This week marks 10 years since K-pop sensation BTS burst onto the South Korean music scene in a flurry of chunky chains, baseball caps and spiky hair.
Footage from the group’s official “debut day” in June 2013, when label Big Hit Entertainment unveiled its latest protégés to the world, shows its members flashing their outsize bling to the camera. Marketed as a hip-hop act at the time, the seven-piece then performed in matching black tank tops emblazoned with each wearer’s name for the benefit of an unfamiliar public.
Fast-forward a decade, and BTS’ members are — collectively and individually — among the world’s most bankable fashion icons. In 2021, Louis Vuitton announced the group as brand ambassadors, while lucrative solo deals have seen Suga, Jimin and Jungkook appointed as the faces of Valentino, Dior and Calvin Klein, respectively.
This style evolution has accompanied an overall shift in the group’s image — one that’s seen its members transform from wannabe bad-boys to clean-cut pinups. Gone are the bandanas and beanies, and in their place masses of floppy hair. The questionable fits of earlier years have meanwhile been replaced by sharp tailoring and tasteful color choices.
Photos: BTS' decade-long style evolution
Nowhere is this more evident than on the red carpet. Where the group once relied on near-identical suiting (or, conversely, a veritable ragtag of incongruous looks), BTS has slowly mastered the art of complementary — while not matching — ensemble dressing. Look no further than the tonally cohesive Louis Vuitton outfits sported at the 2022 Grammy Awards, or the pleasing pastels worn to announce their partnership with the French label a year earlier.
How much of this makeover can be credited to BTS, rather than the label or management that controls its image, is anyone’s guess. (One of the band’s long-time stylists Lee Ha-jeong has said that RM and V are the most interested in fashion.) The group has also enjoyed the help of fashion’s biggest names, including Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello, who designed several of their red-carpet ensembles, and Dior’s creative director Kim Jones, who oversaw the outfits for their 2019 world tour.
Regardless, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook are, now, all fashion forces in their own right. And with Western labels vying for a slice of burgeoning South Korean luxury fashion market, the next decade may be even more profitable than the last.
Scroll through the gallery above to see some of BTS’ looks through the years.
CNN’s Candice Zhu contributed to this report.
