SEOUL, South Korea — Founded in 2000, Boon the Shop opened its doors with a clear aim: to pioneer multi-brand menswear retail in the South Korean

As Asia’s recovery outpaces other regions, brands shouldn’t lean on China alone. Multi-brand stores in cities like Seoul and Tokyo are becoming more important to labels trying to claw back lost revenues elsewhere.

As Shanghai Fashion Week returns to business as usual, organisers and retailers in Tokyo and Seoul are turning their focus to homegrown talent.

The American department-store chain has signed a wholesale deal to sell its private-label collection internationally through the pioneering South Korean retailer.

It was easy to get distracted by the catwalk spectacle at last month’s Seoul Fashion Week, but the city’s real stars are its retailers who keep young international designers afloat.

What South Korea’s fashion market lacks in scale, it makes up for in influence, thanks to the continuing cool factor of both Korean brands and ‘Brand Korea.’