THE BOYZ’s Stylist Accused Of Plagiarizing Dior With Recent Stage Outfits
THE BOYZ recently came back with their sixth mini-album, THRILL-ING, and their new title track “Thrill Ride” means a new era of handsome styling. However, the group’s stylist is now under fire among Korean netizens for suspected plagiarism of luxury brand Dior Homme with a recent set of performance outfits.
Last week, THE BOYZ swept Mnet‘s M COUNTDOWN stage with another awesome performance of “Thrill Ride,” complete with a variety of handsome outfits.
However, fans on Korean community site Pann have spotted strong similarities between some of the outfits and a set of designs from luxury menswear brand Dior Homme. The pieces in question included Hyunjae‘s sweater…
… and Q‘s suit jacket.
Both pieces feature a collegiate-style design made up of a laurel wreath with the word “THRILLING” emblazoned over it in a red varsity font, plus the word “THRILL” written upside down underneath. Smaller white letters around the circumference display the song’s lyrics, “We thrill-thrilling out,” and the space between the laurel branches reads, “TBZ.”
When you compare the design to this graphic from the Dior Homme Spring-Summer 2018 menswear collection, it’s impossible to ignore the similarities. Both designs include a laurel wreath outline, similar red varsity font lettering (including the upside-down word), and smaller white letters around the outside. The only key difference is the wording, with Dior Homme’s design featuring the words “Christian Dior,” “LATE NIGHT,” and “PARIS.”
The original poster who raised the concern urged others to refrain from criticizing THE BOYZ over the issue given that the person responsible is the one who made the costumes, not the members themselves. That aside, they did note that it wasn’t just the letters and graphics that were plagiarized, but even the fit of the pieces themselves—right down to the pockets on the sleeveless hoodie.
Upon inspection, it’s impossible to say that THE BOYZ’s stylist wasn’t inspired by the Dior Homme outfits. However, netizens are divided over whether the “Thrill Ride” design constitutes willful and illegal plagiarism or whether it can be considered an homage or “reform” of the original pieces.
While some suggested that Cre.ker Entertainment should have bought the official Dior Homme pieces outright, others pointed out that the custom “Thrill Ride” lettering is a key point of the stylist’s designs.
Ultimately, plagiarism or otherwise, the stylist’s action doesn’t detract from THE BOYZ’s successful THRILL-ING promotion cycle or their awesome stage performances. Cre.ker Entertainment is yet to comment on the accusations against the styling team.
