Trends: ‘K-Pop’ Kitsch

Words by MPDClick’s guest contributor Selena Marie Norris.

While it may appear that Psy is receiving all of the K-pop attention with his ‘Gangnam Style’ video heralding as the most watched YouTube video of all time, smart marketing has extended his popularity to others in his genre. K-pop singer, Hyuna and her girl group, 4 Minute, have been reaping the rewards of her guest appearance in the video.

Hyuna is the ‘sexy lady’ dancing provocatively on the train and joining Psy in a group dance in the Gangnam Style video. Hyuna also recorded her own secondary version of Gangnam Style with Psy, which has received 186,016,865 views as of this writing. Their partnership is clearly purposeful. Hyuna’s most recently released single, Ice Cream is introduced by Psy as he sneaks onto an ice cream truck to steal an ice cream cone. The single features English/Korean lyrics, rapping, singing, and dancing, and is not without its obvious yet cheeky sexual innuendo. Most notably the video is a cheerfully flirty bombardment of colours and patterns.

Back in 2010 MPDClick had already predicted what is now being called the “K-Pop Invasion” in our autumn/winter 12/13 trend ‘Synthesise‘. While many K-pop artists such as Exo-K, Shinee, and Sistar are following the darker synthetic visual we predicted in 2010 and again in October 2012, others like Hyuna and her girl group 4 Minute are balancing it with a more classically kitsch approach. A special “December ‘FANTASIA’ issue of Dazed & Confused [focuses] on the rise of Asia’s youth culture” with a wider spotlight on the youth of Asia as a whole. The cover features traditionally cute baby dolls, colourful pinwheels, bright rubber animals, flowers in generally peach, pink, and neon tones.

This bubble gum kitsch micro trend aesthetic is supported by a variety of artists in the K-pop scene. The 2HOT by G.NA video features the star in tie dyed, bright colors, and lots of sparkle contrasted against back up dancers in darker attire. The 1.2.3.4. by Lee Hi video features street-cool clothes mixed with kitschy bows, polka dots, stars, leopard head wear, colour blocked retro colour schemes, and neon patched denim.

The popularity of these fun-loving visuals may be a sign of future trends towards escapism from customers who are eager to find relief from the economic slump and instead open their arms to the sound and look of the cheerful and entertaining. Merchandise these looks to Western crowds by blending classically kitsch accessories, bold colours and prints with neutral tones for day or sparkle and shine for night. Mix up textures and add statement accessories to make your looks pop.

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This post originally appeared on DECEMBER 11, 2012 in A/W 12/13, AW 12/13, TRENDS on MPDClick.com, a leading trend forecasting company based in the UK.

Update: MPDClick.com and Mudpie Trend Journal were acquired by WGSN in 2013. All Mudpie and MPDClick links are now void. A cached copy of the original post can be viewed here.

Words by MPDClick’s guest contributor Selena Marie Norris.