LIE tackles sportsmanship and Iinclusivity in Seoul Fashion Week 2024. For their Fall/Winter 2024 presentation, LIE ventures into sportswear to create contemporary chic pieces for every body.
Titled “All-lympic,” Korean fashion house LIE presents its Fall/Winter 2024 collection on the second day of fashion week. Led by designer Lee Chung Chung and his sister Nana Lee, LIE is a ready-to-wear brand that’s known for their sleek and chic take on contemporary luxury. The two siblings were born into a family that was surrounded by fashion, with their father being the legendary designer Lie Sang Bong. With their father being a household name in the Korean fashion industry, the two siblings have been familiar with the fashion calendar and runways since a young age. As the two grew older, they realised the demand for a more modern and accessible take on luxury fashion in Korea, which led to the inception of LIE.
This spin-off brand has steadily grown to become a staple in the global fashion industry as their collections are now adopted into retailers like SocietyA, holding pop-ups in various cities and showcasing their works in Paris Fashion Week, and Jakarta Fashion Week. Now, back in Seoul Fashion Week, the brand presents their latest collection, which they describe with the tagline “A Fusion of Elegance and Olympic Spirit.”
As the name suggests, the collection takes inspiration from the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics. Inspired by the inclusivity and perseverance that are present in such events, the designer wanted to create a collection that embodies these values of unity and tenacity into pieces from this collection. Although LIE is often associated with a sharper and posh design aesthetic, with this concept in mind, they venture into the territory of athleisure and codes of sportswear.
After all the guests had been seated and the lights had dimmed, two models walked out holding the two ends of a plain white cloth banner. Then comes out visual artist Chang Woo Seok, who’s known for creating his bold, dashing, yet emotional works of art. As he finishes painting the word “ALL-YMPIC” across the cloth, a female model comes in, tucking her head onto a hole cut between the fold of the cloth, transforming the banner into a poncho-like dress.
With the main inspiration for the show being the Olympics, the designer showcased his own spin on sportswear as he reinterpreted sporty staples like unitards and training uniforms. Cut-out tanks were sent down the runway, styled in two different ways. One with a leather skirt and bucket hat for that more casual and street look. Another case is the tank layered on top of a button-up shirt and pleated houndstooth skirt for a modern take on workwear. There was also a zip-up sweater styled with soft, cozy trousers layered with a trench on top, giving the fit an athlete-who-just-got-back-from-practice feel. A model sporting a uniform-style turtleneck with the brand’s logogram on the center walks down. A key point is a halter style cut out under its neckline. The model sporting the top was styled with a pair of utilitarian trousers, enhancing that active and outdoorsy look.
A notable aspect of the looks LIE has sent out on the runway was the urbanity and freshness of the pieces. Puffer-inspired elements were seen in the show, with one look consisting of a matching set made out of pillow-like puffy fabric. With the top half being a sleeveless vest and the bottoms being tailored shorts, the designer created chic and timeless pieces from the typically sporty fabric. There was also a shiny collarless puffer-style jacket that gave off a leather look. With a belted waist, the statement jacket still exuded feminity. Paired with a bold red turtleneck and vinyl boots, the look was a meld of sophistication and edge.
Of course, LIE also included his reinterpretation of classic wardrobe essentials, showcasing the brand’s finesse for designing contemporary luxury. Amongst the first few looks was a sleek, cool grey trench-coat-style dress. The sheen of the fabric was the right balance between eye-catching and lush. With a long belt tying around the waist with multiple rounds, giving the dress a corsetted look, this piece was the embodiment of contemporary and luxury. Another trench-style piece was the cropped jacket with leather paneling on its shoulder that was styled with a blazer underneath and a leather miniskirt. It was also a pleasure to see well-tailored suits, a signature of LIE’s, on both the menswear and womenswear front, a clear giveaway of how refined and polished the brand is with its craft.
With the title of the show being “All-lympic” it was a great surprise to see the brand presenting several looks with disabled models in wheelchairs. As they made their way down the runway, audiences were able to see just how the pieces from the collection can be used and styled to suit different bodies as well. Although inclusivity has been a buzzword for the fashion world in the past few years, it’s great to see that the brand is not just using diversity as a gimmick and is instead including the community in their narratives, showing the community that they too can embrace fashion, while also empowering them in their fields. As the brand successfully explored the realm of sportswear and dressing different bodies with a genuine spirit, their FW24 presentation was another feat. With Seoul Fashion Week wrapping up, LIE is set to return to Paris Fashion Week next, and we can’t wait to see what the designer has up his sleeve. (Text Vanya Harapan)