Pyongyang

Upscale Denim: Look to North Korea for Fall Jeans Fashion

With the latest in up-market jeans being readied for release, it's exciting to see what's in the pipeline. In this crowded space, look for the biggest noise to be made not by any fashion company you've pined over. Rather, the hottest denim on the market could be coming from the most unexpected place on earth ... by way of Scandinavia.

According to Financial Times, "As clean silhouettes and the much-feted new minimalism shape the autumn trends, it looks like denim will take an equally reductive route: out with slashed, stonewash, fussy 1980s styles and in with the basics." And you'll find this manufactured in North Korea.

FT continues:

Two years ago, a trio of young, twenty-something Swedes were invited by the government into North Korea to manufacture a national jeans line. Really. "Noko", as it was named, features two jeans styles for men and women: the Kara slim-fit and the Oke loose-fit ($215 plus shipping), both straight-cut and dark-wash, in keeping with the austere nightscapes of the designers' inspiration, Pyongyang.

The Noko styles are consistent with what is expected for autumn:

"For autumn, denim is very customer-friendly," says Lesley Torson of Trilogy, a London denim boutique. "It's dark, and washes are quite clean, giving it a more polished look." Meanwhile, the advent of styles such as the utilitarian cargo with convenient side pockets, the forgiving high-rise cut, and the faithful indigo boot-cut flare will offer something the premium jeans world hasn't seen for years: wearability.

Gallery: Noko Jeans Museum in Stockholm, Sweden (RIP)

Gallery: Noko Jeans at Gallery International Fashion Show in Copenhagen, Denmark

Noko Jeans at the Gallery International Fashion Show, Copenhagen, Denmark

Gallery International Fashion Show, Copenhagen, Denmark

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Tags: denim, fashion, jeans, north korea, Pyongyang, style

North Korea Mass Games Dates Confirmed

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Art

A date has been set for the Arirang Mass Games in Pyongyang, North Korea! The Korea International Travel Company has put the word out that Arirang will run from August 2, 2010 through October 10, 2010, Koryo Tours tells me.

With more than 100,000 participants in a 90-minute display of gymnastics, dance, acrobatics and other performing arts, Arirang has been described as "a synchronized socialist-realist spectacular." The spectacle is shrouded in heavy political messaging, of course, as this is the prevailing theme of North Korean art.

The show is held every evening at 7 PM, and you'll witness the "largest picture in the world" – a human mosaic. Each student holds a book, flipping pages as scenes change. There are up to 170 pages in one book! The work has already begun, and preparations are visible on the streets of Pyongyang, according to Koryo Tours. With tens of thousands of gymnasts stretching and practicing in the city's parks.

Looking for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation? This is it.

Gallery: Arirang Mass Games Preparation in North Korea

Tags: Arirang, dprk, gymnastics, Mass Games, north korea, performance, performance art, Pyongyang

Noko Jeans Are Back! Temporary Home in Denmark

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

Nothing about Noko Jeans has been simple. You have to expect this, of course, when you're using labor in North Korea to manufacture a product for sale in the west. Of course, the Noko guys seemed to have an edge over the rest of the western world, since they're from Sweden, the only country in Europe that has diplomatic relations with the reclusive regime. In fact, Sweden represents the United States in Pyongyang, too.

Well, it didn't work all that smoothly. The fashion company was booted from Swedish retailer PUB. Then, it had to close its "museum" (i.e., boutique) in Stockholm. It looked like the company would only be able to live on in the virtual world, as an online retailer.

Thanks to the Danes, however, the situation has changed, even if only temporarily. Until Sunday (February 14, 2010), Noko Jeans will be at the Gallery International Fashion Fair in Copenhagen, Denmark, showcasing the Kara Slim Fit and Oke Loose Fit jeans. The company's also offering "some interesting sneak peeks of the future of Noko Jeans," it said in a statement.

The Noko "road show" was inspired by the response the company has received following its recent travails. In a statement, founders Jacob Åström, Jakob Ohlsson and Tor Rauden Källstigen said, "There's only so many e-mails and phone calls we can respond to, so we decided to take Noko Jeans on the road. The first stop, at Gallery during the fashion week in Copenhagen, felt very natural as it is very close and very awesome."

And, the hunt for space isn't over yet. The founders say, "Our hopes and ambitions with Gallery is to find new and great places where our story can be told, both in Scandinavia and the rest of the world."

Gallery: Noko Jeans Museum in Stockholm, Sweden (RIP)

Gallery: Noko Jeans at Gallery International Fashion Show in Copenhagen, Denmark

Tags: copenhagen, denmark, fashion, jeans, north korea, NorthKorea, Pyongyang, sweden

National Drinks on Display in Pyongyang

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

It's been called a contest but seems more like an expo ... either way, it's typical of the ambiguity of communication coming from North Korea. "Crude liquor and sweet drink" – more than 100 types – were on display. These beverages were made with "grain, non-grain and by-products."

Yummy! I can't wait 'til the clock strikes noon and I can have a double-shot of by-products without regret.

The purpose of this event of indeterminate type is to use science to improve the traditional methods for creating these "traditional" drinks, "thus making the dining table of the people more bounteous" (no, you can't make this stuff up). Several years of famine and general consumer goods shortages make this a laudable goal, but one wonders if a trade show will be enough to solve the country's state-sponsored problems.

Though spirits would seem like luxuries in the "workers' paradise," peasants have been able to enjoy the "sour and refreshing crude liquor" when taking breaks from toiling in the field. Depending on the region, the crude liquor is called: thakju, thakbaegi, nongju or nongthak. In Yodok, it's called "nonexistent."

Interested in serving thakju at your next dinner party or cocktail reception? Just ferment boiled rice after "maturing" it with germ barley. Pour, threaten to drown the United States in a sea of fire and enjoy!

Tags: cocktail, cocktail recipes, CocktailRecipes, cocktails, dprk, north korea, north korean, northkorea, northkorean, pyongyang

North Korean Fashion Sees "Revolutionary Upsurge"

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

Fashion spending is increasing in some parts of the world ... and where you'd least expect it. According to the Korea Central News Agency, North Korean women have been buying dresses like crazy. I guess when your currency isn't defined by market movements, you can engineer any outcome you like (except in times of famine).

Not exactly known for its propensity for hype, unless it involves ballistic missiles or American defectors, the KCNA reports, "Korean dress shops in Pyongyang are bustling with customers in the current spring season."

In what sounds like a .. um, planned ... statement, a worker in the Ryonghung Korean Dress Shop observes, "All of them [i.e., customers] gasp their admiration for the graceful and fascinating costumes on show in the sample room."

This news report is a traditional tool in the North Korean media, which seeks to portray an image of confidence and self-sufficiency (called "juche") even in the face of reality. The only thing missing was "on the spot guidance" from Kim Jong-Il.

So, broader economic problems aside, North Korea is seeing a "revolutionary upsurge ... which give[s] off national lyricism and aroma in spring."

I read it in the KCNA, so it must be true.

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Tags: dprk, fashion, kim jong il, kim jong-il, KimJong-il, KimJongIl, north korea, NorthKorea, pyongyang