“젊은 감성이 뛰노는 패션 놀이터”

4th International DJ Festival 갔어요? 좋았는데. TINNews에서 나온 가사인데 밑데는 영어로 나온 버전도 있어요.

Recently, we attended the 4th International World DJ Festival to see some fresh fashions and interesting people. We found plenty, and the event has seemed to have become even more popular than even a couple of years ago, when I covered it for my online magazine, Feetmanseoul.com.

Back then, there were costumes and funny clothes to borrow, ample booths full of activities from free, legal tattoos to clothing on sale. The feeling was quite underground, and only those “in the know” were in attendance, which of course, included a lot of international guests.

This time around, things seemed far more commercialized, with even the alternative activities seeming aimed at separating one from one’s money. Of course, it is nice to see a Doc Marten’s store with its own DJ, but then again, it’s a Doc Marten’s store. That’s kind of a pricy booth — compare that to getting a REAL and EDGY tat for absolutely free. I agree — no comparison.

We were treated to a lot of open-minded, fashionable folks, sporting everything from fancy stockings to dresses fashioned after the Union Jack that stands in as the symbol of British rock, as one woman sported it, along with matching electric guitar.

Dress was kind of crazy and eclectic, but didn’t stray too far from the trends. Colorful socks were common, in a way they weren’t just a few years ago, when one had to special order interesting colors from the Internet. Now, they’re all over street stands from Dongdaemun to Myeongdong to Shinchon.

Skirt and minidress lengths are still very, very short, partially enabled for the masses by black and other colored stocking that make the shorter lengths seem more cute than super-sexy. But there IS a lot more skin showing these days, to be sure. For example, I especially liked the look of the young lady in the simple short minidress and red stockings and boots. Simple, but makes a strong statement.

And while we’ve mentioned boots, I still have to note once again how popular and prevalent they are nowadays, even in the summer. Doc Marten’s, or boots inspired by them, are all the rage. One can say that they’ve become a dominant fashion trend — the young ladies in Seoul have come to love them.

Men’s fashion has come a long way as well, as seen in the fitted red suit one attendee was wearing. It reflected a major change on the runways for men these days, with things getting tighter, lines getting slimmer, and moving away from the roomy looks of the past. On the model in question, I love how the suitpants are shorts, along with the red sneakers. SPORTY!

There were a lot of interesting looks to catch, as well as good music marked by a lot of big acts that the crowd seemed to enjoy quite a bit. As I’m not a music expert, I can’t comment on that much, but I will say that the DJ’s and live bands sounded fresh enough to make the crowd move and keep things rocking all night long.

Speaking of which, one complaint I must lodge has to do with crowd handling and the press. Persons with press passes were told that once inside, you were not allowed to leave and re-enter. Now, this is an event going from 2PM until 6AM the next day. Even when covering a 3-4-hour event, the option to leave the venue, eat, edit, or even upload content online. Now, the DJ Festival people only provided a single tent with 2 tables and no Internet or amenities. But then again, we didn’t expect them. It was quite fine without them. Still, not being allowed to leave is not a reasonable rule, especially for members of the press.

I’m 40 years old. I have an oversized camera bag weighing in at over 25 kilos with no secure place to put it, tripod, monopod, and studio flash stand, and other accessories. I’m not complaining — I’m a photographer covering an event. However, I need to shoot for a few hours in the afternoon, leave and do anything from eat real food, take care of business, use the Internet, or even sleep. I might want to cover both daytime and nighttime looks — but I’m not going to stay up 18 hours straight to do it. If anything, I was planning to shoot in the afternoon, leave for dinner, get some sleep, and then return around 3 in the morning to catch the nighttime fun. I’m not a 21-year-old kid with a blanket and book. I’ve got real responsibilities. What if I’m married with a wife and kid? Or a photographer with another deadline? This event needs to be run with a higher regard for the press — we’re not the general public, we have a lot of equipment and responsibilities, and we’re carrying drugs in our bags. And if the problem last year was press passes being given out as journalists were leaving, then simply require a photo ID next time — don’t punish us like we’re teenagers. Because we’re not.

See, despite the good music and girls in short skirts, the press isn’t there for the free tickets. If conditions are similar next year, I won’t be covering this event. I’ll leave it to the press who will tolerate such treatment, such as the reporters for university newspaper photographers and other amateurs.

“Red Hair, Everywhere!”

우리 red hair 가사가 한국말로 나온 거다! TINNews 덕분에.