You May Not Have Noticed The Reasons Why aespa’s “SYNK DIVE” Teaser Images Are So Unique

Beginning last May, Aespa solidified their names in the K-Pop industry with their viral hit, “Next Level.” Fans could hardly wait for their return and eagerly looked forward to updates.

As soon as their teasers for Savage were released, they became hot topics online! Their styling, visuals, outfits, and photography were all high quality. The MC of their Savage Showcase, Jae Jae, commented specifically on their SYNK DIVE photos, “This one, too, [made netizens go] crazy as soon as it was out. For me, it was a bit like seeing something from Greek and Roman Mythology.”

Karina delved deeper into the concept behind this set of teasers.

First up, the highlight of our SYNK DIVE images are the headpieces we’re wearing, made specifically for this album.

— Karina

The first reason why it was unique is because the headgear designs were based on each member’s emblems.

If you look closely, there’s an emblem for each member.

— Karina

Karina’s symbol is the heart, as seen in the dual hearts above her forehead.

Giselle’s emblem, meanwhile, is the crescent moon, and so her entire piece was curved.

Winter’s emblem was also easily identifiable if you zoomed in closely to the details on the mask. Tiny stars were embedded all throughout it to represent her.

And finally, Ningning’s emblem is a butterfly. Her headpiece may look like flowers to some at first glance, but they’re actually the wings of a delicate butterfly!

The SYNK DIVE set of photos stood out for more than just their hints to the members. If you thought that their headgears were costume pieces that you can hold and wear, then think again! They were actually put into place during post-production. This became obvious in the clips uploaded on aespa’s YouTube channel.

This is actually computer graphics on top of the photo.

— Jae Jae

According to Ningning, the members were also “really surprised” when the final outputs were released. After all, they shot the photoshoot without having worn the pieces.

All of this was done through [computer graphics]. There was nothing there when we shot the photos. We’d just pose there for the shots but they turned out well.

— Ningning

They had to imagine what their faces would look like with the CGI in place, even if they had no markers right then and there. It ended up taking more than thirty minutes per person, an especially long time when they initially thought the photoshoot would be done right away.

When we started shooting, it was all so meticulous. We’d tilt our head three more degrees and take it again at this angle, again like this and again like that. So it took a very, very long time to get that done.

— Karina

Check out the full video below to learn more about aespa.