PARIS — After presenting three seasons of runway shows in Paris, South Korean fashion brand Time will make its official European retail debut on Aug. 30 with the opening of a two-month pop-up at the Samaritaine Paris department store.
It’s the first retail location outside of South Korea for the brand, and marks a significant step in parent company Handsome Corp.’s global expansion strategy, as it seeks to elevate Time into a luxury lifestyle label recognized well beyond its native country.
Backed by the Hyundai Department Store Group, which acquired Handsome Corp. in 2012, the 30-year-old Time brand is well-established in South Korea. Now it aims to push into becoming an international brand and it’s counting on its positioning in Paris to take it to the next level.
“We felt that this was the right momentum to expand globally and to have our brand competitiveness tested in Paris,” said Min Duk Kim, chief executive officer of Handsome Corp.
“Paris is a city where global fashion standards are made. It’s really important for us to gain recognition there,” he said.
A rendering of the Time pop-up at Samaritaine Paris.
With the explosive global popularity of all things “K” — including -drama, -pop and -beauty — Kim believes now is the right time to expand abroad.
“We believe we can lead the luxury segment of Korean fashion globally,” he said. “Our goal is to become a beloved K-fashion brand with international credibility.”
The pop-up will be the first to feature pieces from Time’s fall 2025 collection, shown on the runway last March. On offer will be curved jackets, voluminous coats, and structured knits, as well as accessories that have proven hits in Korea — including shawls and leather handbags.
“This is a response to the feedback we’ve been getting at our past fashion week shows, which is: ‘where can we actually buy the collection?’” said Kim. “Now customers can touch and feel the products and experience the quality directly.”
While ready-to-wear has traditionally accounted for roughly 90 percent of Time’s sales, the company is seeing fast growth in accessories and handbags, which have “soared” to 15 percent of sales in recent seasons.
The upcoming runway show in October during Paris Fashion Week will feature a new bag line created in collaboration with a Paris-based handbag designer, with the ambition to capitalize on this category as an entry point for new customers.
The pop-up will also preview elements of Time’s expanding lifestyle offering, including tableware, decorative objects, and a soon-to-launch fragrance — all branded under the Time name.
The latter category builds on Handsome Corp.’s experience in fragrance with French concept store Liquides Bar a Parfums and Argentinian brand Fueguia 1833, which it has operated and distributed in South Korea since 2022 and 2023, respectively.
A rendering of the Time flagship in Seoul, slated to open in November.
Time’s lifestyle play will also feature heavily in the strategy for its upcoming stand-alone store in Seoul, slated to open before the end of 2025. The four-floor flagship will serve as a brand experience center, with dedicated spaces for ready-to-wear, accessories, lifestyle, a private VIP suite, and a café. The Seoul flagship is intended as a blueprint for future locations, including a planned Paris store.
Slated to open in the second half of 2026, the company said it has narrowed down its Paris flagship location to either Rue Saint-Honoré or the Marais, pending the results of the Samaritaine pop-up.
“We hope to connect our Seoul flagship with the future Paris location to express the same brand essence,” Kim told WWD.
The pop-up will feature the global collection, which is tweaked to adjust for European fits, textures and silhouettes, as well as the eye of an international client who is more style-forward, trend-aware and willing to experiment with what is a relatively new name on the global stage.
Creative direction is led by Choi Jung In, one of the few female creative leads at a fashion house. Though the brand is based on a creative studio system, it leans on Choi’s vision to anchor its aesthetic and brand communications.
Time’s pop-up follows in the footsteps of its sibling brand System, also under the Handsome Corp. umbrella, which opened a permanent Paris flagship in June 2024. System’s success has provided a roadmap for Time’s expansion, Kim said.
Min Duk Kim
From the System launch, Handsome Corp. learned the importance of cultural fusion by enlisting Korean and European artists for collaborations, which has positioned the coed brand’s Marais store as part exhibition space.
“We learned how to operate the store and activate our marketing, but more focused on locals,” said Kim of broadening the brand’s appeal. “We also learned that what is really important is not just the product, but also what encircles the products; for example, it is also an entertainment [venue].”
While Time has shown off-calendar since the fall 2024 season, the brand has been bolstered by support from FHCM executive president Pascal Morand, said Kim.
“Pascal has helped us with advice on timing, presentation, and how to build visibility in the Paris market,” he said, noting that the partnership with the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned Samaritaine and its credibility as a fashion hub will be a key milestone for the brand.
Opening events for the pop-up include a customer-facing coffee cart and special gifting, with an industry cocktail event the night of Sept. 4. The brand’s next runway presentation is set for Oct. 2.
