The K-Fashion Moment Is Now
When K-pop and fashion become one
I don't need to repeat this because I'm sure you already know, but in pop culture right now K-pop is where it's at. And if you were in doubt about K-pop's influence and prominence in fashion, then the FW23 menswear collections and Paris Couture Week confirmed it. The most recent fashion show season saw the likes of megaband BTS’ J-Hope attend the Louis Vuitton show guest-designed by KidSuper, he also sat FROW at Dior Men with bandmate Jimin, who Dior just announced a partnership with, and J-Hope was also present at Hermès. Not to be outdone fellow BTS member Suga was named Valentinos newest brand ambassador just a day after Jimin was named Dior’s, and Louis Vuitton just appointed Hong Kong-born K-pop star Jackson Wang its latest brand ambassador - and all of that went down in less than a week. Phew.
Struggling to keep up? Yeah, me too. Fashion's warm embrace of Korean pop stars is leading mega luxury brands to sign more and more deals with big names in K-pop, as well as shooting brand campaigns with them and inviting them to hyped-up and hotly anticipated fashion week shows now IRL events are back and poppin’. It's the time of Hallyu, which roughly translates as 'the Korean wave’ and speaks to the phenomenal growth of Korean culture in recent years, and this wave is spilling over into fashion. And it's making things pretty interesting. As K-pop merges the worlds of music, art, fashion, dance, sound and style under one roof, K-pop's best-dressed and its fashion elite are shifting the style landscape as we know it.
K-pop stars set trends
As the world becomes obsessed with all things K-pop the stars of the genre are becoming recognised as new-age trendsetters and tastemakers. Such icons are known for the insane level of fan engagement they create, both at home and abroad, and the sweet scent of their millions upon millions of social media followers is what’s seeing the fashion brands we all know and love line up at their door. And boy oh boy, they’re lining up all right. After all, it's what saw NCT Dream's Jeno become the first K-pop star to open an NYFW show as he took to the runway for Peter Do SS23.
K-pop stars are not only driving insane amounts of media exposure during the fashion week cycle, with Big Bang’s Taeyang at Givenchy Mens FW23, BLACKPINK’s Jisoo at Dior Couture, and NCT’s Ten at Saint Laurent along with SEVENTEEN’s Jeonghan and solo artist LØREN, but they’re also creating trending fashion moments through their stage outfits and music videos. They dress to express themselves, they experiment with their style choices and they stand out rather than trying to fit in - a formula that makes them ideal brand partners for any label that wants to create fashion moments built to last.
The evolution of K-style
K-pop has overtaken Harajuku in the fashion ranks thanks to stars that effortlessly switch up their look, going from old-school glamour one minute to hypebeast streetwear vibes the next. K-style has evolved so much that writer Fiona Bae has penned a book about it titled Make Break Remix, which explores K-pop's impact on the fashion landscape and beyond. Speaking to Dazed Digital she says: “K-style is such a contrast and a mix, so I wanted to show the eclecticism of Korean creatives.”
I’m not sure if there's any genre that encourages personal expression through fashion as much as K-pop does. Where K-pop was once known for its inoffensive, cute, abide-by-the-book outfits that were so matchy-matchy they borderlined cringe, now we're seeing stars pushback against the rigid style rules they were made to abide by. Instead, they're embracing things such as gender fluidity and personal experimentation when deciding what to wear. And fashion crowds are eating it up, with K-pops cultural relevance firmly cemented in fashion across all four corners of the globe.
What do you think of K-pop's influence on the fashion scene? Do you think K-pop stars will continue to score brownie points in the fashion industry and land major brand ambassadorships? And can K-pop icons continue to use their style as a tool for creative self-expression?