Under an agreement with a world-famous fashion association based in France, Seoul''s southern satellite city, Seongnam, will house a large-scale fashion complex.

According to the Seongnam city government, it signed a contract in Paris with Pret-a-Porter Association to build "Pret-A-Porter Seongnam City" on a 198,000-pyeong (653,400-square-meter) site by 2008.

Pret-a-porter, meaning "ready-to-wear," is also the name of a famous fashion show in France that is widely recognized for featuring trendy spring and fall fashion collections by celebrated designers around the globe.

About 1,000 fashion companies from 30 nations participate in the semiannual event that began in 1972 and the Pret-a-Porter Association was established the next year to exercise influence on the world fashion market.

An official from Seongnam said that the fashion complex would house designer brand-name shops and a variety of high couture companies along with local fashion-item stores.

A Pret-a-porter collection fashion show will take place in Seongnam twice annually, thus contributing to the development of local fashion industry.