K-Pop Stylists Reveal The Actual Reasons Why Idols Need To Wear Expensive Outfits Made By Professional Fashion Designers
Whenever you see K-Pop idols performing on stage, they always look perfectly put-together. More often than not, they’re sporting designer clothing that their stylists handed over to them to wear.
But why do singers need to wear these in the first place? Netizens sometimes wonder if it isn’t easier to buy clothes straight off the rack in malls. In an episode of AYO‘s “Comment Defenders” series, professional stylists answered this very question.
They were none other than K-Pop stylist and visual director Kim Tae Young (also known as Balko) and Lim Heon Soo, a designer who runs the brand MANOD and an idol stage production team called Custom Mind. Together, they have dressed the likes of CRAVITY, P1Harmony, SHINee‘s Taemin, TXT, NCT, BTS, and BLACKPINK.
First of all, singers need designers to customize their outfits because it’s actually a more affordable option. Though they didn’t state just how much companies save, the interviewees did state that it was “cheaper.”
If they’re buying from luxury brands, making it is cheaper.
— Lim Heon Soo
Next up, stylists keep in mind the opinions of fans. If the singers go on stage wearing something that can be quickly bought in a store, stylists are the ones who receive backlash.
If we just dress them with regular clothes, fans get mad.
— Kim Tae Young
The interviewees revealed the current process they follow to get clothes from the conceptualization stage to the actual stage. In the past, it was more common for the stylists themselves to design stage costumes. Now, however, stylists hire professional designers.
In the past, stylists designed outfits, handed them over to the workshop, and they produced it and we dressed the idols. But now it has changed. We often ask professional designers to make it. Each designer has their own identity, and they’re competent. The quality gets better.
— Kim Tae Young
Stylists are needed because they recognize the talents of individual designers and decide who would work best with the team. And in turn, the designers are important to fully capture the essence of the group’s song.
I think it’s right that someone who’s good at it takes charge in album producing. Designers embody stories and such in outfits. Designers understand the concept in an album and apply it to the outfits.
— Lim Heon Soo
BLACKPINK, for instance, wore clothes by Danha Seoul that were based on a traditional Korean attire called a hanbok. These were then altered to a more modern style. If the stylist team of the mega-famous girl group had never contacted Danha, the iconic outfits would not have been born.
For more industry secrets, check out the full video below!
