The Quietly Cool Handbags Taking Over Seoul (and Your Instagram Feed Next)

When I first touched down in Seoul for the S/S 24 displays, I assumed I used to be ready: the Pinterest forums, the TikTok rabbit holes, the overstuffed suitcase stuffed with “cool-girl” staples and Olive Young purchase listing. What I wasn’t in a position for, regardless that, used to be the sheer selection of jaw-dropping purses I noticed. They were not simply any baggage, however an excessively explicit kind: softly structured and completely slouched or crisp, long-shouldered, east-west silhouettes that felt just like the grown-up cousin of the baguette bag. They all felt, increased, refined, and nearly slightly flirty. Korean ladies weren’t wearing trademarks the dimensions of dinner plates. Instead, it used to be all about form, texture, and that elusive high quality all of us chase: effortlessness.

Here’s the item to notice in regards to the Korean type ecosystem: Seoul doesn’t apply developments; it begins them. Before Western luxurious homes have been reviving 2000s-era shoulder baggage or waxing poetic about quiet luxurious, Korean manufacturers have been already there, designing baggage with blank strains, muted palettes, and an architectural sensibility that felt extremely now. The native type ecosystem prioritizes aesthetic integrity over flashy branding, and purses aren’t any exception.

Two names saved doping up all over I grew to become: MargeSherwood and Stand Oil. Whether I used to be in a Gangnam boutique or sipping espresso in Seongsu, any person within reach used to be wearing one or the opposite. At the time, they felt like insider secrets and techniques. Now? Not such a lot.

Both manufacturers are making severe strikes across the world, with devoted U.S. campaigns, NYC pop-ups, and a rising listing of It-girl enthusiasts equivalent to Hailey Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo, and LE SSERAFIM’s Huh Yunjin. MargeSherwood brings retro-tinged polish with nods to antique Prada, whilst Stand Oil leans into graceful, Scandinavian minimalism with a twist of Okay-style aptitude. With worth issues that don’t induce monetary panic in an period of emerging dressmaker prices and eye-watering price lists, they’re tapping into that candy spot of aspirational however possible. It’s principally the trendy client’s holy grail.

If you’ve been eyeing a bag that whispers “fashion person” with out screaming it from around the room, your seek could also be over. These Korean manufacturers have formally entered the chat—and your closet could be subsequent.

MargeSherwood is just like the easily cool girl to your pal team who at all times wears antique Prada and by hook or by crook by no means seems to be overdressed. Founded in 2016 through dressmaker duo Sungeun Um and Soonyoung Kim, the label has transform a cult vintage with Korean idols and in a foreign country type influencers, largely on account of the logo’s handbags.