Icon(ic) Rockstar Style

Usually we stick with the big name groups, but I just couldn't resist suggesting this funk-ed up and whacked out music video when I found it... So pack your bags and get ready for an acid trip with
Icon- Rockstar 

This video came out on June 30th 2013 and had 117,918 views as of Sunday July 7th.

Overall impression:

Em: So this video was awesome. Here we were, wondering what to do for this week’s MV, and Ruby came across Icon and his new song Rockstar. What’s not to love? No Min Woo is cast as a gamer who falls into a video game and becomes a rockstar, and his clothing fits the part, with a low cut graphic tank top, a ton of gold jewelry, dark skinny jeans, and futuristic shoes. He also has another outfit that’s very similar in style, with a bedazzled baseball cap to complete the look. His transformation into a futuristic rocker is completed when he finds his band members, who have fitting accessories like a red Mohawk and epic sunglasses. There’s also a super dramatic red cape outfit. 

'Scuse me, move along folks, nothing to see here.... 

Sailor Rockstar.... wrong again right?

my flowing red cape, because that is what all great warriors wear

Ruby: Yeah, the whole video is a rocker gamer fusion that I think really resonates with pop-fashion right now. Min Woo plays the lead rockstar, with a ninja and a futuristic warrior by his side. Pretty awesome tag-teaming, I think. Probably the best part in my opinion though, is that he designed all of this himself. He picked the outfits and the styling, along with having written and produced the song. I think it really benefited from a pair of fresh eyes. It felt new, different and super funky, which are all huge pluses in my book.

decked out hats, graphic tanks and a very happy wrist guard

Other promotional Materials:

Em: They had a lovely photoshoot shot for a teaser featuring the bandmembers in their outfits from the MV and Noh Min Woo in a much simpler outfit. I liked that they gave hints at the MV without giving it all away…it was cool enough to want to watch the video, but didn’t reveal the best part (his outfits). Also, the one on the left looks like a ninja. The video teaser had him in one of the outfits from the MV (the baseball cap one) playing one of his guitars. 

Teaser photo featuring toned down versions of the mv

From the teaser, min woo in black and white accessories...

And a full body shot with guitar and (well placed) parental advisories

Ruby: He’s performed some stages and its been pretty consistent. His band, the drummer and synth player, stay pretty consistent, wearing the same hair, clothes and even makeup from the mv (love the lipstick, boys). Min Woo himself seems to have changed it up, but kept within the themes. I mean, leggings and high socks are an interesting fashion choice for a dude, but I guess if you can pull it off (….min woo.), then its up to you… But in all seriousness, super cool. Super different. Gotta love it.

Leggings and sport socks? I guess if you've got the goods....? 

Yo Bro, I think the aliens are here, got your silver lipstick on?

Continuity:

Em: No complaints about the continuity in this, not because the outfits weren’t all different, but because the concept they chose framed the choices well. There was a baggy sweatshirt and giant glasses in the beginning, but it fit with the storyline of him as a gamer. The dramatic red swoopy outfit matches with the final boss battle idea as his final, most fantastical transformation. His choice of guitar for that outfit was a little odd though, it looked really acoustic (I’m counting it as an accessory in this case) and the idea of an acoustic guitar in this context makes no sense.

Pre transformation gamer get up

That sir is an acoustic guitar....

Ruby: As we’ve talked about before, concept can give a band a lot of wiggle room in fashion choices. By playing it up as a video game, it gave continuity to the really different clothing choices that they made…. I also think that the simplicity helped. There are only 3 of them, and only Min Woo really changed clothes. The things he wore were really all over the map, but it was the map for the same video game, so I guess it worked.

The three video game characters gearing up for action!

Band’s Overall Image:

Em: WELL. This was an amusing one. This was No Min Woo’s first single album, but he has been in a band before. TRAX, actually. In fact, he was Rose. I mean, it’s not that he hasn’t done futuristic or rockstar-esque looks before, he just did it a little differently before. Okay he was completely unrecognizable. GOOGLE IT.

Trax, can you find No Min Woo?

Yeah, that one's Rose. Aka No Min Woo....

Ruby: No, really, GOOGLE IT. PLEASEEEEE. More recently, he’s been acting and toned down his image a lot. He actually has ramped it back up into the weird factor for this comeback, and I really appreciate it. Not that I want our pouty, blonde-blowout beauty back… but seeing that he’s matured without losing the funky, unashamed side of kpop-fashion makes me happy. Also, how are you 27. This isn’t fair.

A recent shot of Min Woo during his acting career 

A little eye jewel tucked into a whole lotta eyeliner, quirky, but not Rose.

Trends in K-POP:

Em: One of the things I’d seen before in this MV was the red cloak. A different one showed up in Junsu’s Tarantellegra, and it worked really well at the time because of the way it moved while dancing and the color. It also looks pretty fantastical, which is fun to see in MVs.  Another thing this reminded me of was G-Dragon. I know, trends are usually trends in clothing, but G-Dragon’s style is almost a trend in itself since it’s so distinctive, and I think Icon was channeling it to some extent (without attempting to copy). For instance, Noh Min Woo has a few different hairstyles that I think GD would actually have (which is saying something if you’ve seen his hair).

GD from BIGBANG's "Fantastic Baby"

Junsu (Xia) in Tarantellegra

and his red cape!

Ruby: Surreal settings carry through a lot of recent kpop like Exo’s comebacks and VIXX’s work as well. Sweet Dream by MFBTY also plays the surrealist card very well, and although the approaches are different, I think they’re both really cool. Bands with instruments tend to operate differently as well. Although Icon took a really unique approach, I think there are some similarities between them and LEDApple from songs like Time is Up, which relies on comic book styling and video editing.

A slightly surreal shot from MFBTY's "Sweet Dream" with a car-bed.

Cartoon wings from LEDApple's "Time is up"

Conclusion:

Em: Overall, this was wonderful. Quirky, off-the-wall style that was still accessible enough to appreciate. This is what I like to see in kpop fashion. Also, major props to the artist who not only produced the music but also the fashion…no wonder it had such a distinctive style. He designed what he wanted and then actually wore it...no wonder it worked. He also has insane attention to detail…did you notice he had one of his nails done?  I hope to see him make more MVs in the future.

I see you and your bedazzled fingernail, Min Woo.

Ruby: I think I would have to give this video props no matter what just because the artist styled it. I mean I think it works so well with the song and concept because the same brain created it all. Beyond that, I loved the creativity and the energy in the clothes. They really used them to their full potential to create characters and story-lines that didn’t need extra explanation. It was zaney and visually assaulting and just really fun to watch. As we dug deeper there were just these amazing wonky details that popped up, like the lipstick or the flashlights on one jacket. Not everything in it was brilliant, but it was just too fun to resist.

Jacket with flashlights? Great! They're like headlights for you shoulders.

quirky and different, keep it up no min woo!

Daily Dose of Daebak:

Backup dancers done right.

Car safety lessons with Icon….

(ruby is totally breaking the rules, but the creepy dolls couldn’t not be here….)

Leave us a comment and tell us what character you'd like to be in MinWoo's rockstar video game!!!! Or just leave us some lovin'....

Em is taking some time off and will be gone for 4 weeks (AND SHE WILL BE MUCH MISSED) 

in light of this fact, there will be a very very special guest admin.... 

Please welcome Matt! He will hopefully be able to help out for the next few weeks. 

<3 Ruby and 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!

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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