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Sneak Peak at ASEAN’sPromising 2023 Fashion Trends
Written by_‌Baek Jin-ju, CEO of Studio di Perla

In ASEAN countries, the demand for fashion products that consider the sustainability of the environment and wellbeing of society is growing every year. The use of environmentally friendly and socially responsible resources that limit chemical additives, save energy, and utilize fair labor practices will be important selling points.

Popular trends in ASEAN countries during 2022 include scarf patterns and ikat motifs influenced by Africa, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. Most are inspired by handicraft techniques, such as crocheting, weaving, kintsugi, embroidery, mosaics, and quilting. Styles that combined them together, or added primary colors to transform them, enjoyed wide popularity.

How about 2023? Styles and items influenced by cultures from around the world are expected to continue leading the fashion trends. For instance, indigenous tribal patterns, with their abundance of color, and their repeating geometric designs, may compete heavily with minimalist aesthetics. Unlike more conservative styles, tribal motifs often prominantly display lavish lines, rich hues, and ornate details.

Flamboyant items such as these—which seem to leap out in stark contrast from the sea of identical blacks and whites that characterize the daily wear of many Koreans—could become more attractive than ever. As long as such clothing isn’t too excessive, but remains practical enough to wear casually with denim jeans, sweatpants, or T-shirts, it could certainly catch on.

Unorthodox designs like these could also be used to embelish mini-bags, shoes, and pants. While the demand for home wear and loungewear which had become popular during the pandemic has now subsided, versatile travel clothes remain one of the up-and-coming items that are applicable to the ever-changing disease prevention guidelines and travel restrictions. With an endless combination of colors, prints, and patterns, unconventional motifs certainly add a bit of spice to ordinary travel clothes, but once the layers are taken off, they can also be worn comfortably as daily attire.Stylized vintage prints, for example, could accentuate the hems, sleeves, and necklines of jackets, dresses, and vests to create a gorgeous look. Moreover, the pragmatic, functional clothing of craftsmen, like carpenters, has been fashionably reinterpreted as street wear. Along with cargo pants, fishing vests, and truckers’jackets have likewise inspired streetwear trends.