Fashion within the K-pop fandom community
By Glory Ngwe
October 26, 2020
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Image Credits (from left to right): Rawan Abdalla, Kierra Brown, Jahkyah Harris
Korean pop, known as K-pop, is an industry that has seen rapid growth in the United States over the last few years. One of the many aspects that appeal to its audience, is the fashion within it.
K-pop idols have stylists who carefully select their attire for almost every appearance they make, but idols can add their own preference as well. The industry has a distinct, prominent, rapidly-changing fashion culture that fans draw inspiration from.
Rawan Abdalla, 18, is a K-pop fan from Twin Cities, MN. She said a friend introduced her to K-pop during the summer of 2018.
Abdalla said fashion is one of her favorite ways to express herself, and K-pop opened her eyes to many different styles and makeup looks.
“I started to put more effort in the way I dress and present myself,” Abdalla said. “The way you dress and style yourself can sometimes say a lot about you that words can’t.”
Abdalla said K-pop idols like V, from the group BTS, and Jennie, from Blackpink, inspired her style. She loves goth and emo fashion but is not sure what to call her overall aesthetic, she said.
Jahkyah Harris, 19, is a fan living in Atlanta, GA. Harris said she was introduced to K-pop in 2016 and loved the diversity of its genres.
Harris is a Tik Tok influencer with over 58,000 followers. She posts videos of herself recreating the styles of different K-pop idols and gives fashion advice to her audience.
Fashion is an outlet to express her true self, K-pop taught her to love herself and be confident in who she is, said Harris.
“I began to wear clothes that I feel expresses me as a person and that I feel comfortable wearing,” she said. “The clothes I wear make me love the skin I am in even more.”
Harris said her style was basic and trendy before K-pop. The genre is helping her discover her true aesthetic and one of her biggest inspirations is The8 from the group Seventeen.
“Seeing him try new styles and be comfortable with it makes me want to try as well,” Harris said. “Now, I try to go out of the ordinary and be different in some way.”
Harris said her style is constantly changing because she is still in the process of trying to find her true self.
Kierra Brown, 22, is a fan from Dallas, TX that stumbled upon K-pop in 2018 while looking for new music to listen to. Brown said the unique quality of K-pop fashion stood out to her.
“I just loved how they dressed,” she said. “It was dope to me. It was something different that I don’t see in my area.”
Before K-pop, Brown said her style consisted of basic white t-shirts and jeans. Fashion allows her to express her moods visually and K-pop gave her the confidence to wear what she wanted.
Brown admires idols like Jungkook and J-Hope from BTS and their styles have greatly influenced her everyday fashion. She has picked up a little color from J-Hope’s style but loves the dark aesthetic of Jungkook’s.
“Some days, I love very colorful looks,” Brown said. “On other days, I love wearing all black. It depends on my mood, really.”
Her fashion may change in the future but she is happy with where it is now and is no longer afraid to wear what she wants, Brown said
K-pop’s fashion scene is daring and constantly changing. As the idols continue to express themselves through clothing, fans find ways to do the same.
K-pop idols have stylists who carefully select their attire for almost every appearance they make, but idols can add their own preference as well. The industry has a distinct, prominent, rapidly-changing fashion culture that fans draw inspiration from.
Rawan Abdalla, 18, is a K-pop fan from Twin Cities, MN. She said a friend introduced her to K-pop during the summer of 2018.
Abdalla said fashion is one of her favorite ways to express herself, and K-pop opened her eyes to many different styles and makeup looks.
“I started to put more effort in the way I dress and present myself,” Abdalla said. “The way you dress and style yourself can sometimes say a lot about you that words can’t.”
Abdalla said K-pop idols like V, from the group BTS, and Jennie, from Blackpink, inspired her style. She loves goth and emo fashion but is not sure what to call her overall aesthetic, she said.
Jahkyah Harris, 19, is a fan living in Atlanta, GA. Harris said she was introduced to K-pop in 2016 and loved the diversity of its genres.
Harris is a Tik Tok influencer with over 58,000 followers. She posts videos of herself recreating the styles of different K-pop idols and gives fashion advice to her audience.
Fashion is an outlet to express her true self, K-pop taught her to love herself and be confident in who she is, said Harris.
“I began to wear clothes that I feel expresses me as a person and that I feel comfortable wearing,” she said. “The clothes I wear make me love the skin I am in even more.”
Harris said her style was basic and trendy before K-pop. The genre is helping her discover her true aesthetic and one of her biggest inspirations is The8 from the group Seventeen.
“Seeing him try new styles and be comfortable with it makes me want to try as well,” Harris said. “Now, I try to go out of the ordinary and be different in some way.”
Harris said her style is constantly changing because she is still in the process of trying to find her true self.
Kierra Brown, 22, is a fan from Dallas, TX that stumbled upon K-pop in 2018 while looking for new music to listen to. Brown said the unique quality of K-pop fashion stood out to her.
“I just loved how they dressed,” she said. “It was dope to me. It was something different that I don’t see in my area.”
Before K-pop, Brown said her style consisted of basic white t-shirts and jeans. Fashion allows her to express her moods visually and K-pop gave her the confidence to wear what she wanted.
Brown admires idols like Jungkook and J-Hope from BTS and their styles have greatly influenced her everyday fashion. She has picked up a little color from J-Hope’s style but loves the dark aesthetic of Jungkook’s.
“Some days, I love very colorful looks,” Brown said. “On other days, I love wearing all black. It depends on my mood, really.”
Her fashion may change in the future but she is happy with where it is now and is no longer afraid to wear what she wants, Brown said
K-pop’s fashion scene is daring and constantly changing. As the idols continue to express themselves through clothing, fans find ways to do the same.
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Image Credits (from left to right): Rawan Abdalla, Kierra Brown, Jahkyah Harris