Badman, Good Fashion

First off, hi from Em! I’m finally back. Matt did an awesome job of filling in while I was gone, he gets points.

Now,we've spent the last few weeks celebrating summer with beachy, bright and funny videos. So this week we decided it was time to mix it up a bit and go for something entirely different! What's the best thing to interrupt a breezy summer beach-fest? Violent rebellion of course.
This week we're reviewing
Badman by BAP 

The music video came out on August 5th 2013 and as of August 12th had 1,213,313 views.

Overall impression:

Ruby: Let's begin the descent into morbidity shall we? In the face of all that is bright and cheerful this summer, this video is a resounding salute to the end of the world and mass destruction. There is nothing light and airy here, just smokey, heavy and dark. Happily for us, the clothing matches that well. It centers on rebel fashion mostly, playing with leather and fishnet for texture and often using face covers. The face paint was absolutely brilliant as a ‘dirtying’ of the members without actually smearing them with dirt. Then there was the brief bananas in pajamas cameo, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

I am artfully dirty. Look at my angsty eyeliner paired with my
 devil may care black paint application...

All in all a very simple stylistic choice 

Em: Hey, it wasn’t ALL gloom and doom…there was a random girl smiling and even a kiss for a second. You just have to look past the other 3 minutes 56 seconds of explosions and death.  Aside from the irrelevant girl, there were two(ish) sets of clothing; one for the riot scenes, and one for the dance scenes. The riot clothes fit in nicely, with chains and tigers (and bears, oh my). The dance scenes were a little less serious and a little more fashion-y…think checkerboard explosion.

THIS WASN'T CREEPY AT ALL GUYS.
why not film random people kissing? sure....

This kiddies, is called a Molotov cocktail, not to drink...

Other promotional Materials:

Ruby: The video teaser was scenes from the mv, smashed together. The photo teasers were done in the style of wanted posters, fancy that. They’re actually really cool using posterization and a limited color palette. Really different from most  teasers which aim to highlight how attractive the members are, this hid a lot of their faces and played up that mysterious, criminal vibe.

rebel prisoners... what a tease....

Em: I really liked the addition of the red in the teasers…it made me wonder what the MV would’ve looked like if red had played a more prominent role in the palette (which was really mostly black and white). It still fit with the concept of the MV, with blood and all, so I wonder why they DIDN’T have red featured anywhere. It could’ve easily looked cheesy though, so maybe it’s better that they didn’t. Either way, the teasers were cool.

I FOUND RED IN THE MV

Continuity:

Ruby: (they’re bananas in pajamas)…. I’m being harsh and I know it. The video was overall fantastically well coordinated, they used real riot gear for the extras and the band played with the shapes of armor and street wear in their outfits. However then we have these weird and out of place stripes. I guess one theory is that they’re trying to portray the rich and opulent side of revolution, like the disgraced aristocracy? (STRETCH FOR ITTTTT) but lets be real, if that's what they were going for then they missed the mark and if its not what they were going for then I’m lost. Anyone got other ideas?

ALL THE STRIPES AT ONCE

WE'RE BANANAS IN PAJAMAS.... or bap.

Em: My initial guess as to why they did stripy fun time is that they were playing off the black face paint on white faces. The contrast is always striking, so I guess they wanted to continue it but with something more dance-costumey than the other outfits, which were better suited to the plot itself. OOH or maybe they were thinking like convicts. Yeah actually. That makes sense. It just came across as bananas in pajamas. You can’t make convicts fashion forward.

ANGST AND FACEPAINT.... 

prison line up... or mv.

Band’s Overall Image:

Ruby: Em and I love to talk about BAP’s image over time. We really like consistency and progression. Thus, things like Stop It and to some extent Rain Sound, really confuse us. At least for me, I loved the style they took on for Warrior, Power and even No Mercy and I was so happy to see that come back in One Shot. This is more in that vein, so it pleases me, but I know that some Baby’s really love the variety. So I guess I'm happy but I could see that it might be frustratingly consistent.

One Shot outfits from BAP

They're so.... cute?

Em: I will admit, the second time I watched the video I had the sound muted and No Mercy was literally playing in my head. This works for BAP. It even references their debut. I am glad. There’s variety and then there’s chaos…one is good, the other is just confusing. Maybe this should’ve been weirder for them, but meh. I’m okay with it.

No Mercy style... very similar

Trends in K-POP:

Ruby: IT'S THE END OF THE WORRRLLLDDDDDD. This is a theme from forever. Angsty apocalypse videos have been around for years. The facemasks are also ever popular, although I loved the fishnet one in this video. Totally on point. They really are one of the fixtures in the sports wear world as well. Men’s videos tend to take on one of (I think) four big themes. They go sportswear, suits and more formal, off the wall or AEGYO-MONSTERS. Each of those styles has staple groups and I think BAP is really becoming one in the sportswear category.

T-ARA's butt kicking style in Day by Day

mesh facemask.... cooooool dude.

Em: I’ve noticed the odd half-skirt things in men’s fashion before in EXO videos and suchlike. There will be either a piece of swooshy fabric on one side (a half skirt) or pants that are baggy in such a way that it looks like a skirt from a distance. I guess its supposed to be swoopy and dramatic? Anyway. Black in white also come back again and again just because it’s so effective for creating drama, also like in Exo’s Wolf.

skirty thing on men!

More of them! In Exo's Wolf

Conclusion:

Ruby: I think in the realm of war, fighting videos this one really stood out to me. The face paint and the restraint (everywhere but the stripe-y suits) really gives this video a dark and dangerous feeling without just dressing the band up as soliders and covering them in dirt. They melded fashion and statement well, which is something I really respect stylists for. From the skull flags to the leather briefcase there was something really classy about this apocalypse.

The simplicity of this is really the best part of this mv

Points to this revolution's graphic designer!

Em: Yeah this was pretty cool, all things considered. Especially with the badass face paint. It was almost movie-esque at times, and the fashion was interesting yet almost entirely believable in the scene they constructed…a tough balance to strike. My only wish is that we could’ve seen some of the outfits more clearly cause they were worth seeing. Good job BAP.

Many interesting fashion choices indeed.

I want to see moreeeeeeee

Daily Dose of Daebak:

We shall leave this carebear here as a warning to those who follow!!!!!

Apparently even dad’s gone. The flag said said so.The only written words in the whole MV. Deeply symbolic? Probably.

What do you think BAP stripey suits were meant to symbolize? The more of a stretch, the better ;)

Want something for next week? Leave us a comment!

Also, we're about to redo a bunch of the sections on the blog, PLEASE tell us what you want to stay and any suggestions you have!!!!

See ya later

Ruby and Em <3

Batman's First Love (Nanananananananana AFTER SCHOOL)

Nana and the rest of After School sang nanana (etc.) even better than the batman theme song in First Love. As of June 17th, 2013, the video had 577,166 views (which I don't think does it justice). If you haven't yet watched After School seducing everyone and everything, you can watch the video HERE 

Overall impression:

Em: The main concept for this was essentially stripper outfits (I mean, they had poles and everything) but there was quite a bit more to it than that. There was a series of outfits that were British inspired (which were awesome), some bondage-y punk ones (lots of leather), some basic dance ones (fairly simple white with black leather heels), and finally some variations on the white (but barefoot) for the dramatic solo dances. The outfits were clearly intended to be sexy, with slim-fitting, revealing pieces that had the added bonus of allowing them to dance successfully with a pole (this wouldn’t really work in skirts…). The band looked very unified, yet each member had completely unique details that really added interest to the video.

Leather and heels and poles oh my

Simple, intense color scheme

Swoopy solo outfits

Ruby: Yeah, I think it’s important to note that by using the poles so prominently, they really sold the idea of strippers, which made revealing clothing expected. So I will be a lot less harsh on this than on other sexy concepts that didn’t reference strippers as blatantly. They kept it really simple in content with big wavy hair, dark eye makeup and lace up leather boots. A few locations and no plot force the fashion and styling to do most of the talking for this video, which makes it less overwhelming I think. Plus they really do a great job with the pole dancing, so more power to them.

Wavy hair and eyeliner

Lace up boots that kept showing up
(though not always with the nifty socks)

Other promotional Materials:

Em: Their video teasers were just clips from the MV itself. One of the teaser photos was actually pretty cool, with Nana wearing heavy accessories and a hat but shirtless. It tied into the scenes with the members of the group clearly not wearing shirts at all, but at the same time it was interesting fashion-wise again because of the details. I liked the accessories themselves a lot, specifically whatever was on her hands. Certainly an image that would make people curious about the MV. The comeback stage used the black and white punk outfits pretty much exactly as they were in the MV. 

Comeback stage with same outfits as MV

Chains and metal jewelry are more obvious
when you aren't wearing clothes

Ruby: Comeback stages were super consistent, I love the inclusion of the harness, which I guess could be controversial (though I could have done without the head sock. Why. It's a head sock. I mean, I don't even know anymore.) They released a few group teaser photos. These featured a lot of leather and heavy metals. I thought it felt cohesive with the album concept without giving away too much of the mv, though the video teasers certainly did enough of that.

This is the cool part, and then.... 

Socks don't go on heads

Leather and heavy metals and legs everywhere too

Continuity:

Em: The continuity was surprisingly good, considering the variety in outfits they chose. Each set of outfits was extremely distinctive and the group stayed together without being all the same. The white dance outfits had the most continuity with each other, but others did well too, like the one where everyone had a British flag or colors incorporated into their clothing and were all wearing the same shoes. In fact, the shoes stayed pretty much the same throughout the video, which I thought worked REALLY well to bring it all together. The punky ones were a LITTLE far off from the white ones, but the British ones were a decent crossover and the shoes helped.

All different, yet still cohesive...yay!

Ruby: Honestly I thought that they were so consistent it almost got boring. I like sets of outfits to be cohesive, if you’re going to do sets, make them identifiably similar. That was great, but I could have used one more set of outfits, something metallic maybe? Or like really girly. One more element to spice it up. The white outfits were by far the most conservative of the bunch, but it did add some variety. I also appreciate the effort to keep them all equally as sexy, despite needing some of them in pants versus something sexier like shorts or skirts.

Borrrrinngggg (at least in comparison)...too uniform

Band’s Overall Image:

Em: After School has had a number of ‘sexy’ concepts (see Flashback), but this seems like its on a new level for them. Maybe it’s because they’ve done a lot of songs promoting their sexiness that they were able to pull off this one. The outfits were a little more varied than in some other of their videos, which was nice.

 

promoting with sexy in Flashback

Ruby: Flashback was really sexy, and even shampoo was a sexier concept, but within them I think they have always included some cute. Not to mention they put lots of girly, cut and quirky into their subgroups. Take orange caramel for instance. Their Magic Girl promotions featured pink, poofy and poka dots. Rather than an evolution of styles, After School really seems to just vary between projects. It’s cool and keeps it fresh.

promoting with sexy in Shampoo

SO MUCH HAPPY

Trends in K-POP:

Em: After School jumped on the tattoo train that we’ve already talked about in some of our other reviews, with prominent fake tattoos throughout the MV. Kpop also seems to be getting more and more daring in terms of what they put their artists in, from revealing clothing to obscenities on baseball caps. I like that they’re taking some risks in how far they can push things, though the more stripper concepts made the trashier they’re going to get. Another major trend is the British-inspired, punk outfits, which I adore.  

You can't ban me, I'm too cute (Sunny from SNSD)

Minho also wearing a Union Jack in a teaser for Sherlock

Ruby: There was a bit of bondage around, in this video, though I think that was more related to the stripper concept than anything else. Recently, I’ve been enjoying the pairing of innocent and suggestive. In Ga In’s Bloom (the video I credit with the stripper pole origin) its brief, but she also wears like, white and fairly conservative clothes while pole dancing. That whole video actually really pairs suggestive and sweet. I like it. I also love that the tattoos in the video are in the old pin up style. A great nod to a female sex archetype.

Ga In, starting it all in Bloom

Cool tattoos

Conclusion:

Em: As you can probably tell, I liked these outfits. I think the styling was really well done and creative, with lots of cool pieces. Some were even wearable, like that one red jacket that I would totally get for myself. The clothing really grew on me—the more details I noticed the more I liked it. Overall, I think it was a great comeback for After School and I hope their future MVs show them same level of quality and attention to detail.

Jacket jealousy

Ruby: Much like hipster-kawaii, I think classy stripper can be really tempting for companies, even if its almost impossible to do right. But wow! After School, I applaud your stylists because this is just done so right. I’m not saying I want to see endless stripper poles in the future of kpop, but this worked really really well. Plus it gives them a chance to explore some of the fashion that is harder to integrate into other videos. I mean if some guy fell in love with a girl while she was working in a café wearing union jack mini shorts and a one-shouldered top, I would have a lot more questions…..

Idk what kind of cafe that would be...

Daily Dose of Daebak:

The solo dances were kind of a how the $#*@ did you do that. Like that is not as easy as you just made it look.

That casually-thrown-in-there eyebrow ring. You rock.

So what did you think? Did you love it? Hate it? Did it remind you more of Ga In's Bloom or of Hyuna's Ice Cream? Leave us some comments!
Love,
-Ruby & Em <3

Why we are serious about SHINee's fashion

Why so serious? Finals got ya down? (OH OH OH ME ME ME! hence why we're late.... ) Summer not coming fast enough? Well then let's cheer you up!
With Why so Serious? - SHINee
The video was released on April 25th 2013 and has 2,705,361 views as of Tuesday May 7th.

You can find the video (and i recommend you do) here! ITS NOT BATMAN I SWEAR.

Overall impression:

Ruby: I’m actually super excited to talk about this video. We’ve been really focused on crazy and really out there fashion. BUT THIS VIDEO IS SO WONDERFUL. There are four main outfit sets: black and white suits, gray tone suits with overcoats, funky leather jackets and the black and red punk-inspired set. The four sets draw heavily from British fashion and present a very modern aesthetic over all.  SHINee looks fantastic in all of the outfits and each outfit really is composed of usable, real pieces. The styling in this video really brought out a very mature and subtly sexy side of the band, which I for one VERY MUCH enjoyed.  

subtle and sexy, our flaming charisma

Em: The four main outfits sets were different enough from each other to be interesting, yet the sets themselves were very cohesive in terms of general aesthetic. Being a big fan of British punk fashion, I was especially a fan of those. Lots of glorious details that were clearly well-considered and made everything that much better.  Some crazy patterns, but they were well-integrated so the viewer wasn’t completely overwhelmed, and the neutrals were well-balanced so they weren’t boring.  It was all just generally REALLY well done.

Minho in checkered pants, but still fitting in with the theme

Other promotional Materials:

Ruby: The teasers for why so serious were very similar to the teasers from dream girl, honestly. They used more of the crazy patterns and odd accessories that dream girl featured. But they were cute and informal and worked well enough. Since this album followed so close on the heels of the previous, the teasers were kind of irrelevant, though there were some fun shots.

Teaser for Why so Serious. Still a little nutty.

Em: Comeback stages had similar sexy British aesthetic (YAY) that kept the usual cohesion of SHINee outfits. They dispersed the four main styles between their comeback songs, using the music video outfits for Why So Serious. And they continued their awesome hats, especially in the Medusa stages.

Medusa stage with hats. OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN.

Continuity:

Ruby: As I mentioned, the video has four main outfit sets. They stylistic tone in the video matches well across the board. Interestingly, the four reference British fashion heavily, taking on a very European feel in this video. The black and white suits were the most graphic representation, following in early development in the punk scene. Minho’s shirt is a direct reference to Malcom McLaren and his shop ‘Sex’. The overcoats were brilliant, taking a very normal set of suits and changing the shape with layering. The Burberry aesthetic definitely came through for me. It looked modern and clean and innovative. I think the weird leather jackets were kind of inspired. I mean, they were super cute and a nice playful distraction from an overall very serious video in terms of the clothing.  Then there were the punk inspired outfits with tartan and the anarchy lable on Taemin’s legs. These outfits were closer to previous styles worn by SHINee. The whole video really carried themes well and appeared a continuous whole.

Minho's shirt that reads: Be Reasonable Demand the Impossible

A photograph from Malcom Mclaren's shop, Sex. 

Burberry-esque coats. 

Em: They did indeed go very European-inspired for this, with a different flavor for every set of outfits. Within this overarching theme, they played a lot with the color and intensity of the aesthetics. There was one very light one—black and white, though mostly white—that referenced dream girl but with less hypnotism. There was a neutral set with a lot of gray-green and just gray that was super cool, then a super colorful one in contrast to it. My favorite was the darkest one: red, black, and white, harkening back to Ring Ding Dong era (but sexier).

Punk inspired clothing items 

SHINee Ring Ding Dong era. (THEY'RE SO LITTLE AND ADORABLE.)

Band’s Overall Image:

Ruby: Each outfit was very simple for SHINee. Coming from Dream Girl with its extreme patterns and bright, acid-trip colors, this video was refreshingly simple and clean. SHINee are fit and beautiful and I think this image really accentuates how much they have all grown and the handsome young men they have become.

Oh don't act so surprised. 

Em: There were references to past albums while still having something a little bit different. Each new album develops their image further, just like this one, and refines the style a bit further. Props to the stylists for staying with the band’s image while still giving us something to talk about.

Key, will always be Key. That is true.

FLAMING CHARISMA FLAME ON.

Trends in K-POP:

Ruby: Recently as videos have been getting crazier and crazier, I have started to assume that the fashion in a video will be overstated, overdone and overblown. I thought this video was really tasteful and stunning even without the craziness I’ve become accustomed to.

But still some craziness

Em: It definitely wasn’t the visual overload that some recent videos have been (see I Got a Boy (Ruby: MY EYES)), which can be a nice change. It had some of the softness of a much slower song, but it was more like the energy was contained rather than gone. Somehow it worked!

I Got a Boy (Girl's Generation) Promotion. There's just so much going on.

Conclusion:

Ruby: Great. Fantastic. Brilliant. I see clothing in here that I want to catch on. Its not just cool because its weird, its cool because its doable. I love applicable fashion. This whole video was just wonderful. The styling was perfect. Lots of eyeliner and clean faces. Key’s blonde hair. The whole video felt clean, put together and well conceived. Seriously. It just felt mature and forward thinking in its simplicity. I am in love.

And I quote "mature and forward thinking"

Em: Agreed. Grabby hands for all of it. I could imagine seeing someone walking down the street wearing this and loving it, which doesn’t always happen, even in good music videos. I love that they explore European fashion, and I hope they continue to bring in outside influences to keep things interesting.

walking down the street, with the dogs, looking fab

Daily Dose of Daebak:

Taemin. That's a bunny. Not a microphone. Taeminnnnnnnn.

Key’s hats. I mean, just look at them. Thos are some sexy hats. And his earrings. Damn. Key in general IS the daily dose of daebak.

thanks for visiting with us!!!! we are quite fond of this music video clothing wise.
but what to review next?
hmmmmm?
let us know please!

Ruby and Em