Owl Society and the Sustainable Future of K-Fashion: Connecting Korean Indie Brands to Global Buyers
This article, ‘Jihee Shin, Co-CEO of Owl Society Co., Ltd.’, was originally published in the September 2025 issue of Alchedek and has been lightly edited for formatting to fit this blog.
Owl Society Expands the Reach of Korean Indie Fashion Worldwide by Connecting Premium Off-Season Collections to Global Markets
Fashion is one of the industries where the flow of change is rapid. Amidst the currents of change, there is someone who has experienced the entire process of design, manufacturing, branding, and distribution for over 20 years and has a keen insight into the market. That person is Jihee Shin, CEO of Owl Society.
With extensive knowledge of domestic and international buyer networks and seasonal buying cycles, she has designed a new platform that directly connects leading Dongdaemun wholesale brands with the world. Owl Society aims to establish itself as the most trusted global partner connecting Korean fashion with the world, while also growing as the central hub of the K-fashion business ecosystem that connects domestic brands with the world, based on technology and data.
At a time when K-fashion is receiving more attention than ever, we met CEO Shin, who is bringing K-indie fashion to the global stage.
One-Stop Distribution Platform ‘SHAKALAKA’ that Connects Korean-Indie Fashion Brands and Overseas Resellers
Established in 2022, Owl Society is a K-indie fashion resale startup that believes brands people love hold more value than famous brands. As a ‘technology partner’ that organizes the complexities of clothing distribution such as price, logistics, customs, and sizing into product- and market-specific rules, it optimizes and connects the two players in the K-indie fashion market: wholesale brands and overseas resellers. This approach builds a differentiated fashion business infrastructure that aligns the strengths of Dongdaemun with global demand.
“Owl Society’s management team has a combined 36 years of experience in the Dongdaemun wholesale market. We are committed to solving problems identified through our long involvement in the fashion industry and are constantly exploring ways to achieve the best results.”
Owl Society redefines pre-collections not as leftover ‘stock’, but as limited-edition, high-value collections that combine the unique Korean sensibility and trendiness of premium domestic brands with the advantages of off-season collections, offering both accessible pricing and immediate availability. This perspective is realized through the hybrid platform ‘SHAKALAKA’, which swiftly supplies limited-quantity items from premium Korean fashion brands to resellers worldwide. SHAKALAKA combines rapid lead times with immediate dispatch upon order, no-MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) orders starting from a single piece, curated brand selections, and prices that are up to 50% more competitive. By utilizing SHAKALAKA, overseas buyers can introduce new brands without burden, while brands have the opportunity to expand global recognition and improve cash flow.
SHAKALAKA, born from the combination of long-honed industry insight and technical execution, aims to be a connecting platform that optimizes both K-indie fashion wholesale brands and overseas resellers.
It provides a B2B integrated fashion distribution infrastructure, featuring SHAKALAKA, a mobile app dedicated to the global sale of pre-collection products from K-indie fashion brands, the ‘SHAKALAKA Project’, a direct sales platform primarily for new indie brand products, and ‘SHAKALAKA Management’, an AI-based inventory management app service available free to fashion brands. The AI- and app-centered operational structure enhances inventory visibility and reduces stockout rates, directly linking off-season and pre-collection items to the global B2B market, offering wholesale brands new overseas sales channels and faster revenue generation, while providing overseas resellers with reliable sourcing paths and margin structures.
“Resellers frequently mention that ‘the environment allowing escrow international payments with verified brands reduces transaction risks.’ Brands respond positively to the aspect of selling globally without damaging brand image. Above all, we draw the greatest energy from the affection and support for Owl Society, led by a representative with deep market understanding and expertise in the Dongdaemun market domain.”
Maximizing the Potential of K-Indie Fashion Brands through Expertise in Manufacturing, Retail, and Export
CEO Jihee Shin is an individual who has experienced the entire process of the fashion industry, encompassing branding, design, merchandising, distribution, production, export, and buying across all sectors of men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing. Twenty-three years ago, she established herself by introducing a premium jersey line that did not exist in the Dongdaemun market, leading to the success of the domestic fashion brand ‘J+K STUDIO’. Following this success, she launched the multi-label store ‘Celebration’ in Cheongdam-dong and operated various projects from planning to brand directing for the export-oriented women’s clothing brand ‘DIMMATIN’, building deep practical expertise. Through this journey, she recognized both the unique creativity of Korean indie brands and the structural challenges in managing unsold collections.
“ During my diverse experiences in the fashion industry, I gained the conviction that good products are universal and the realization of the power of connection between industry and people. These two realizations have become the basis for all decision-making to this day. At the time of the past brand closure, which was a turning point in my life, it was a painful experience but also an opportunity for growth with the determination to get back on my feet. The ideas gained during inventory liquidation became the starting point for today’s global business.”
Owl Society was initiated with the ambition to turn crises into opportunities by fully utilizing the capabilities and know-how CEO Shin has accumulated over 20 years in the fashion industry. The plan is to maximize the potential of K-indie brands by structurally changing the distribution method, connecting the stagnant domestic wholesale fashion market to the global market. Their goal is to provide new growth opportunities for both K-indie fashion brands and global buyers based on experience and technology, and to grow into a platform where indie brands can directly connect with the global market. To achieve this, they focus on building continuous relationships between K-indie fashion brands and global consumers and establishing an operational framework for effectively distributing off-season collections and limited runs from top wholesale brands and small to mid-sized indie fashion brands.
“ K-fashion is in the spotlight, but there was no platform to meet this demand. We decided to venture out by leveraging the trendiness and price competitiveness unique to the Dongdaemun wholesale market. SHAKALAKA aims to create new opportunities by connecting the Dongdaemun wholesale market, which is experiencing a crisis of regression despite the K-fashion boom, with the global market. ”
The unique demand for a wide variety of products in the fashion industry and the simple size configuration of Korean products act as major factors that make export difficult. The HS code, weight, size, and tariff application range are extensive for clothing, making logistics costs and tax-inclusive pricing very complex, and export documentation is also quite challenging. Additionally, the prevalence of ‘one-size’ clothing based on Korean body standards limits the countries and ethnicities to which these products can be sold. CEO Shin explained that she is strengthening strategic foundations to overcome these limitations by collaborating with AI-based size measurement technology startups and curating customized products for each market. Furthermore, they continue to develop technology for digital transformation. They are developing technology to improve distribution issues faced by small fashion brands, based on industry-academic cooperation with institutions like Korea University and Kwangwoon University. CEO Shin stated that they are creating sustainable distribution innovation that combines fashion and technology by offering a platform that can be used for free by wholesale label partners lacking human resources and digital infrastructure.
These efforts have led to achievements such as being selected for the Small and Medium Business Smart Service(Women Enterprise Supporting Center) support project by the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024, the women’s specialized accelerating program Kingo Spring by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Venture Business Women’s Association in 2024, and the Startup Growth Technology Development Program(2024 Stepping Stone Program, 2025 TIPS) by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. CEO Shin expressed gratitude, stating that she received assistance through various support projects while operating a startup that creates solutions to solve market problems through choice and focus, unlike wholesale businesses that face customers after establishing an environment. She explained that receiving technical support and questions about the essence of the business became an opportunity to solidify the company’s direction.
Original Article by So-yeon Park
Published 2025.08.28 13:44 | Modify 2025.08.28 13:46
출처 : alchedek(https://www.alchedek.com)