Seoul’s fashion manufacturing sector is a core production base within the fashion value chain and a key source of employment. Despite a decline in the number of firms and workers due to weak domestic demand and competition from low-cost imports, overall sales in Seoul’s fashion industry have increased. However, between 2021 and 2023, while sales in fashion design and distribution grew, fashion manufacturing experienced a decline in sales, indicating structural weakening.
The sector is increasingly polarized by firm size. Very small firms (1–4 employees) expanded rapidly, accounting for 80.5% of all fashion manufacturers in 2023, reflecting offshoring by large firms and the decline of the Dongdaemun market. At the same time, mid-sized manufacturers (10–99 employees) have grown, with their share of sales rising from 28.9% in 2020 to 35.0% in 2023, driven by the expansion of designer-led startups and related pattern and sample-making firms.
Strengthening ecosystem sustainability is critical. As price-based competitiveness becomes harder to sustain, the survival of mid-sized manufacturers linked to design-driven businesses will be crucial. Strategies are needed to strengthen the sustainability of Seoul’s fashion manufacturing ecosystem. It is necessary to pursue “tailored support by firm type” to strengthen internal capabilities, as well as to promote “ecosystem connectivity” through collaboration among firms and institutions. In other words, the capacities of design firms, pattern and sample-making companies, small and medium-sized subcontract manufacturers, and distribution firms must be strengthened individually, while collaboration among them should enable order matching, business opportunities, and market expansion.
This study proposes three strategic directions: (1) job and order linkage, (2) talent development, and (3) support for digital transformation (DX).