Dianne Pineda-Kim - K-pop style: Korean pop star fashion to style at home

Copyright 2019 by Dianne Pineda-Kim

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover Photo Photographer: Rxandy Capinpin

Cover Photo Stylist: RJ Roque

Cover Photo Models: Jiyong Park and Mika Melitante

Interior Photography: Various

Print ISBN: 978-1-63158-404-6

E-Book ISBN: 978-1-63158-405-3

Printed in China

CONTENTS

Photographer: Izzy Schreiber
DAntidote captured the bright and energetic athleisure style of Korean fashion.

CHAPTER 1

FASHION WORLD TAKES NOTICE OF A K-POP STAR

Paris Fashion Week 2012While the paparazzi were busy taking photos of celebrity guests and regular street-style stars who made their way into the venue, a crowd started screaming and running toward one guy whose hair was entirely dyed a striking shade of pink. He walked with ease and familiarity as he sat front row at the Rick Owens show, wearing oversized specs, a formfitting black knit sweater, jeans with gold studs, a garish belt, dressed-up sneaks, and lots of silver bling piled one on top of the other. His style was no doubt eccentric and his sartorial sense unique, but his cool nonchalance and mysterious aura made him look like he fit right in. His style was incredibly rebellious as he stood out among the Western crowd who were dressed impeccably from head to toe. Everyone, including the exclusive fashion set, was intrigued, whispering, Who is that guy?

His name is G-Dragon or GD, one of South Koreas most popular rappers and leader of the boy band Big Bang, whose two-day debut in the Paris couture season would signal the beginning of his permanent status on the radar of high-fashion designers, magazine editors, and street-style photographers.

Back home in South Korea and all over Asia, he is anything but obscure. He is recognized as an artist whose music is as avant-garde as his fashion. I think Korean style is becoming more and more diverse, and people are starting to gain a lot of interest, so Im having fun seeing the new styles and trying them on, GD said in an interview with Dazed .

Since his entry into the big league of Fashion Week shows, GD has forged friendships with Virgil Abloh (who was then a budding streetwear designer, now creative director of Louis Vuitton), designers for brands like Balmain, Givenchy, Thom Browne, and, most importantly, one of the most acclaimed designers of our timeKarl Lagerfeld of Chanel.

So it wasnt a surprise when Lagerfeld introduced GD to the world as one of the new members of his circle of favorite muses that includes Cara Delevingne, Diane Kruger, and Sarah Jessica Parker. The Business of Fashion (BoF) wrote: When Karl Lagerfeld included G-Dragon in a group photo at the latest Chanel couture show alongside international A-listers like Kristen Stewart and Julianne Moore, it helped elevate the Korean rappers status as an it boy even higher. In 2017, the same publication named GD as one of the BoF 500 People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry.

THE RISE OF K-POP AS A TRENDSETTER

Back then, Korean music and its corresponding style were not considered cool, and Korean fashion hadnt yet found its identity. The 90s pop stars tried to dress like typical suburban kids from the West: in low-rise, oversized jeans, mismatched colors, and a whole lot of hair spray.

Two decades ago, Korean food like kimchi, bibimbap, and samgyupsal and beauty products like BB and CC Creams were alien to the rest of the world. But these were introduced to the international scene through K-Dramas that are dubbed in different languages and distributed with English subtitles.

Korean American writer Euny Hong, author of the book The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World through Pop Culture , recounts South Koreas rags-to-riches story and how it transitioned from being one of the worlds poorest and least fashionable countries to being the cultural superpower that it is today.

Aside from the major political changes and modernization that South Korea was able to accomplish at a rapid pace, its entertainment industry was also rising to the occasion. Hong writes, K-dramas are soft power in action; they subtly and overtly promote Korean values, images, and tastes to their international audience.

She added further that in Taiwan, the airtime devoted to Korean dramas was getting so out of control that in 2012, Taiwans National Communications Commission called upon a Taiwanese network to reduce its primetime showings of Korean programs and increase the number of hours devoted to non-Korean shows. Latin American countries have also caught on to the trend, perhaps because of their emotional similarity to telenovelas .

This cultural phenomenon is called hallyu , which literally translates to wave. It refers to the idea that Koreas tangible and intangible products like music, dramas, food, cosmetics, and fashion are the main drivers of its economy and culture in terms of its widespread popularity overseas.

In 2015, when Lagerfeld brought his infamous Chanel Cruise show to the futuristic creation of Zaha Hadidthe Dongdaemun Design Plaza in the heart of Seoulhe sensed that the world would soon be obsessed with South Korea. Lagerfeld observed that the locals live very much in the present, positioning themselves at the forefront of the latest trends. Look at the streets here, they are young and playful, he said. One of the models in his show walked the runway in an outfit inspired by the hanbok , an article of traditional Korean clothing, and one of his designs featured the classic Chanel tweed suit with an unmistakable Korean twist.

It was a refreshing and smart move for such an established house of fashion to look toward Asia as its next biggest inspiration, more because of the fact that the Chanel Cruise show was sitting at the center of a nation that is now known as a cultural trendsetter.

This is why several big fashion players are placing their bets on this small country that is always one step ahead of its neighbors when it comes to globalization. For instance, the worlds largest luxury brands private equity arm, LVMH, invested up to $80 million in YG Entertainment Inc., a record label and talent agency in South Korea thats behind some of the countrys largest acts (including G-Dragon). The deal was of mutual benefit: The Korean idols get access to the best fashion houses, while the brands will enjoy immense exposure in this flourishing market. And this was announced even before Lagerfelds love affair with South Korea.