demanded by snowfall. Suspended between the Edwardian era and the 1960s and ‘70s, dandy-esque tailoring cut in lush velvet or heritage cloths frames the physique in strict yet soft structures. In an effort to hug the figure, staples and materials normally used as outerwear turn body-conscious: constricting blazers, faux astrakhan waistcoats and breastplates, and chunky knits.