Going Crazy for Michigo

Happy Tuesday internet! Starting now (dramatic fanfare) we will be updating on TUESDAYS. Maybe making the worst day of the week a little more fashionable will make it more bearable. ;)

SO ON THIS GLORIOUS TUESDAY, we are talking about one of the most well known artists in kpop and his recent eclectic, crazy, off-his-rocker comeback. 

MICHIGO- GDRAGON

The MV for Michigo came out April 19th, 2013 and the video had 4,478,853 views as of April 30th. 

If you haven't seen this insanity yet, please experience the wonder here: 

TO THE CREEPY SUBWAY( click )

Overall impression:

Em: As always, GD has a sassy, weird style that is totally and completely his own. It was reminiscent of the insanity of Crayon, but with elements of One of a Kind thrown in. Initially he started in a relatively innocuous ‘street-clothes’ type outfit, then quickly moved dark leathery outfits as part of his alter-ego. Lots of tight pants or weird shorts, jackets, and wigs EVERYWHERE for him. The other people in the video ranged from fairly simple punk-y outfits to the super badass girl with green lipstick and leather and spikes everywhere. Oh and one more thing—most of them had masks. Creepy anime girl masks.

Don't worry, dancer girl is just high off life.

What a luscious wig. (Because he's worth it...)

On my way to school. Riding the scariest subway ever.

Ruby: Animegao. Yeah. They were a…. surprise. It definitely held the hallmarks of  GD. There were A LOT of exaggerated hairstyles and heavy (though really well done) makeup in this video. Some really interesting individual pieces got lost in the wonderland-esuqe muddled confusion. That being said the shapes and styling was very intricate, creating a complex and unique atmosphere. Gotta love skinny jeans and a loose, cropped jacket. There was a very clear distinction between the dancers and GD, as they stayed mostly in street clothes and added masks.

my face scarf is super cool! too bad it was in the video for all of 3 seconds.

One of the many animegao....

Other promotional Materials:

Em: There appears to be almost no promotional materials for Michigo. Guess GD just didn’t need them…the video spoke for itself.

Ruby: He has dropped a hint for the performance of this song during his concert series. He wears a very long, red leather car-racing suit with appliques. It’s interesting. Really not connected to the video at all. I bet it looks cool from afar, but from close up the coat is overwhelming since GD is so skinny.

GD live stage outfit for Michigo. 

Continuity:

Em: Though it had the usual insanity of a G-Dragon mv, there was also consistency in the level of craziness. There was a different wig for every outfit, each one crazier than the last one (afro, Mohawk, etc) but they each went with the outfit. The color scheme for GD himself was almost all black and white, with some smaller exceptions. The masks also remained throughout the video, tying the scenes together.

My my what a wig collection you have.

Ruby: The scenes were continuous in their weirdness, I guess. I mean the theme for the video was insanity, so good work everyone, you worked hard today. Mission accomplished? A lot of it strayed into ground that was a little fetishy, with the harness for example. But hey, the slightly sketchy, very odd quality in this video really is consistent.

GD's shiny new harness.

Band’s Overall Image:

Em: Like I said, this is VERY GD. Though it has different themes than previous videos, you can still tell pretty easily that it’s him. His style is distinctive in its craziness and testing of boundaries. Also he seems to have a thing for weird shorts. He has a well-established image of a unique, out-there artist using playful concepts with…twists. Such as the kink in this video. O.o

you know what they say about men with big feet.....

Ruby: Interestingly, GD’s solo work takes on a very different style than his hand, BIGBANG, does. G-Dragon recently has been going increasingly crazier in his wardrobe choices. Although heartbreaker era was slightly less out-there, he has always opted for weirdness and off trend fashion to set himself apart. Its one of his selling points; you’ll never be bored.

This is from Heartbreaker.... hey that mask looks familiar....

Heartbreaker makeup. A little bit wacky, a lot of a bit cool.

Trends in K-POP:

Em: GD sets the goddamn trend. However, this is consistent with themes of having fun and partying that we see from a lot of bands (his just might win craziest). Though the video wasn’t specifically about a party, it had the same ideas of letting loose, going nuts, and having fun.

 

PARTY IN THE LIBRARRRRRYYYYYYY..... study party. duh.

Ruby: AND THEN THERE ARE THE FETISHES. This video, from the bathroom voyeur to the super phallic gun to GD’s enormous feet, was filled to the brim with pseudo-sexual innuendo and imagery. Kpop recently is RIFE with fetish-related fashion! It’s not a new idea, going back to much older ukiss and tvxq songs, but there does seem to be an increase in it recently. Jaejoong’s Mine and Jo Kwon's Animal both make different references to the idea. Other examples are pictured below.

Voyeur GD approves.

Spanking. Apparently GD thinks this "feels good"....

Bom in 2ne1's I am the Best ft. Poodle and Spiky Boobs

Jaejoong's Mine, he sure does like his chains....

Dongho in Ukiss's Man Man Ha Ni. At the time he was 15.

NOTHING SEXUAL GOING ON HERE T-ARA. NOPE.

Can't even defend Brown Eyed Girls- Abracadabra....

Conclusion:

Em: I think the song and video worked very well with the image he had cultivated, and I suspect he had a lot of fun filming it. He certainly enjoyed riding the giant pink elephant. GD appears to be testing the limits of how weird (and sexual) he can get in an mv before he’s forced to leave the country, and it’s certainly entertaining. As usual, another successful single.

He sure enjoys waving around his.... elephant trunk.

Ruby: I always enjoy a little bit of weirdness and originality in videos. Typically I adore GD’s complete disregard for other’s opinions or social acceptability. While I loved most of this video I found it a little underwhelming following That XX and Crayon. I mean, That XX had this grungy elegance, which GD pulled off so well, despite the obvious contradiction in that statement. Beyond that Crayon managed to go insane (oh that wonder-woman cape) without being confusing or disorienting. While I loved the feistiness and snarkiness of the video, I wish it had been a tad bit more focused. Honestly.

 

From Crayon- GD and his favorite jammies.

From That XX- CLASSY AND SASSY.

Daily Dose of Daebak:

LIP RINGGGGGGGGSSSSS

EXCUSE ME WHILE I WHIP YOU WITH MY RIDING CROP FLY SWATTER. 

Leave us some good vibes or suggestions here or on tumblr! 

You can answer this, if you like: Which is your favorite GD comeback from this year? 

I know what mine is >.<

Lots of love,

Ruby & Em

(Lee) Hi Fashion

Our subject for today has caused quite the stir in the kpop world. I present, 16 year old singing sensation, LEE HI! And her TWO singles this year, It's Over and Rose.

Here are the videos!

It's Over 
At 4,036,805 views as of April 24th 2012.
Rose
At 3,366,324 views as of April 24th 2012.
That's over 7,000,000 views together! Not bad for your first album ;)

Overall impression:

Ruby: Wow! Two extremely different videos from YG’s baby, Lee Hayi. It’s Over went for a super-kawaii-aegyo style using clothing cuts usually saved for kids, bright colors and even toys in the accessories. It’s all fairly wearable clothing, daytime dresses, skirts, and t-shirts. They’re paired with accessories that would be very much at home in harajuku and all together the effect is a high energy and super fun statement. For Rose, Lee Hi goes avant guarde. The Rose is very prominently featured in pattern, color, cut and accessories. The video is super jumpy though, so the clothing often got lost in the transitions. Also, the men in Rose are wearing white pants and body glitter. Not what I usually associate with soldiers. (IT’S A SUPER SECRET MILITARY ATTACK STRATEGY.)

Don't you look adorable in your overall-dress and graphic tee!

LIEUTENANT SPARKLES REPORTING FOR DUTY, ATTEN-HUT.  

Em: The designers were definitely going for extremes here, since they’re still playing around with her image. You would expect such different styles not to work for the same artist, but it seems like both styles matched the songs they were paired with, so it wasn’t too disconcerting. For Rose, the outfits were a range of wearable, from almost street clothes to very strange things, but they all matched the aesthetic of the ‘rose’ in different contexts.

I found roses....

Other promotional Materials:

Ruby: There wasn’t a ton of promotion done for either release, just some simple photos. The stages for both included mostly clothing from the video itself, including that giant fluffy blue bear. The back up dancers for It’s Over are dressed similarly, but being much older, the young styles look out of place on them. The bear makes an appearance, dressed in various outfits, adding to the playful effect of the stage. For Rose, the dancers are covered in white see-through fabric, perfectly in sync with the feel from the video. They even covered her microphone in roses and use the colored contacts from the mv.

I'm very sorry to this poor dancer. But she handled it like a champ. Not even a flinch. Bravery in the line of fashion crisis. Bravo. 

Dancers from Rose Stage.... or next years halloween costume.

Em: They did do teasers, which were fairly typical. What I really liked was the making-of film for Rose, since we got to see details of the clothing and makeup that weren’t that obvious in the film. Much more appreciation for the red rose-patterned shirt now. Actually all of the rose things. YG WHY U NO PUT CLOSE-UPS IN MV THEY WERE FULL OF PRETTY….. :|

Ruffle Roses. 

Continuity:

Ruby: With It’s over, the video incorporates pastels and neons creating a playful, child like mismatched quality. Toys are used in accessories and many of the cuts are reminiscent of young girl’s clothing. Even the bear gets dressed in the latest fashion. I saw you GD-bear and Taeyang-Bear.  Throughout Rose there is a gentle and delicate feel to the clothing and coloring. Her makeup is kept very minimal and her hair is kept back or at least off her face. The entire video takes on a clean and sterile quality that is only interrupted by deep blood reds and soft pinks, very sensual colors. This trace links the entire video together very well….

Hmmmm G-Dragon.... Yeah I can see the similarities. 

Super simple peach makeup. Clean and very pretty.

Though there was the one completely random leopard print top. Why.

I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND.

Em: They do seem to be pretty good about continuity. Even though the themes are different, the same symbols and colors are continued through both videos. Not sure what they were going for with the leopard print, but I’ll forgive it I guess. (Ruby: NO. NOT ALLOWED.) They do very well with keeping the intensity of the color consistent too in each video. All the clothing for each definitely seems like it was made as a set.

Look! We both have oddly shaped lumpy headbands! We should be best friends.

Band’s Overall Image:

Ruby: Interestingly both videos put very different spins on the delicate and girly style they seem to be portraying. I.2.3.4. went for a grungy vibe, harkening to 2ne1 but in her stages her clothing seemed to be a massive mixture of stylistic contrasts. Really these videos are beginning to establish her image. Looks like Lee Hi will be marketed as a sweet, soulful and soft artist. It seems like they’re keeping it age appropriate without limiting her subject matter to “OPPA WHY DON'T YOU LIKE ME.” Thanks YG.

Capture from 1.2.3.4., Lee Hi's first single.

Em: They’re still playing around a bit with her style, and I think they’ll keep messing with it since she’s such a new artist, but they’ve got a lot of good things going with her first three mvs. Hopefully they keep experimenting and don’t just pick one and stick with it, because I like the different takes on one artist. She seems like she can wear a lot of different styles right now, which is good.

So cute and yet so elegant. 

Trends in K-POP:

Ruby: Lee hi is the black horse of Kpop, coming out of a reality program and giving the industry a knock to the back of the knees. She relies entirely on soul and passion in vocal excellence, no flashy gimmicks. She is not marketed based on her physical appearance that makes her somewhat of an oddity. YG has promoted artists like Psy without focus on the physical. She doesn’t fit with current trends, but maybe she could be the start of something new.

Psy and Lee Hi, oddballs from the YG family, together on stage.

Em: In a word, badass.

Oh yes. Badass indeed.

Conclusion:

Ruby: Honestly, for me, these were two really phenomenal choices for Lee Hi. She is quite young and they opted for a cutsey image and then a very avante guarde image rather than leaning too much on the oppa~oppa~ style or sexy, gangster style. She is a very unique artist and deserves a unique concept. Plus super cool fashion and super kawaii-aegyo silliness? It's a good kind of concept. Me gusta.

YES THAT IS A MY LITTLE PONY.

Em: I loved both of these songs, especially Rose. They seem to be capitalizing on the opportunity to experiment with her and avoid the clichés, since she’s so different from most kpop idols. I personally liked the avant guarde image better for her, I thought it was a little more artsy and mysterious and fit her voice better, but I though they did a good job with the cutesy too. Two wins in a row.

Daily Dose of Daebak:

TWO FOR ONE

GD’s wonderfully skanky flight attendant dancers make their reappearance. Thank you YG. Thank you.

these dancers might be my favorite part of kpop. 

CL on stage with Lee Hi. God damn, could she be any more badass? But I mean really now.

I GO BY THE NAME CL OF 2NE1. BADDEST FEMALE SEOUL CITY EVER HAD.

YG managed to sneak cannibalism into a video  and it wasn't banned. How, you ask? Watch the blue bear veryyyyy carefully.

cannibalism noun:1. the eating of the flesh of an animal by another animal of the same kind. 

Blue and violet contact lenses make everything SO MUCH COOLER!

Leave us some love here or on tumblr (same url) and tell us which look you like better!

Let us know what you want to see reviewed next!!!! 

Comment, complain, commiserate or congratulate. We'd LOVE to hear from you.

See ya soon!

Ruby & Em <3