Some designers are pushing the boundaries in the rigid state
Some designers are pushing the boundaries in the rigid state. Women and men have long been restricted on what they can wear in North Korea. So-called fashion police are known to patrol Pyongyang and scrutinise clothing worn by residents, particularly items which appear “foreign”. Blue jeans, for example, are associated with America and have long been considered taboo.
However, women can now wear trousers inside the city – providing the style is state approved.
Singapore-based Aram Pan has been granted unprecedented access to the notoriously secretive state four times since August 2013. Mr Pan said this trend has spread past Pyongyang and into rural towns scattered throughout the country, where he noticed women are beginning to favour more “fashionable” garb.
His images have captured women in trousers and heeled shoes – not aspects of clothing typically associated with the regime. Read more.
