While many things seem like they happened forever ago, just as many feel like they happened yesterday. But one thing is for certain: 2021 was a year full of moments to remember — both in general and awhen it comes to fashion and beauty. The whole year was led by Y2K trends, flashy makeup looks, and idols proving their worldwide influence through several global luxury partnerships and runway appearances. Let’s see some fashion and beauty moments from 2021 that we will remember for a long time. As a note, this is not a comprehensive list; there were way too many amazing looks and fashion moments from this year to list them all.

Idols for Global Luxury Brands

Cha Eunwoo for Burberry and Bulgari, BTS starring in the late Virgil Abloh’s fashion film for Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Fall-Winter 2021 collection, BLACKPINK taking over French luxury fashion houses (Jennie posing for CHANEL’s Coco Neige, Jisoo working with Dior, Rosé becoming the new ambassador for Tiffany & Co., Lisa modeling for CELINE)… This year has shown that the biggest names in the fashion industry also recognize the influence and sense of style K-Pop idols have, with the biggest name proving to be KAI. A member of EXO and SuperM alongside being a soloist, KAI has been highlighted as one of the most influential people, inside and outside of K-Pop, in fashion this year by several outlets. His work with Gucci throughout the years reached a new peak in 2021 when they dropped (and sold out) a capsule collection early this year, creating a 264% online search growth for the brand.

Although all of these idols and brands are undoubtedly a perfect match, I also have to mention one of my personal favorite pairings: NCT’s Jaehyun and Prada. The mature elegance and sophisticated refinement of both the idol and the Italian luxury fashion house were meant for each other. Recognizing that, Prada chose Jaehyun as the first-ever celebrity to stream their runway show on his personal Instagram account for Milan Fashion Week this September. Just a few weeks later, GQ Korea dropped an immaculate fashion film with Jaeyhun modeling for the brand’s Holiday 2021 collection.

Runway Debuts

As K-Pop idols began taking over the international fashion scene, they also started to conquer the runways. Some were still in the digital format due to the pandemic, some were in real-life action. KARD’s BM made his runway debut at one of the four biggest fashion weeks of the world, Milan Fashion Week, where he walked the BOSS X Russell Athletic presentation alongside world-renowned supermodels Gigi Hadid and Irina Shayk. Just a few fashion weeks later, Seoul Fashion Week’s digital runway was also filled with K-Pop idols. The very hip presentation of the Korean up-and-coming brand HOLYNUMBER7 featured A.C.E’s Kim Byeongkwan and Chan alongside woo!ah!’s Nana, Wooyeon, and Minseo. YUGADANG’s collection brought the imagined lifestyle and fashion of the Korean royal family in today’s time with the help of OMEGA X members Xen, Hangyeom, and Hwicha, while UL:KIN’s fashion film presented a star-studded runway with A.C.E’s Jun, Ciipher’s Tan, Luna, Maddox, Kim Woojin, and VIVIZ (former GFRIEND) members Eunha, Umji, and SinB.

During the past year (or two), it seemed like the whole K-Pop industry got obsessed with CELINE, and the biggest win certainly goes to Lisa. Last year she was revealed as global ambassador for the brand—the very first under the current creative, artistic, and image director. As the most recent part of their work together, Lisa made her runway debut in CELINE’s Summer 2022 digital show, shining bright in Nice, France. 

A Hot Comeback to Remember

Do you know the feeling when nine tall, handsome, model-like dudes are just casually dashing outside of a runway? Well…if you ever watched anything related to SF9 before then yes, you do. After a long wait, SF9 returned with their mini-album TURN OVER and title track “Tear Drop” this summer. Besides their music filled with “Sensational Feeling”’s, FNC Entertainment’s boy group is also known for their visuals and sexy sophistication, which was shown from the very first set of captivating concept photos for this comeback, followed by a dual light versus dark concept in the music video. 

We can’t talk about this era without mentioning Yoo Taeyang’s stage outfits. The boy is surely not shy—not like he has any reason to be. He took the sexy and sensational elements on a more unconventional level, in a way that somehow stayed sophisticated no matter how revealing the outfits were. We’ve seen him wearing a tight, black, cut top which was probably the most low-key of all his stage outfits. We got an all-white cropped suit moment, with a very well-tailored set of suits and abs. One of my favorites is the little mysterious yet still pretty revealing look, a sexy white (quarter of a) shirt layered under a black open suit, accessorized with a waist chain. The one that probably stirred up the internet the most, however, is the iconic lavender look. Paired with leather pants, Taeyang wore a cropped jacket that was basically only covering his arms, while some fabric hugged around his core in an “X,” leaving most of his upper body revealed. Can we go back to that biology class where we learned all the muscle’s scientific names? I might remember them now. 

Colorful Graphic Liners

While K-Beauty and Korean makeup is known for being on the softer side in general, with Y2K and neon colors being in trend this year, some of the idols tried playing around with the graphic liner craze. For example, BLACKPINK’s Rosé showed off and rocked a neon green and pink over her crease on Instagram. The makeup artist of STAYC was a little bolder and mixed several colors, lines, and prints on the member’s lids for their “Stereotype” comeback. LOONA’s Kim Lip and Heejin went for a more muted version with their white graphics for their “Paint The Town” music video and performances, with Heejin having an extra line over her lower lips.

I also just want to leave an honorary mention here for WWD Korea for uniting Tom Ford and Adam Katz Sinding with Na Jaemin for an amazing special edition.