North Korea held its Women's Clothes Exhibition from October 27 to November 9 this year in Pyongyang “amid expectations and interests from the people of the whole country,” according to state media. Ri Song-hak, Chairman of the Korean Garment Industry Association, gave an opening speech and addressed the Workers’ Party’s intention to promote modern Korean-style clothing and “make the Korean-made clothes fashionable and pioneer a socialist, cultured way of life.”
Images and videos show a range of locally made luxury handbags and clothes targeting women in their 30s and 40s that were produced by over 540 production shops, including the Unha Trade Bureau, the Ponghwa Trade Bureau, the Pyongyang City Garment Industry Management Bureau and other garment producers and tailor shops from across the country. Cosmetics from dozens of suppliers, including the Pyongyang Cosmetics Factory and Sinuiju Cosmetics Factory, showcase North Korea’s ability to domestically manufacture “highly effective and functional” beauty products, without the need to rely on imported goods from China.
NORTH KOREA AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF FASHION?
Perhaps due to conflicts between the high demand for foreign luxury products among Pyongyang's affluent women and the country’s frequent crackdowns on “capitalist fashion,” the exhibition hall featured apparent counterfeit goods including scarves with Chanel’s iconic double-C logo. Toys and Handbags showing minion characters from Universal Pictures’ “Despicable Me” also earned a spot in the exhibition hall as part of North Korea’s proud locally branded products.
Modern technology such as virtual fitting mirrors were offered by the Yanggwang Exchange Company, which allowed visitors to virtually try on their outfits in 3D. During the two-week exhibition, there were reportedly technical exchanges and sharing of advanced clothing design and processing techniques between experts in the apparel industry and consultations held between the production units and customers to conduct reviews for improvements. As an event to show-off the new developments of Korean-style clothing culture, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un pledged to “ensure that the people enjoy the best civilization at the highest level,” according to state media.
Outside Pyongyang, North Korea gains “international” recognition as it expands its clothing industry to bring in foreign currency. For instance, Russia expressed an interest in importing clothes and shoes from North Korea, having reportedly bought winter uniforms, underwear and footwear for Russian soldiers in Ukraine in violation of UN economic sanctions that prohibit countries from importing North Korean textiles. A source told Radio Free Asia that at least three garment factories in Pyongyang, each employing between 500 to 1,000 workers, have been utilizing Russian raw materials to supply Russia with military uniforms in large quantities for about a month.
NORTH KOREA’S FASHION FREEDOM
Even though state media praised Kim Jong-un for driving fashion developments and setting a trendy and modern standard of beauty in women's clothing, these so-called “developments” ironically reflect products that feature national symbols such as the country’s flag, pine trees, magnolia flowers and other designs with social and cultural sentiment, which were reportedly popular among visitors at the exhibition. The authenticity of this newfound popularity in patriotic fashion appears particularly questionable following punishments ordered against a number of high school and university students who used worn out T-shirts with the North Korean flag to polish statues of the Kim family ahead of North Korea’s National Foundation Day in September. A source further told Daily NK that the authorities ordered that if clothing emblazoned with the country’s flag becomes entirely frayed, they should be sold to special state-run agencies in each district as waste fabric.
North Korea is known for shunning foreign influence and using state propaganda to dictate how one should look – no jeans, dress conservatively and apply minimal or no makeup. Not only do current policies restrict how citizens are to dress, the party strictly controls fashion options and requires manufacturing companies to receive approvals from the Central Industrial Art Bureau before creating their own designs. Pyongyang’s decision to hold a fashion exhibition just weeks after Paris Fashion Week appears to be an attempt for the government to convey an image of fashion freedom to the rest of the world, as well as how self-sufficient it remains despite the almost three-year Covid-19 lockdown. This facade portrays that citizens are somehow able to afford high-end products despite reports of severe poverty and nationwide starvation following the pandemic.
