Something interesting at the Seoul Arts Centre

The Seoul Arts Centre consistently exhibits unusual art and photography. Yesterday, I viewed photography from the World Press 2010 prize and winners of the Pulitzer prize. The photography was often harrowing and troubling, historical and memorable. Recent events covered included Israel's controversial offensive against Palestine, the world of drug cartels in Mexico and Obama's inauguration.

There was one story, relevant to the world of fashion, I particularly enjoyed. Photographed by an Italian, Francesco Giusti, the story of these gentleman is fascinating, inspiring and quite unexpected.

Below is a small explanation of these very dapper, well dressed Congolese men.

High fashion, usually associated with wealth, designers and the catwalks of London and Paris, is played out in a very unique way against the backdrop of extreme poverty. As the caption suggests, these men are admired for their interesting style and ability to choose accessories and outfits. Wearing suits and trilby hats in bright colours, they have become celebrities, larger than life characters with 'gestures' and 'amusing nicknames'. Perhaps, fashion and style can touch all societies in a way regardless of conditions.

On a completely different note and nothing to do with fashion, there was another exhibition called Neverland, where installations were childlike and made out of confectionery. Here are some amusing pieces.

All these exhibitions run for another month. Seoul Arts Centre, Line 3, Nambu Bus Terminal Station. All photographs taken by me.

The Rocktigers: Prom Dresses and Chuck Taylors

Last weekend, I attended the Seoul Ink Bomb tattoo exhibition, headlined by the rockabilly/punk band, The Rocktigers. According to their website, the Rocktigers "offer a trend-kill to all that's wrong with the Korean music industry. Spicing up the classic rockabilly sound, the RockTigers are giving you rockabilly that's vintage and modern from Seoul: Kimchibilly". On their third studio album, the band have a faithful, small following in Korea but are gaining new fans every day. After seeing them, I unashamedly become a fan on facebook. They are more widely known and liked in Japan where rockabilly itself is more popular. Nevertheless, they provide a refreshing, alternative to the dire, manufactured k-pop prevalent here. Their throwback 50s styling is also unlike anything I have seen so far in Korea.

Velvet Gena is the charming, feisty leading lady with short, peroxide blond hair. She energetically dances and jumps around the stage in her Doc Martins much to the crowds delight. She is pretty and grungy at once, combining tattoos and prom dresses in unusual patterns. The band, with their slicked back quiffs, Chuck Taylor all-stars and numerous US navy tattoos, look like a slightly punkier version of Danny Devito and the T-birds. Wearing lots of leather, tight jeans and bowling alley shirts, Tiger, Eddie, Roy and Jack are extremely talented musicians but it was apparent they weren't taking themselves too seriously. One spun the bass, decorated in flames and leopard print, with ease.

Their rock n roll music is reminiscent of Buddy Holly or Elvis but, with Korean lyrics, sounds new and modern. At this exhibition, the Rocktigers were joined on stage by young, professional swing dancers. The girls wore pastel, floral, prom dresses with yards of netting and white plimsolls. The boys wore navy, three piece suits, bow ties, Chuck Taylors and geeky specs. The clothes were traditional but fun. Altogether, the show was quite a spectacle.

In the future, the Rocktigers aim to take their music back to its origin, the States, with a tour and album in English. With their appealing, infectious lyrics, entertaining stage presence and throwback style, they might very well succeed in this ambition and conquer Europe and the States with kimchibilly. For Korean fans, they are headlining a rockabilly night as part of the Seoul Fringe Festival. Details are listed below.

The Rocktigers are definitely a band to see live. Geena's powerful voice and the boys persistent catchy riffs all point towards dancing. Their style is fun and different to other Koreans. This show promises lots of fifties and sixties fashion to enjoy again.

Fashion Crush - Diane Kruger

Karl Lagerfeld's muse, Calvin Klein model and actress, Diane Kruger is one of my celebrity fashion crushes. A former model, she is style conscious and fashion forward but is aware of what suits her. She dresses appropriately for every occasion, red carpet, off duty or otherwise. Kruger consistently chooses fashion forward silhouettes accentuated by unexpected accessories. Famous for not having a stylist, she is naturally gifted at putting together an outfit. Some photographs...

Big Foot gets Shoes

Before I came to Korea, I was vaguely aware that I have very large feet in comparison to Korean women. I shrugged off suggestions from my friends that I would not be able to buy shoes, assuming that in a city of this magnitude, there would be at least one shoe shop that would stock UK size eights. Huge, I know.

My friends were wrong. In a way. There are 'big size' shoe shops in Itaewon. However, the shoes have possibly been there since the 90s. They are not stylish or pretty. The shops are also tiny cupboards in basements. So, overall, it is not a great shopping experience. Now, I order online from Topshop, Office and Asos. Much to my excitement, I received these sandals this week.

And, I would like these boots for winter.

The only problem is the shipping. Three weeks is far too long to wait! Oh well, the problems of having big feet in Korea.

Fashion and Drama in The City

How do you feel about reality TV? Personally, I'm not a fan. In the UK, mainstream channels, trying to gain mass audiences, became saturated with documentary style programming. So, reality TV is relatively cheap to make. There is no need to pay actors, no elaborate sets, no talented writers. So, employing ordinary people and D-list celebrities makes for very cheap television. The lack of quality is obvious.

At various times, in my film and television degree, I spent hours studying reality television such as Big Brother, finding them boring and manipulative. Of course, these programmes are not very real at all. Reality TV makes a claim to realism through the way they are shot. Reality TV is similar to observational documentary, more commonly known as 'fly on the wall' documentary. However, what we see is a highly constructed piece of television, where events are carefully edited to create drama and conflict amongst more mundane events.

Reality TV attracts a great amount of publicity and media attention and so, they are lucrative for mainstream channels. Now, with the axing of Big Brother, music talent contests are the most popular format. Trying to gain as much work experience as possible, I worked at the audition process for a music talent show and witnessed first hand how manipulative the process is. I am tone deaf and people, worse than me, were put through to the next round of auditions only because they were entertaining/crazy on camera.

However, there is a huge but to my rant about reality TV. I adore The City, a reality show based on the life of Whitney Port, who is trying to become a fashion designer in New York city. The show follows Whitney and her friend Roxy who work at Peoples Revolution and Whitney's frenemy Olivia who works at Elle magazine. The show focuses on their relationship drama and fashion drama as Whitney launches her first collection, Whitney Eve. The production values are higher than most reality television. The shots of New York are glossy and exciting.

The City is a great source of inspiration. Whitney wears cute dresses and shorts in bright, often clashing patterns. Olivia chooses classic shapes and colours. Her outfits stand out because of her accessories.

Lets take a look at Whitney first....

Whitney looks great in clashing prints. The clashing stripes and leopard print works because of the similarity in colour.

Whitney's jumpsuit is ladylike and charming with clever, flattering draping. The pink hue is perfect for the summer and the print is cute.

Another adorable print, this time paisley. The high hemline is balanced by the long sleeves.

And now Olivia....

Olivia takes a very simple, silk dress and revamps it with neon lined platforms, a tough, studded clutch and a petal inspired cover up.

Very smart and sophisticated wearing Tibi. Her Mulberry bag is lovely as is her leather skirt.

Olivia's topshop gray shoe boots compliment her metallic shiftdress.

So, I'm now sightly addicted to The City, its fashion and drama. Every time I watch it, I want to take off to New York and try to get a job at Peoples Revolution. Aaahh, if only I could. Season 1 and 2 are available to watch on MTV.

Summer Dreaming

Step into summer with this strapless, vintage inspired dress from Mango. It's beautiful, delicate pattern of roses is toughened by a studded belt. For a relaxed summer look, wear with espadrilles. These sandals are having a moment right now, worn by Alexa Chung and other celebs at Coachella music festival. For a more edgy look, wear this dress with heeled gladiator sandals. This dress retails at around 140,000 won. Mango can be found in Myeong-dong near Uniqlo. Now, all we need is sun.

To Get Started..Seoul in Pictures

Neon lights, millions of people, Hanguel, fashion, Kimchi, K-pop, palaces...welcome to Seoul. Before I came here, I knew very little about Korea apart from Korean's love for unusual seafood. I experienced this in a Korean restaurant in Glasgow where, much to my shock, I was served a baby octopus. This was not the most pleasant dining experience I've had although it provided much amusement for my friends. After being here for four months and managing to avoid strange seafood, I love living in a big, crazy Asian city where people dance until six o'clock in the morning and shops are open all night. So before I start writing about everything fashionable here and at home, here are a few pictures of Seoul just in case, like me four months ago, you don't know much about this country and city.

Myeong-dong

A Prettier Side of Seoul

Hongdae

Changdeokgung Palace

This is only a small introduction to Seoul, its beautiful, intricate palaces, bustling streets, neon lights and cafe culture. For an in depth guide to Seoul and its culture, www.seoulstyle.com is a favourite of mine. Soon, I will have more about fashion in Seoul and how its compares to the UK plus a little bit of my style and street style!