More consumers are buying materials such as buttons and fabrics to decorate ready-made clothes with sewing machines. (image: APM Luxury Clothing Repair)
SEOUL, Mar. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — The “Newtro” craze for reinterpreting the retro look is leading growth in the so-called “reform” market, where people decorate or fix their own clothes or bags in their own style.
In particular, this trend is spreading further as there have been frequent scenes of buying and reproducing products on entertainment shows and YouTube.
According to major online shopping mall Gmarket on Thursday, sales of materials for women’s clothing modifications increased by 22 percent year-on-year as of February 18 of this year.
Sales of sewing machines also increased by 39 percent during the same period.
The figure indicates that more consumers are buying materials such as buttons and fabrics to decorate ready-made clothes with sewing machines.
After purchasing relatively inexpensive pouches from luxury brands, they “transform” the pouch to shoulder bags by adding inexpensive straps from the Internet. Sales of bag straps are also growing steadily on Gmarket.
On blogs and other online forums and message boards, you can easily find articles that explain how to modify your own clothing and accessories.
Growth in the “reform” market is being driven especially by young people in their 20s and 30s.
Purchases of sewing materials for those in their 20s increased by 263 percent on-year and 106 percent for those in their 30s, higher than for other age groups.
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)
