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Suzy Menkes

International Vogue editor Suzy Menkes explained the reason for Seoul’s selection as host city for the second Conde Nast International Luxury Conference during a talk with reporters at Seoul’s Shilla Hotel on Apr. 19. She said, “It‘s a lot about instinct. Korea is the happening, vibrant place of the moment. I can’t tell you why I feel like this, maybe it‘s a lot of small things. Here, people have reached out in thinking of different ways of luxury and what it represents, making it a very interesting place to hold a conference.”

Taking place on Apr. 20-21, the event brings together fashion industry figures from around the world to share opinions on current issues. Staged in Florence last year, the event is organized by Conde Nast International - the publishing group responsible for Vogue, GQ, and 141 other magazines - and overseen by Menkes, 73.

The list of around 500 fashion world attendees from 30 countries includes Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of the LVMH group, which owns over sixty exclusive brands such as Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior; Gian Giacomo Ferraris, chief executive of Versace; Olivier Rousteing, designer for Balmain; and Kim Young-sung, fabric director for Chanel. Issues to be discussed include social media-spawned fashion world changes, duty-free shopping, and “K-Beauty.”

A fashion journalist for the past 50 years, Menkes is nicknamed “Samurai Suzy” for her influence, which is based in objective assessments of famous designers and luxury fashion brands. Her decision to summon brand heads to Seoul was seen as signaling just how much of a presence Seoul has become in the fashion world.

“The important thing is that South Korea is reaching out into the whole world,” Menkes said on Apr. 19. “Seoul is the most appealing because it’s changing thinking about ‘luxury.’ Our topic at this conference is ‘luxury of the future,’ but in South Korea the future has already started.”

She went on to cite the example of the South Korean handbag makers Simone, who began with order-based production before launching their own brand called 0914.

“‘K-Luxury’ is absolutely possible. There is definitely the technology and ability to make K-Luxury,” Menkes said.

“The issue is marketing,” she added.

Menkes’s opinion is that a marketing strategy for instilling the image of high-end, valuable brands is necessary alongside the brand-name know-how.

“I don’t think luxury lies in carrying around a handbag with a big logo on it,” she explained.

“Luxury is very personal and very subjective, a secret domain that stimulates our sense of smell and touch gives us pleasure through that stimulation.”

For her contribution to Seoul as a fashion city, Menkes was named an honorary citizen of Seoul on Apr. 18.

By Cho Hye-jeong, staff reporter

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