The fashion of the K- pop scene seems to stay in very shallow water. One of Korea's most successful group member, and he is supposed to be the highest fashion icon in the k-pop world, is pretty much a dress up lover that is dressing up in all trends known. it might be so that in Korea he is a taboo breaker but can we say that someone that breaks his own taboos just by dressing up as something else on a daily base is fashionable break through?. The Fashion of the K-pop stars seems to stay in the very shallow water of conservatively; what is available already in the market.
Does the music goes to deeper water? My friends have researched a bit here and there who are actually writing all those songs, and it seems that many of them are bought all over the world and adjusted in Korea. It seems that the same thing is happening both in the lyric/music world as with the fashion: The k-pop wave does not seems to be a story of a storm that is coming from within the artist/s themselves and create a new wave or movement, but instead a well directed and produced show of a well orchestrated performance. A storm in the cup of tea of capitalism.
it seems that what we see and hear is not any individual voice but a big choir divided to groups; the voice of the industry, the voice of money.
The show is well directed, recent numbers released shows that for 110,000 tickets sold in Japan (not for a major group) 8,000,000 were needed in order to answer full demand. The many groups are sold out all around Asia, China of course, and have moved to perform also in Europe and the USA with sold out shows.
The agencies web sites shows that each agency basically produce quite a few groups and if you open their web-page you will see that they hold an audition every week for new talents. Once a group is decided it is supplied with songs they are buying all over the world, the new kids are dressed up, they are rehearsed and they are released with a chosen concept as - the group that is dressed in white, the group with the helmets, the school album and so on.
Yet even more interesting seems to be the two faced group concept- the group have a duplicate group for the Chinese market that sings in Chinese, sometime they all meet and sing together, sometime they are mixed and sometime they are separated though performing the same songs. Its like saying that 'The Beatles' would have a group of another four members that sings in French the same songs.
It seems that the individual voice have changed here into a collective commercial voice that is producing idols and performers (=money) rather than artists. And it works. In a Hollywood style sort of factory it works.
We can see already that this movement can take over individuality and creativity and changed into a factory like production as have happened in fashion. It is enough to open one of the major fashion magazines in the USA and see that only money goes in. A NEW 'Chanel' and a 'Prada', A 'Yohji Yamamoto' and an 'Issey Miyake' are not anymore needed. What is needed these days in Fashion is money, a good well connected P.R. and a few young fashion college graduates that will follow a given concept. The sky are the limit in term of money, creativity and individuality are not part of the process. Perhaps it is happening with the world of music as well- who needs any more The Beatles and an Elvis, a Sting or even a Madonna (too individualist), instead what is needed is a group of good looking young performer/s that will already be formed into the desired money making form.
Music, Fashion, who care about those.
p.s. Gangnam Style is an exception and not the rule, and is mostly about being a very good performer anyway.
I don't have any inner knowledge of this factory, this is just an observation.
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