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| Chyung Eun-ju and Joel Cho |
By Joel Cho and Chyung Eun-ju
As the phenomenon of K-Pop spreads outside South Korea, the most popular artists of the genre are not only influencing the global music scene but also setting trends in modern streetwear.
Music and fashion have always walked hand in hand, forming a dynamic relationship that works together to create exciting visuals, either in the production of music videos or the creation of fashion trends. This has been no different when it comes to the ever-growing K-Pop genre
But even before the recent explosion of K-Pop in western culture, artists of the genre, commonly known as "idols," have been influencing fashion for years. K-Pop idols have been pushing the boundaries of fashion ― working with an industry that goes beyond just music, these idols have always relied heavily on the visuals of their performances and music videos.
These idols prominently wear urban and youthful looks, always playing with the idea of high and low, focusing on creating a visual performance with clothing, with the characteristics of the street style approach.
Among the various trends set by these artists, the most prominent and consistent one is without a doubt streetwear.
Last year G-Dragon's Nike Air Force 1 "Para-Noise" splashed headlines after the sneakers ran out of stock immediately after its release on November 23, 2019. People all over the world wanted to get their hands on BIGBANG's leader's sneaker collaboration with Nike. Originally priced at $200, the much-coveted shoes resell price could be seen up to $4,000. "Para-Noise" was considered one of the most successful sneakers drops of 2019, such that another collaboration is already underway, rumored to be released this year.
BTS, the first K-Pop group to top the Bilboard-200 chart, also made waves in the street style universe with its PUMA collaboration, releasing the "PUMA X BTS Basket Patent Sneakers" in 2018.
Going even further back to 2017, former EXO member Kris Wu released a collaboration with Burberry; and TaeYang, a member of BIGBANG, worked with Fendi to drop a capsule collection of bags, hoodies and T-shirts.
These K-pop artists' collaborations share a common ground; that is their inherently hip and modern take in streetwear. Since the fashion seen in the audiovisual content and performances of idols incorporate bold and loud colors and prints, naturally these elements translate to their casual style and, consequently, their fashion collaborations that try to emulate their visuals in products more accessible to the audience.
So, evidently, it did not take long for western companies to tap into K-pop idols and their massive fan base to promote their brands and products.
Recently, Beyonce released the campaign for her Ivy Park collection with adidas, which featured none other than CL, former member of 2NE1 and street style icon.
"Several people look at what the K-Pop stars are wearing to the airport and follow their style," said Sinxity, founder of Axis, a South Korean entertainment company. "The product they wear causes huge spikes for the brand in the following 24-48 hours. Idols' styles are carefully curated by half a dozen stylists and their cutting edge fashion catches the eyes of fans. Their influence in streetwear seems inevitable and necessary."
Nowadays, K-Pop idols' influence does not end with just fashion collaborations, their presence has grown so much that they can be easily seen in the front row at many fashion shows. The idols have undeniably established themselves as modern influencers in not only streetwear but in fashion.
Eun Ju Chyung (ejc@wtfm.kr) and Joel Cho (joel@wtfm.kr) are editors at WTFMAG (http://www.whatthefunmag.com)
