Garment Inspiration – Silvia Chen

I have only recently begun being more interested in fashion, and what really launched my interest in fashion were the outfits that K-pop idols wore. I have followed the Korean music industry for awhile, with my favorite part of the industry being the live shows and concerts where idols sing and dance live in a variety of flashy outfits. When idols perform live and promote their latest albums or activities, they don a multitude of different outfits that represent their own unique styles or symbolize a topic that they want to draw attention to personally and through their music. Only in the past year or so have I really appreciated the efforts that these idols and their stylists put in for their outfits.

The pictures I chose above are all from K-pop artist HyunA’s most recent music video, “I’m Not Cool”. These are just some of the unique outfits that she wore when filming the music video. HyunA is an idol that has been in the Korean music industry for over 10 years, and has often been criticized for not being as pretty or conventionally attractive as other popular female idols. “I’m Not Cool” is the title track for her first album in 4 years, in which she wears outfits that showcase her unconventional style and represent the themes she talks about in her song. The first outfit above is the first outfit shown in the music video, thus setting the tone of the video. The second outfit is one that pops up multiple times in the video and the one featured on the album’s cover. It is glamorous and I think it shows off that she is confident in her looks. The third outfit only appears briefly in the music video, but appears when she talks about her head being filled with sparkly and spiky thoughts. The last outfit pictured above also appears for a short period, but shows HyunA with a snake on her head, as she talks about being as intense as a snake.

These outfits were just some of my favorite outfits from HyunA’s music video. I believe they all showcased how HyunA is confident in her own body. Even if many in the industry call her unconventional, she uses those sentiments to prove that her unconventional looks only make her more confident.