Seong Joo Foundation Seeks to Discover Talent at the Intersection of AI and Fashion Tech

Competition of AI-Powered Innovation Ideas

in the Fashion and Luxury Industry at the "Like a Cool Lion 14th Central Hackathon"

The Seong Joo Foundation is fostering future talent by running a hackathon track themed around the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) with the fashion and tech industries.

On the 25th, a participant is presenting a project in the SJF track at the "Like a Cool Lion 14th Central Hackathon" held at COEX in Magok, Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Seong Joo Foundation

The Seong Joo Foundation announced on August 26 that it participated in the "Like a Cool Lion 14th Central Hackathon," held at COEX in Magok, Gangseo-gu, Seoul on August 25, where it operated the "SJF Track" under the theme "Fashion & Tech with AI."

Approximately 2,500 students from 80 universities nationwide took part in this year's Central Hackathon. Participants leveraged cutting-edge technologies, including AI, to turn a wide range of ideas into real products and services, putting their IT skills to the test.

The Central Hackathon, which is organized annually by "Like a Cool Lion," is an event designed to offer students seeking employment or entrepreneurship in the IT sector opportunities for practical experience and personal growth.

In the SJF Track, sponsored by the Seong Joo Foundation, participants proposed new customer experiences, business models, content, and services, integrating AI and digital technology into the fashion and luxury industries. The Seong Joo Foundation evaluated the entries by assessing their innovation, feasibility, and the growth potential of the participants.

The grand prize for the SJF Track went to the "KkotbodaSaja" team from Suwon University for its "MCM Orbit" project, which implemented an AI-based clienteling service. The "Excellence Award" was presented to the team from Catholic University, and the "Outstanding Award" was given to the teams from Dongduk Women’s University and Jeju National University, respectively. The overall grand prize for the entire Central Hackathon was awarded to the "Doodream" team from Sungshin Women’s University.

The Seong Joo Foundation is a nonprofit public foundation established in 2009 with funding from MCM, a German luxury brand celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Guided by its philosophy of "Lead the Future, Change the World," the foundation discovers and supports future leaders in diverse fields, including female talent development, global networking, and strengthening AI, tech, and digital capabilities.

In particular, the foundation seeks new industrial possibilities by blending fashion and technology, while also expanding educational and entrepreneurship support programs to help future generations transform creative ideas into real innovations.

On September 3 at 2 p.m., the Seong Joo Foundation will also host the international fashion tech forum "KIFT 2026 (Korea International Fashion Tech)" at the Goethe-Institut Korea located in Namsan, Seoul. The forum will examine how AI and digital technology are reshaping the future of the fashion and luxury industries and will discuss the development direction of the global fashion tech ecosystem as well as new business opportunities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.