New Jeans: The New Standard

By Wisdom Konu

In these past years, revivals of fashion have taken place. From Y2K to McBling, older styles have emerged from the dead and have taken over fashion industries as we know it. But as well as the fashion industry, it has also appeared in other forms of industries. With K-Pop girl group, New Jeans, under HYBE Labels and Ador, the world of fashion and makeup in the K-Pop industry is beginning to change as we know it.

Hanni, Danielle, Hyein, Minji, Haerin. These 5 teenage girls who make up New Jeans came out of nowhere with their surprise music video release with their song, “Attention.” Released in July of last year, the group quickly attracted attention as no prior information about the 5 girls was known. The song’s bustling beat and nostalgic 2000’s R&B inspired sound piqued interest to K-Pop fans and propelled the quintet up to the top of multiple global music charts. After the release, the group’s debut self-titled extended play followed swiftly, which contained four tracks. The music video was inspired specifically by Japanese girl group, SPEED, with Attention’s MV being inspired by SPEED’s Body and Soul.

New Jean’s aesthetic is something unique and fresh to the 4th generation of K-Pop. Their aesthetic is confused with Y2K futurism while their aesthetic is more teen Y2K, which is a part of their youthful image and concept as a group. The group has a communication app named “Phoning” and the vibes scream frutiger aero as well as the social network site, MySpace. To introduce the members, they released animated digital art which gave off the nostalgic vibe their previous release had and further set the type of image they were going to have as a group. Another thing to look at to dive into their aesthetic is the packaging of their albums. The creative choice for their album packaging was a 3d type album, with one of the albums, which was a limited edition, being a wearable bag. The reminiscent vibes of the 2000’s that New Jeans gave off at the beginning sparked a flame of nostalgia in fans, which helped boost their fame as a group with this generation’s interest with revival of past eras, specifically the 2000’s.

The 2000’s are obviously a major inspiration for the group but the things that influence their concept is a needed thing to be discussed. Black culture is embedded in everything as well as K-Pop. From music to styling, Black culture can be found in it. Earlier generations of K-Pop were heavily inspired by R&B and it is still significant to this day. New Jeans is another example of a group influenced by Black culture. Their music, which is a mixture of 2000’s R&B and modern pop, is dripping in black culture as well as their style.

New Jeans’ style is often mislabeled as futuristic Y2K but their style is a mixture and is shaped by 90’s black fashion and Japanese street fashion. Oversized clothing, layering, as well as a plethora of accessories make up their styling. Some obvious determining factors are butterfly clips, hair tendrils and highlights, side braids, and colorful rubber bands. The 5 girls also gained attention for their long black healthy-looking hair, which gained them attention and contributed to their youthful image. Their makeup consists of a minimal base with blush shades that match the soft, nude, muted hues on their lips, giving them even more of a youthful look. The members are also involved in the fashion world, with all the members being ambassadors of major fashion brands—with Minji recently announced as Chanel’s global ambassador.

Fans and professionals in the industry alike have admitted that they have felt a shift in the K-Pop world with New Jeans’ debut. The group continue to make records, becoming one of the most successful fourth generation girl groups of their time. Y2K is becoming more prominent in the K-Pop scene and New Jeans are certainly one of the leaders behind it.

Brands you can find New Jeans in are Hysteric Glamour, Heaven by Marc Jacobs, Melted Potato, CFierce, Bape, and Onkalo Jewelry.