Lee Sang-bong, chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of Korea, is one of the country's leading fashion designers. Since his debut at Paris Collection in 2002, he has been regarded as a pioneer who brought K-fashion to the world, participating in Paris Fashion Week 22 times through 2014 with designs incorporating Hangul and traditional patterns.
Meeting with the Seoul Economic Daily at the "2026 Textile and Fashion Industry CEO Forum" held at the Lotte Hotel in Jeju on the 9th, Lee stressed, "It is time to go beyond simply nurturing clothing brands and cultivate 'Made in Korea' into a world-class brand." He argued that Korea's textile and fashion industry must leap forward again through a major transformation that connects manufacturing, brands and distribution into a single ecosystem. Lee expressed the greatest regret that Korea's textile industry, despite once possessing world-class manufacturing competitiveness, failed to translate this into fashion brand competitiveness.
He pointed out that although Korea's textile and sewing industry grew rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s to become a global production base, it remained limited to exporting fabrics and failed to achieve the convergence of manufacturing and brands. He also expressed concern that while Korea today has the capacity for world-class designers to grow, its manufacturing base is moving overseas, causing the industry ecosystem to collapse. "Just 20 years ago, Korea was unknown abroad, but as K-pop, dramas and beauty opened the way, it is now time for K-fashion to take the baton and compete with France or Italy," he said.
Having launched the brand "LIE SANGBONG" in 1985, he has been active on global stages including Paris, and now serves as chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of Korea, working to nurture emerging designers and strengthen industry competitiveness.
Lee noted that Italy, similarly to Korea, started as a subcontracting base for France's fashion industry but grew into a global fashion powerhouse by building an ecosystem in which material companies, designers and brands cooperate closely. "In Italy, when a material company develops a new fabric, it first sends it to designers and suggests, 'Try making something with this,'" he said. "The biggest difference is that in Korea, fabric companies, designers and distribution are not connected into a single ecosystem." He explained that Korea must create a structure in which the material industry and fashion brands grow together, like Italy, to cultivate "Made in Korea" into a global premium brand.
He also expressed regret over the role of domestic distributors such as department stores. "While department stores focused on bringing in overseas luxury goods, they were relatively neglectful in nurturing domestic brands," he said. "As large corporations concentrated on the ready-to-wear-centered market, they fell short in playing the role of a platform connecting designers and consumers." He said, "Meanwhile, production bases moved to China, and now they are shifting to Vietnam and beyond." He expressed concern, "Most of Korea's current sewing workforce is in their 60s and 70s, so in a few years there may be no one left who can even make samples."
He also said Korea must have a sense of crisis given that China's fashion industry is fiercely chasing Korea. "Chinese talents who came to Korea to learn fashion are leading the industry at universities and companies in their home country," he said. "China has a system in which students and professors directly create brands and connect all the way to production within universities." He continued, "When I visited Guangzhou in person, I saw industry, education and fashion brands operating as a single ecosystem." He added, "In the past, China came to learn from Seoul Fashion Week, but now, among some young designers, there are even assessments that China is more advanced."
Nurturing future talent is also an important task for him. He pointed out that domestic designer nurturing systems, including Seoul Fashion Week, must be revitalized. Lee expressed concern, "At one time, Seoul Fashion Week grew into Asia's representative event with 60 to 70 brands participating, but now it has shrunk significantly to around 20."
He is also working to widen the gateway for young designers, selecting fashion majors from universities nationwide to hold themed fashion shows on the subjects of police officers, firefighters and soldiers, and holding a high school fashion contest for the 11th year. For six years he has also operated the "Dream Tering School," which teaches fashion, modeling and musicals to multicultural and immigrant students. "Korea has such a rich talent pool that there are more than 100 fashion-related departments," Lee said emphatically. "If enough stages and opportunities are provided for these people to grow, K-fashion can leap forward again."
