KOSCO Exhibition's 10-Year Trajectory : Works from 2016 to 2025

This study is a longitudinal analysis of works featured in the exhibition catalogs of the Korean Society of Costume (KOSCO) from 2016 to 2025, with focus directed toward changes in exhibition themes, compositions, and modes of expression. Exhibition themes have evolved and expanded from an early concentration on international exchange to more profound contemporary discourses involving issues such as sustainability, reglobalization, the modern reinterpretation of tradition, and the convergence of memory and creation. In terms of composition, the largest proportion of the works reviewed was accounted for by fashion art (57.2%), followed by cultural products (23.5%) and traditional/historical costume reconstruction (20.0%). With regard to form and silhouette, there is a noticeable movement from traditional linear and flat structures toward modern, three-dimensional aesthetics, including asymmetrical draping and structural volume. Color palettes have diversified from traditional Obangsaek to low-saturation natural hues and emotive color schemes. Such broadening has also extended to material experimentation, and production techniques have transitioned from conventional needlework to a prominent integration of modern technologies. Among these works, those borrowing Hanbok imagery were classified into four types: reproduction; transformation of form and structure; transformation of materials, colors, and symbols; and expansion into commercialization. The past decade has seen the KOSCO exhibition maintain traditional Hanbok and historical reconstruction as a central axis, but also facilitated the expansion of items, the three-dimensionalization of silhouettes, the multi-layering of color application, the broadening of material experimentation, and the contemporary expansion of concepts and themes through the mediums of fashion art and cultural products. The results indicate that the KOSCO Exhibition has served as a laboratory for modernizing Korean identity by balancing the preservation of conventional archetypes with contemporary exploration. This study is significant in that it identifies long-term trends over a 10-year period rather than centering on a single point in time, providing a strategic direction for future costume design research and exhibition planning.