We live in a day and age where fashion, music, and art exist as separate entities that have osmotic relationships with each other. While these relationships are not exclusive to K-Pop idols and their art, visual concepts are an important part of K-Pop. 

As K-Pop’s reach continues to spread, K-Pop idols in the last few years have developed partnerships with global luxury fashion labels. This article looks at the development of the relationships K-Pop idols have with such fashion houses. 

For the sake of clarity and cohesion, this article will only look at idols’ partnerships (excluding other Korean entertainers such as actors) with non-Korean fashion labels known for being “high fashion,” “designer,” or “luxury.” It will also only look at brand relationships where clothing and accessories are concerned (excluding cosmetic brand deals). We’ll have a look at the types of brand deals that idols have with such luxury brands, too.

Early Luxury Brand Partnerships

Though K-Pop brand deals (known as “CFs”) are certainly not a new thing, brand deals with luxury fashion houses could be considered so. Our historical recap begins with second-generation idols; in fact, one idol in particular—BIGBANG’s G-DRAGON. G-DRAGON’s relationship with the luxury French fashion house Chanel has been widely documented. The first documentation of G-DRAGON attending a Chanel fashion show was in June 2014 when he went to the 2013/2014 Paris-Dallas Metiers d’Art Collection replica show in Tokyo. That September, he also attended the Spring/Summer 2015 Chanel show during Paris Womenswear Fashion Week. 

Dazed noted that his grand entrance into fashion high-society was in 2015, when he sat front row at the January Paris Fashion Week Chanel show. He would also attend their July show. In 2017, G-DRAGON was one of the faces of the newly launched Gabrielle bag, with the bag even becoming affectionately known as the “GD bag” for a short time. This partnership has continued through present day, where G-DRAGON’s Instagram is filled with ads from the French brand. G-DRAGON’s artistry is synonymous with fashion and his relationship with Chanel is a great example of that. G-DRAGON was the beginning of K-Pop’s luxury fashion relationship. 

G-DRAGON’s old labelmate CL is known as a fashionista in her own right. CL met Jeremy Scott, the creative director for Italian house Moschino, after the release of the legendary 2NE1 song “Fire.” He has called her one of his muses, and they have worked together on a variety of campaigns and launches. In 2013, Jeremy Scott designed the costumes for 2NE1’s world tour. 

CL was also part of an Adidas campaign with the other 2NE1 members, as well as Nicki Minaj and Sky Ferreira. In that same year, CL was spotted sitting in the front row at Moschino’s 2013 LA fashion show, and she continued to attend their shows in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Outside of official brand deals, CL has also been seen attending the fashion shows of Chanel and Marc Jacobs, and is known to have a personal friendship with American designer Alexander Wang. Compared to G-DRAGON, CL’s fashion gravitates to more contemporary brands, and that is reflected in the labels she has represented. 

There are numerous other second-generation idols who have had luxury fashion partnerships, namely G-DRAGON’s group member Taeyang, who previously had a relationship with Fendi and now has one with Louis Vuitton. However, not only are these two artists the most well-known artists with luxury fashion relationships, but they are also pioneers of the symbiotic relationship. 

Before the days of Instagram, Instagram ads, and social media, both G-DRAGON and CL were paving the way for future K-Pop idols to be faces of luxury brands. Their elaborate, and often genderbending, visual concepts are part of what makes K-Pop so special, and what appeals to high fashion brands. 

Long Term Brand Partnerships

Thus far, articles of this column have categorized groups as first, second, third, and fourth generation artists. However, because of the recentness of the topic at hand, the following will consider half-steps in the group generations. That is, groups will be referred to as being second, 2.5, third, 3.5, and fourth generation to create a more detailed division of time. 

The third generation of K-Pop idols is said to have debuted sometime between 2012 and 2017. Groups that debuted in this era include EXO, BLACKPINK, and GOT7. Groups of this era debuted during the rise of social media, and thus are much more likely to have brand deals with luxury brands compared to their predecessors. These brand deals are also much less personal than those of second generation idols such as G-DRAGON and CL, who had personal relationships with the designers they worked with. Because of this work-like relationship, it is more common to see idols represent several brands over a space of a few years, depending on how long their contracts last. 

EXO debuted in 2012 with the song “MAMA,” and eventually became the first group to sell over a million copies since 2001 with their 2013 album XOXO. Several EXO members have a history of luxury brand partnerships. As mentioned previously, these ambassadorships are much different from those of idols who debuted earlier. For example, EXO member Chanyeol was an ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger between 2017 and 2019 before becoming an ambassador for Prada in late 2020. Sehun was also previously an ambassador for Louis Vuitton up until 2019, and before that for the Italian house Zegna; he is currently a Dior ambassador. Kai’s teddy bear line with Gucci has gone viral, but before that he was the face of Ralph Lauren. Baekhyun recently became the face of Burberry, his first known luxury partnership. 

An important aspect of these partnerships is the artists’ ability to promote the brands they represent on their personal Instagram pages, often as paid ads (marked as such) or as gifts. Other third generation idols with luxury brand ambassadorships include GOT7’s Jackson with Fendi, Armani, and Cartier, NU’EST’s Minhyun with Italian sportswear brand Moncler, and Red Velvet’s Irene with Prada, Seulgi with Salvatore Ferragamo, and Joy with Tod’s. 

Artists Who Go A Different Direction

There are also groups who have, for the most part, chosen not to affiliate themselves with luxury brands, namely Big Hit Entertainment and JYP Entertainment artists. Within the third generation of idols, BTS and TWICE come to mind. BTS has a plethora of endorsements that range from soda (Chilsung Cider), electronics (Samsung), and most recently, the Korean household product company Coway. However, what is missing from their roster is a luxury fashion brand. 

The same goes for TWICE, who wouldn’t have any trouble inking such a deal, given their deals with LG, Lotte Duty Free, and contact lens brand Acuvue, among others. One can only infer as to why that is, but I think it is safe to assume that the lack of these ambassadorships is a purposeful decision. 

Moving on to the 3.5 generation, a group that has to be named when it comes to luxury fashion relationships is none other than BLACKPINK. Nicknamed the female G-DRAGON, member Jennie’s face is ubiquitous with Chanel. Every other group member also has luxury partnerships, unlike previously mentioned groups. Jisoo is the global face for Dior and Cartier, Rosé for YSL, and Lisa for Celine. It is important to note how the BLACKPINK members use their Instagram platforms, and how that allows them to have much richer partnerships with brands. Being an image-heavy social media platform, brands can look forward to the members using their profiles as ad space for their millions of followers. 

Short Term Brand Partnerships

In this new age of Instagram, other ways for brands and artists to be aligned have also formed. Brands do not necessarily have to onboard an idol as a full ambassador to be able to use their likeness. For example, though Yeri of Red Velvet does not have any official partnerships with luxury fashion brands, her Instagram page is filled with ads from brands such as Dior and Burberry, and posts that can be assumed as gifted from Loewe, Alexander McQueen, and Balmain. Dara of 2NE1 also has posts that feature collaborations with Celine and Burberry to name a few. 

As well as BLACKPINK, this style of partnership is quite common among 3.5 generation idols. Members from SM Entertainment group NCT, who has an ambassadorship with Burberry in Korea and China, have benefited from this more relaxed style of advertising. For example, member Jaehyun has been gifted items or had sponsored ads from brands such as Tom Ford and Burberry. 

Though it seems obvious to mention, a global brand’s affinity towards an idol will also be determined by the artist’s mainstream acknowledgement or size of their fanbase. Therefore it is, at present, not as common to see newly debuted fourth generation idols with such endorsement deals. However, an exception must be made for the SM girl group aespa, who only debuted four months ago in November. 

The heavily competitive nature of the K-Pop industry has meant that groups have to find new ways to stand out from the crowd, and fashion is one of the ways to do that. Now that social media has made our world a smaller place to be, it is only natural that the global reach of K-Pop idols will continue as they become more relevant, mainstream faces in luxury fashion. It also helps that a key component in K-Pop is experimentation with costumes and visual concepts, a common ground with high fashion brands that always strive to push the envelope and set new trends. It’s almost like it was a match made in heaven.