A brief history of G-Dragon and fashion since people don't seem to understand idol-brand relationships

GD’s love of fashion started in childhood, when he'd steal his sister’s clothes and ask his mom to teach him about designers. As a teen, his circle of friends included other young fashion upstarts like model Daul Kim and 2NE1’s future stylists Xin and Danny, who he'd bring to YG

It was while staying with the late Daul Kim in Paris in early 2009 that GD had his first shoot for a Western pub: UK independent art and culture magazine TANK -- not as an idol or secured by YG for promotions, but as part of the model’s stylish inner circle

GD’s outré and androgynous personal style soon got him attention - both positive and negative - as an idol, from wearing shirts with sex positive slogans and “fear the queer” on TV, to shoots that took him outside the usual idol range and into more high fashion territory

Among those early shoots were Numero, W Magazine, and Nylon, who defended making G-Dragon their anniversary cover boy (on a women’s magazine) with “G-Dragon is a style icon to whom age and sex stands no meaning”

GD’s shoots got him the attention of int’l brands like Louis Vuitton, who in 2009 became the first couture brand to parter with a Korean artist when they sponsored his Heartbreaker solo debut. In 2014 LVMH would invest in YG (which YG would eff up, natch)

As fashion houses set eyes on the Asian luxury market, they found a jackpot in G-Dragon, who had unparalleled visibility and unique credibility in his knowledge and appreciation of the fashion industry. GD’s savvy endeared him to designers and enabled a symbiotic relationship

For a decade, brands have used GD as an (un)official muse, styling him for shoots that were ads in all but name (Harper’s Bazaar for Givenchy, W for YSL, etc), gifting him collections (Thom Browne) or first pick (Hedi Slimane), and trusting his visibility to boost their profile

This has happened incidentally as well, with brands GD has just happened to like and wear. He is credited for boosting the profile of Vetements and Virgil Abloh’s Pyrex Vision, among others -- which has led to these brands and creatives cultivating a relationship with him

In 2012, GD became the first Korean Givenchy muse when Riccardo Tisci styled him for Harper’s Bazaar, which sold out multiple reprints. On the heels of this, GD made a splashy debut at PFW — symbiotically using his Asian fashion caché to expand his own global stature/influence

As for the Chanel of it all - in 2014, GD was invited to Chanel‘s PFW show and had the opportunity to meet Karl Lagerfeld, who would make him one of his muses and eventually a Global Ambassador. GD made history as part of Chanel’s f/w show at PFW 2015

GD’s ad for Chanel’s Gabrielle bag

G-Dragon unquestionably opened up the bridge between kpop and couture. As kpop has gotten more international, brands see the rabid social media followings of idols in this target market and smartly capitalize on them for the exposure

It’s hard to think of a current idol-brand relationship GD didn’t build first. There’s no use in fighting over how or why your faves were “discovered”. Couture looking East, him opening the door, and the rise of idol influencers is why.

Brand deals and FW invites don’t necessarily have to do with an idol’s fashion IQ, either. Not while they’re put in the same box as influencers. In part due to being ahead of the curve and his own fashion savvy, GD is uniquely able to avoid that - Vogue just calls him G-Dragon

This thread was pretty specifically about idol crossovers with Western couture and obviously there are a whole host of fashionable idols and Asian high fashion brands etc etc that we could get into but this already went way deeper than I ever intended it to so! Don’t @ me!