“Giving the Festival a New Outfit” — Han Tae-hee (Class of 2024, Department of Fashion Design)
2026-09-17
“Giving the Festival a New Outfit” — Han Tae-hee (Class of 2024, Department of Fashion Design): The Many Faces of ESKARA Drawn by mAff, the Department of Fashion Design’s Marketing Club “I think the most meaningful moment is when people look at a piece of clothing and are reminded of the happy memories they made while wearing it.” What makes a festival memorable? It may be the music, the performances and the energy of the crowd—but clothing can also become part of the scene that stays with us. This year, a new festival uniform for Sungkyunkwan University’s ESKARA was created in collaboration with mAff, a fashion marketing club in the Department of Fashion Design. mAff had been developing the idea of creating a festival uniform since last year. The club proposed designs to the Student Council and worked collectively to develop and refine them, ultimately creating a new look for ESKARA that reflects the creativity of SKKU’s fashion students. The final design did not emerge overnight. Ideas inspired by festival uniforms at other universities went through multiple rounds of design development and feedback. The students had to balance creative expression with practical considerations, including whether the designs could actually be produced and how well they would complement the Student Council’s existing uniforms. To learn more about the process behind the project, we spoke with Han Tae-hee, a member of the Class of 2024 in the Department of Fashion Design and president of mAff, who led the project. | Hello. Could you introduce yourself? Hello. I’m Han Tae-hee, a student in the Department of Fashion Design, Class of 2024. I currently serve as president of mAff, the department’s fashion marketing club. | What kind of activities does mAff pursue? mAff is a fashion marketing club in the Department of Fashion Design that has been active for more than 20 years. The name stands for “Marketing and Fashion.” We have traditionally focused on analyzing domestic and international fashion markets and brands. We also publish magazines and design, produce and sell merchandise. Depending on members’ interests, we take the initiative to develop a variety of projects each semester. In that sense, mAff is a fashion marketing club where students can explore their own interests and turn them into projects. | mAff participated in designing this year’s ESKARA festival uniforms. How did the project begin? The collaboration began when mAff approached the Student Council with the idea. We first discussed it within the club, saying, “Why don’t we try making one ourselves?” and then presented the idea to the Student Council. One reason we wanted to do this was that other universities have a wide variety of festival uniforms. We saw many different designs and styles, and at some universities, student clubs and organizations voluntarily create their own uniforms. We thought, “We’re students of fashion design, so it would be great if we could make one ourselves.” We also felt that creating a uniform different from the official festival uniform could introduce more variety into what students wear to festivals. That was how the project began—with the idea of creating something a little different from the festival clothing that already existed. The idea was first proposed in September last year, when we began our second-semester club activities. The members at the time, as well as the current executive members, responded very positively. We were excited by the possibility that clothing we designed ourselves could be worn by members of the university community. For the club, it was also a valuable opportunity to experience the entire process—from designing and producing clothing to marketing and promoting it through sales. | What was the overall concept of the uniforms, and what message did you want the designs to convey? How did you incorporate SKKU’s identity? What we wanted to capture most was a more free-spirited and individualistic image of the festival. As I mentioned, we were inspired by the diversity of festival uniforms at other universities, so we wanted to expand the range of styles available for our own festival. From the beginning, our goal was to create something distinctive rather than a conventional uniform like a basketball jersey or rugby shirt. When we first developed the designs, we explored a wide range of women’s styles—not only the crop-top and dress designs that were ultimately produced, but also sleeveless and off-the-shoulder styles. We compared the different designs and selected those that we thought would work best in actual production. We also wanted the uniforms to have a distinctive character rather than simply follow a conventional uniform design. Instead of just using the university logo, for example, we considered designing our own typeface to accompany the school’s symbolic logo and incorporating ginkgo leaves as floral motifs. You could think of it as taking familiar elements and giving them an upgraded or transformed look. | How did the design process work within the club, from the initial ideas to the final designs? We first collected individual design ideas from our members. We then reviewed the various proposals together and held meetings to select the designs. Once a design was selected, we continued to revise it through multiple rounds of feedback. Most decisions—including how to place the logo and which elements to modify—were made collectively during these meetings. In other words, the designs began as individual ideas, but they gradually evolved through feedback and discussion among the entire club. The crop-top and dress designs followed this process. The jeogori-inspired design was somewhat different. The Student Council made substantial revisions to the designs we initially submitted, so our role was mainly to provide several initial proposals for the council to develop further. For the crop-top and dress designs, meanwhile, we held many internal meetings throughout the revision process. We began seriously expanding and developing the designs in March. From March through June, we worked on the overall designs. The jeogori-inspired design was requested later, after the collaboration had been confirmed, so we developed several proposals and submitted them to the Student Council. | What was the biggest challenge in finalizing the designs? The most important consideration was maintaining consistency with the Student Council’s other uniforms. As fashion students, we naturally tend to appreciate distinctive styles, and many of us enjoy wearing more individualistic clothing ourselves. So our initial designs were much more elaborate, with more complex graphics and a stronger mAff identity. But we were concerned that a design we considered well suited to a festival might not fit with the other uniforms produced by the Student Council. We considered designs such as coordinated top-and-bottom sets and more unconventional sleeveless styles featuring lace or zippers. They looked good as designs, but because the uniforms had to be mass-produced by a manufacturer, we decided that some would be difficult to realize in practice. We also had to balance two different ideas: some members felt that festival clothing should be bold and eye-catching, while others wanted to create a practical item that could be worn beyond the festival. Ultimately, we agreed that because the project was being proposed by the Department of Fashion Design, we should focus on creating clothing rather than simply merchandise. Since we were the ones approaching the Student Council with the proposal, it was important to preserve mAff’s character while also ensuring that the uniforms worked as part of the Student Council’s overall lineup. The hardest part was finding the right balance—making the designs distinctive enough to reflect the fact that they were created by fashion students, without making them so unconventional that they stood out from the rest. At the same time, we had to consider whether the designs could actually be produced and whether the materials and fit would create the look we wanted. | What was the most meaningful outcome for mAff? What did you learn from the process itself? I think the biggest takeaway was that we were able to apply in practice what we had previously studied and analyzed theoretically as a club. We normally research and study topics such as fashion marketing and branding from a theoretical perspective. This time, however, we had to take on the roles of planners and producers ourselves and think from the perspective of actual consumers: “What do people really want?” As we worked through the project, we also experienced firsthand how many unexpected challenges and decisions arise when you actually put a plan into practice. We learned how to coordinate different opinions and turn an idea that initially existed only as an abstract goal into a tangible product. Another aspect that our members particularly appreciated was the opportunity to raise awareness of the Department of Fashion Design. Many people at SKKU do not even know that the Department of Fashion Design exists. Our members and other students in the department have often felt that this was unfortunate. Through this collaboration, however, we began hearing people say things like, “The clothes designed by the Department of Fashion Design are really nice.” Seeing both the department and mAff mentioned more often has made us very proud. We had previously created merchandise within the club, but it was mostly known only among students in the department. This collaboration allowed us to introduce our work to a much broader audience. | mAff continues to pursue various activities beyond this project. Are there any projects or activities you hope to take on in the future? We want to continue developing projects in which students can plan and create tangible results, while building on our existing focus on fashion and marketing. Nothing has been finalized yet, but we are also hoping to expand our activities outside the university. This semester, we plan to explore projects involving collaborations with companies and continue taking on new challenges. We hope to use this experience as a starting point and keep building on it. The Student Council and club leadership will change in the future, so we cannot know exactly what will happen. But we would also like to see this kind of collaboration between mAff and the Student Council continue. | Finally, is there anything you would like to say to SKKU students who will be wearing the ESKARA uniforms? From the perspective of someone who designs, produces and makes clothing, I think the most rewarding and meaningful moment is when someone looks at something you created and remembers a happy time. That was also what we hoped to achieve with these ESKARA uniforms. We wanted them to be more than just festival clothing—to become something that reminds students of the fun and joyful moments they shared while enjoying the festival together. I hope everyone enjoys ESKARA to the fullest while wearing our uniforms.
