This week we went sexier than usual with Troublemaker's Now. The video featured a Hollywood-film-inspired, American theme that had just enough hipster to make us happy. If you haven't seen it yet, check out Hyuna and Hyunseung here:
It came out on October 27th, 2013, and currently has 8,271,786 views.
Em: This was actually a GREAT set of outfits, from the
dramatic black dance costume to the various creative pieces of lingerie. As
much as we don’t usually think Hyuna’s clothing is particularly…appropriate to
context, in this it really fit with the scenario they set up and really carried
the theme through the MV. Hyunseung’s clothing complemented Hyuna’s rather well
(and we also got similarly revealing shots of him shirtless… yay!). It was very
American-inspired, and a very different setting than what we usually see in
kpop, but nonetheless Troublemaker looked right at home in a fashion-forward
trailer. The video had a messy, careless sense to it, which is really quite rare
in MVs, shown with loose, nearly mismatched clothing and artfully tousled hair.
Interesting and beautiful, especially with the weird hair colors
Ruby: So I know that
normally we’re quite harsh on this type of clothing, but in this case we both
really liked this video. The difference here I think, is that it fits the
concept and it is not overdone. Each of these outifts was simple and featured
one or two focal points. For instance, Hyuna wears a bralette at one point.
It’s super cool and totally on trend, but if rhinestones and feathers
surrounded it, I don't think I would have noticed it. There were elements
though, that really brought it out of normal clothing and into the fashion
world, from colored wigs to impractical sweaters and leather bondage features.
It was really nice to see the sexy concept done in a very real and very
fashionable way.
Sure there's a lot of skin, but in this case she just looks AWESOME
What a Tease
So we don’t always talk about teaser photos (though nearly
every band has them), but when we do it’s because they were fantastic. The
teasers for Now were gritty and sexy and fashionable and just wonderful. They
managed to capture the spirit of the MV completely without repeating what
actually happened. I’m not even sure I [Em] could pick a favorite. The outfit
with the black skirt and blue wig is pretty high on the list though. They
matched well as a couple too, with the loose white paired with leather and
baseball caps. Interesting combinations that worked well.
Simple, sexy outfits
Capturing the spirit of the MV
This. This is good.
You know, in the past I’ve always overlooked these two, but
especially Hyuna. I mean with their last video I was so focused on how bad they
were at spying and if she was going to stay upright in her shoes, to even
notice their acting skills! But this time, they seem so much more mature and
sophisticated! I mean, when Hyunseung is wandering around shirtless, in those
low-slung jeans, suddenly, it hits me! He would make a super awesome, super
sexy villain. I CAN SEE THE HEADLINES NOW! HYESUNG TAKES SHIRT OFF TO TAKE ON
VILLIAN ROLE. And Hyuna! Wannabe-homewrecker no more! I mean in Icecream, it
was funny and all, she was so sexual in such a cute video… I mean at one point
her pants laced up over her lady parts… Not really the image we’re looking to
promote. But this time, in her big jean shirt and little black dress she looked
every bit the part of a daring young actress, willing to take on the controversial
roles but while keeping it classy and fun…. Check and check, adding two people
to my future casting list, oh yes I am!
Ready for casting
#inmyboyfriendspants
#howmanycolorsdocowscomein
#everygirlneedsalbd
#inmyboyfriendspants and the shirt too probably, considering
the trend of women wearing their boyfriend’s garments. Wearing a baggy button
down while singing angstily about your boyfriend (or exboyfriend) is more
common than you’d think. We saw it in Sistar19’s Gone Not Around Any Longer,
which was quite nice. In Now, Hyuna wears her significant other’s flannel shirt
in the MV and his suit jacket in the teaser. Such a clothing thief. No wonder
they’re having relationship issues.
Sexy plaid vampire
Getting a little daring now aren't you.
Sistar19 in Gone Not Around Any Longer
#howmanycolorsdocowscomein…? Quite a few I guess! Recently
we’ve seen a ton of leather jackets, especially fun or bright colors. Leather
is always in; it keeps it classy and cool and totally chic. In this video they
sport black leather jackets, but Hyunseung also sports a light blue jacket, at
one point. Earlier this year in Why So Serious SHINee also donned brightly
colored leather. Leather jackets come in a bunch of different variations, even
cropped, like in CL’s Baddest Female. Keep ‘em coming kpop, leather is a nice
contrast in texture to other fabrics and looks badass.
Hyunseung's blue jacket
SHINee in leather jackets of varying colors
CL in Baddest Female
#everygirlneedsalbd, or little black dress, since they're so useful! Hyuna wears a daring one in Now, and she looks stunning in it while dancing. One recent example of the lbd is from Sistar's Alone, where the band all had sleek black dresses. An older example is from After School's Flashback, where the concept for the whole MV was little black dresses. Its really a classic piece that just keeps showing up...probably because its so snazzy. Finally, none other than Madam Heehee (Heechul for those of you who aren't that deep into the ELF fandom) wore his own black dress. Not that I would really call this menswear.
Sexy dance costume CHECK
Sistar in Alone, with even the backup dancers in lbds
After School's Flashback
And then there's Heechul
Em: With a well-put-together plot and a fitting concept,
Troublemaker’s fashion impressed me quite a bit. Far from the cliché spies in
Troublemaker, they created characters for themselves using clothes. From the
long black cloak Hyunseung wore in the dance scene to the leather extravaganzas
in the car scene, it was great. There was nothing cutesy either, which was
refreshing—both Ruby and I have issues when adult kpop stars dress much younger
than they are, but this was quite age appropriate (and edging on racy). I’m not
saying I loved every piece (the leopard print was a little questionable) but I
must say, well done.
YESSSSSSSS
nooooooooooo
Ruby: For the Korean music scene, I think a lot of this
fashion was still super racy and exposed, but even so, there was a modern,
current feel for the fashion in this video. It managed to be just beyond the
boundary of wearable, making it feel like a production, but still with
identifiable trends and fashion statements. Personally, I’m always a sucker for
hipster fashion, like their car blanket covers, Hyunseung’s flannel and Hyuna’s
exposed thigh tights. I still don't approve of plaid. Seriously. But the rest
of the video is innovative and really spot on, trends wise, I think. If someone
wanted a reference guide in how to do raunchy and sexy and amazing, this is it.
Even with exposed underwear, leopard print coats and blue wigs, it had balance,
impact and held my attention.
The hipster fashion that makes us happy
Pretty shot...but WHY THE PLAID TREND
Joker makeup.
SO THAT WAS A REAL KISS. DDDDAAAAAYYYYUUUUMMMMM. ;)
So what did you think of Hyuna and Hyunseung? Have you always been a fan of her? Or do you still not like her? And the biggest question...how much plaid have you been wearing? Let us know in the comments!
It's always great to see last year's rookie bands making come backs and establishing identities. We've had EXO and BAP and most recently Nu'est!
This week we're reviewing Sleeping Talking - Nu'est
The video was posted on both Loen and Pledis's channels, for english subs, watch on loen! It was released on August 21st 2013, and on August 27th, had a combined view count of 544,749.
Overall impression:
Ruby: I think this is an absolutely brilliant video.
HOWEVER, I definitely did not feel that way when I first watched it. No, my
first reaction was more along the lines of mother of god above what in the
world are these boys wearing and where did they even find it? And then it
occurred to me. THE PAJAMA SECTION! The whole video is about sleeping and sleep
habits, so of course they wear pajama inspired clothing which just makes it
rather awesome. I need me a pair of sunflower harem pants and kissy print
leggings. Yeah, it was stylized pjs, with sneakers and hats and sport coats,
but I think it was really cool and different.
Sunflower pants, I WANT THEM.
Kissy leggings are really cute.
Em: AGREED. As soon as Ruby pointed out the whole pajama
thing everything made sense. I mean, mismatched clothing SHOULD be pjs…I mean,
when else could you get away with wearing baggy mismatched neon everything?
While it was stylized, they allowed themselves some freedom because of the
unusual scenario and it enabled them to really have fun with it. I wouldn’t say
it was all cute or sexy or whatever, but that wasn’t the point…and it worked
because that wasn’t the point. Cool.
A jersey and some pokaspotted pants? Sounds like perfect bed wear to me.
Some of that sexy tattooed belly showing.
Other promotional Materials:
Ruby: Nu’est put out a music video teaser with your typical
scenes from the mv. It was well put together and I really really like the parts
they chose. It demonstrated the dance highlight, vocals, handsome men (and ren)
and concept well. They also put out teaser photos for their mini album that
this is off of which included color tinted photos in clothes a lot like the
music video. They also did longer individual sets.
Nu'est concept shots, this time in teal
Ren's teaser. Because we wanted to make you want him
and then remind you he's still a teenager.
Em: Their album photos were cool, I think they worked well
with the concept. They had one that essentially looked like a sleepover,
highlighting the stylistic concept with well-chosen pieces. The stages matched
very closely with the MV as well, making the concept seem even more cohesive as
a whole. While the outfits looked crazy in themselves, at least it was
consistent craziness.
The bedhead look... sure boys.
Stage performance, with mv outfits.
Continuity:
Ruby: I will admit that this video is really overwhelming at
parts. There is a lot of bright colors and flashing lights and changing scenes
and shiny things. (NOT THAT KIND OF SHINEE) I mean there are clothing pieces
that are really very out of place in a pajama concept, like fitted jackets,
heavy jewelry, sneakers and hats. I guess I’m willing to accept these sort of
off topic pieces because its such an interesting concept. Its like stylized
pjs. I think I really appreciate that its not sexy cute aegyo or manly man man
concept.
But he looks so dapper in his bowtie and jacket....
Now I kind of wish I could wear shoes to bed...
Em: The first time I watched it, I didn’t even know where to
look first, this is true. But that doesn’t take away from the continuity. I
think that the level of busyness in the outfits stayed the same and the style
was clear throughout the mess of outfit changes. I’ll agree that the hats and
necklaces were frustrating, but they had multiple hats and multiple pieces of
jewelry…nothing stood out as weird amid the weird, so it almost made sense. If
I looked at any one outfit from this, I could see why they chose it within the
larger set.
I mean, I wouldn't recommend sleeping in a spikey shirt with a spikey necklace....
but maybe that's just me.
Ren rocking some heavy jewelry too!
Band’s Overall Image:
Ruby: Is this where I acknowledge that I really like Nu’est.
Guess it is now. They’ve always been a bit different and mostly it’s related to
their image. The band has a wider age range and all look very different. Their
concepts have changed a lot in their short career but they always do something
rather unexpected. They’ve done futuristic, sleek and dark winter look, school
uniforms and now crazy pajamas. They’re still young and I think they’ll settle
into a concept as they go but the bizarre works for them… I mean Ren is in
their band. So, its bound to be interesting.
Last year they had a snappy futuristic concept for Action...
and then they had a serious manly concept for Hello.
Em: Mmmm and this is where I get repetitive and repeat what
Ruby said. Nu’est seems to have so far escaped the trap of producing as much as
possible in as short a time as possible, and as a result the songs they’ve
focused on have been really freaking good, especially for a rookie group.
They’re not trying too hard to match what kpop already has in an effort to be
famous, they’re trying to make a name for themselves as a band, and the results
have been impressive.
Their debut concept for Face.
See Ren and his pretty hair? And this was just some random photo shoot.
Trends in K-POP:
Ruby: Harem pants are nifty and have been around forever in
kpop. I mean this video is hard to define easily and pick out like oh look at
this trend. A lot of the ones I can think of are really really general, like
Ren is a flower boy or they wear colorful sneakers. There is a fun feature I
guess, where they wear leggings or tights under shorts. We saw SHINee do this
earlier in the year so that's something that is continuing… Sorry guys this
video is just a little too weird.
Some awesome tights to keep your legs warm under awesome shorts
SHINee stage performance of Beautiful.
Em: I see your harem pants and raise you…FUN SOCKS.
Seriously. A lot of less serious but still fashion-y bands experiment with, you
guessed it, fun socks and shorts. I don’t…really…understand…but it’s a thing!
If there’s one thing I can say about kpop fashion it’s that they leave no item
of clothing left unfashioned.
I sense... COOL SOCKS.
Taemin of SHINee wears lovely stripey socks at a press event
Conclusion:
Ruby: I always give a lot of credit to originality but I
also think that wear-ability and desirability are really important. This video
really excels at originality, I mean they’re pajamas! But I also think that
they’re really desirable. Pajamas are so often boring but I mean these are fun
and expressive and young. They make a statement and honestly I would buy some
of that for sleepwear. Some of it misses in wear-ability tight fight button
downs and flap front shirts without backs… maybe aren’t quite right but there
is so much good here I just can’t bring myself to care.
I want so many things. Like your pants.
I mean, i don't sleep in backless jackets, but maybe its a new thing....
Em: At first glance some of the outfits seem like they could
be part of the ‘I’m at a club and partying look I’m so different’ but a closer
glance reveals that they’re much cooler and more original than usual. Usually
neon craziness is relatively unjustified (see: I Got A Boy) but they managed to
give it a context that allowed the creativity to make sense. SLEEPOVER TIME.
I mean at first I was like, jeeze i wish i looked this good asleep
And then there was a creepy mask....
Daily Dose of Daebak:
THE ROOM WITH THE WORDS FOR FURNITURE…. So cooooool
Ren’s bead curtain hair!
Thanks so much for reading! Please leave us a comment, we'd really really love to hear from you!
What is your favorite pajamas? Ours are super comfy and brightly colored!
See ya soon,
Ruby and Em <3
