Kanye West, G-Dragon, & Fashion Week 2016 New York Fashion Week (NYFW) Fall/Winter is about to wrap up with the final runways being walked on Thursday, but the long term effect will be felt for months and years to come. Because 2016 was not only the year that music made it big at Fashion Week, […]
Neon Bunny has long been a favourite of the Korean art music scene. Her lounging synth pop is unique to the industry and claimed fans internationally. With the release of her new single “Forest of Skyscrapers” she shows she is thinking internationally too. In an interview with The Fader she cited anime “Akira” and Hong […]
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/neon-bunny-541ed9b8ec90e.jpg10001000Joe Palmerhttps://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngJoe Palmer2016-02-15 04:24:392016-02-15 04:24:39Neon Bunny and the Sampo Generation: How Space Defines a Society
Kanye West, G-Dragon, & Fashion Week 2016 New York Fashion Week (NYFW) Fall/Winter is about to wrap up with the final runways being walked on Thursday, but the long term effect will be felt for months and years to come. Because 2016 was not only the year that music made it big at Fashion Week, […]
Neon Bunny has long been a favourite of the Korean art music scene. Her lounging synth pop is unique to the industry and claimed fans internationally. With the release of her new single “Forest of Skyscrapers” she shows she is thinking internationally too. In an interview with The Fader she cited anime “Akira” and Hong […]
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/neon-bunny-541ed9b8ec90e.jpg10001000Joe Palmerhttps://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngJoe Palmer2016-02-15 04:24:392016-02-15 04:24:39Neon Bunny and the Sampo Generation: How Space Defines a Society
2016 New York Fashion Week (NYFW) Fall/Winter is about to wrap up with the final runways being walked on Thursday, but the long term effect will be felt for months and years to come. Because 2016 was not only the year that music made it big at Fashion Week, but K-pop made its appearance too.
As pop culture and fashion intersec, there’s going to be a lot of where that came from with pop icons like Kanye West and G-Dragon breaching the divide between the audible and the wearable. Yeezy might have been around for awhile, but for the first time ever G-Dragon, and K-pop, is poised to truly enter the realm of western pop culture and he made his long-awaited debut amidst designers.
Comparing any of the K-pop stars who made waves at NYFW to Kanye would be belittling Kanye’s status in society; his fashion show for his Yeezy clothing line doubled also as the venue for the release of his new album “The Life of Pablo” and it will likely be the most talked about event from NYFW 2016. The Madison Square Garden extravaganza will be remembered by the history books as one of the biggest amalgamations of pop culture and high fashion.
Less remembered will be the fact that a brand new song featuring G-Dragon was released during Alexander Wang’s new show. The Baauer-produced “Temples” features M.I.A doing her thing in English while G-Dragon swoops in like a hawk and brings bilingual raps to the runway. In a runway being walked by models draped in an Asian-American designer’s clothing, mind you.
Debuting a song by the triple threat of Baauer-G-Dragon-M.I.A at NYFW may seem like it doesn’t make much sense; this should be released on an epic scale! But with all of the media looking towards NYFW and top stars from all over the world in attendance, including several K-pop stars like 2NE1’s CL (a member of the recently unveiled promotional WANG SQUAD) and Girls’ Generation’s Sooyoung, attending the runway shows, then debuting the thumping, plinking “Temples” at Alexander Wang’s show meant that all eyes would be on the models and ears open for the invasion of a catchy, bombastic new track. Already there has been heavy coverage of “Temples,” despite the fact that Baauer’s debut album that features the song won’t be out until next month.
And let’s not forget that a Korean pop artist’s voice was poised as a backtrack to an iconic New York City event open to only the highest echelons of the fashion and cultural world. So not too shabby for G-Dragon to quietly make waves without most people even realizing how iconic that runway background music was. If Psy made people aware of K-pop, G-Dragon’s presence at NYFW makes even the most discerning critics stop and pause to listen to the music.
If it seems that music and fashion are just being combined together this NYFW season by accident, it’s most certainly not. Kanye West and the K-pop genre as a whole are more than aware of how the musical superstars of our era double as fashion icons, and all of the money invested in one is likely to affect the other. Which means that when music sales are down, turning singers into walking talking billboards for fashion brands is perfect. But sponsored artists are not enough in this day and age, at least based on the trends; K-pop music agencies like YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment are working with fashion brands at the same time that Kanye is literally transitioning from just a musician to a cultural entity that affects trends of both the music and fashion worlds. (Or at least he’d like to think so).
Does that mean G-Dragon, or any other K-pop artist, is going to pull a Yeezy and start a fashion line, throwing the gauntlet into the diversification of K-pop into new brand arenas? Unlikely. For one thing, G-Dragon told the New York Times that he wouldn’t, and for any other lesser K-pop star than G-Dragon to debut a line aimed at global fashion would be suicide, as seen by the relatively limited success by former Girls’ Generation member Jessica Jung’s foray into fashion.
As much as we — the collective we of K-pop writers and fans combined — like to talk about the rising popularity of K-pop, it’s taken more than five years from the viral hits of 2009 like “Gee” and “Sorry Sorry” until now to merit an icon other than the gag-making Psy who media is really taking notice of. Sorry Psy. G-Dragon, and to a lesser degree CL, are the only K-pop stars Vogue truly cares about.
However, despite the lack of impending fashion lines straight from any K-pop artist, it’s no small thing that both K-pop and Kanye were prominent at this year’s NYFW- Music, like fashion, is able to transcend cultural boundaries more so in 2016 than ever before, and NYFW proves it. K-pop’s finally making its mark on American cultural products isn’t an accident, just like Kanye moving into the fashion world is intentional. New York Fashion Week, once only visible to a premier class of people, is now open to the world thanks to social media. With the opening up of Fashion Week to the masses comes the need to make high fashion relatable, and nothing is more accessible than music.
K-pop, which has struggled so hard to try and garner attention overseas, is making leaps and bounds in 2016 with new acts like SM Entertainment’s soon to debut NCT, trying to fit into local music scenes, and more and more K-pop concerts heading to the western hemisphere. But as a genre that lends itself innately to fashion due to it’s visual elements, such as K-pop idols and music videos, K-pop is a perfect mash for NYFW and fashion in general. It’s only now that high fashion has accepted music and one of pop culture’s burgeoning figures into its threshold that there was room to recognize Korean artists as equals who are able to add to the conversation of art, rather than detract from it. G-Dragon, who is so far ahead of the rest of the K-pop crowd as an artist, is no less than K-pop’s Kanye.
Transcending the boundaries of music and art, G-Dragon mirrors Kanye as an influential musician who represents an entire way of life in the eyes of the western media. Fashion has been the friend of both, but there is no question that both these men are all about the music and are smartly using this platform to promote their art.
What do you think of G-Dragon and New York Fashion Week? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter,Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.
Neon Bunny has long been a favourite of the Korean art music scene. Her lounging synth pop is unique to the industry and claimed fans internationally. With the release of her new single “Forest of Skyscrapers” she shows she is thinking internationally too. In an interview with The Fader she cited anime “Akira” and Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai as influences on the music video. The aesthetics and themes of those films shed light on Neon Bunny’s own art. She uses these influences to comment on her generation of Koreans, the Sampo Generation, and to examine her city of Seoul.
The Sampo Generation is the term given to a large number of Koreans in their 20’s and 30’s who are putting marriage and love aside in favour of wealth. Thanks to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, South Korea had to undergo crippling economic reform. The Sampo Generation grew up in this, discovering high unemployment, high student loans, and unstable jobs. This coupled with the more recent global economic crisis has led young Koreans to focus on finding a secure job and shunning the expensive responsibilities of marriage. Neon Bunny said in her interview, “Everything goes really fast in Seoul—when you wake up in the morning there’s another building going up.” Clearly an influence on the title of her song, it also shows what space and how we occupy it says about our society.
This is where the influence of “Akira” becomes important. Based on a manga of the same name, “Akira” is Japanese animated film from 1988. Written and directed by the writer of the manga, Katsuhiro Omoto, it follows two young delinquents Kaneda and Tetsuo in Neo-Tokyo, a rebuilt version of the city after it had been destroyed by a strange explosion. As the story moves on, Tetsuo is unwillingly given psychic powers which eventually consume him becoming too much for him to bear. The aesthetics of Neo-Tokyo are clear in “Forest of Skyscrapers.” Neon skylines are nearly always present in the background. “Forest of Skyscrapers” has a more modern and true to life look compared to the more Hong Kong inspired mix of future style and poverty in “Akira.”
What’s most interesting about using “Akira” as an influence is its thematic specificity to Japan. It is a film about Japan’s reaction to World War II. As a nation, they rebuilt their country after suffering from nuclear attacks. After this great devastation and subsequent guilt due to their actions that led to it, Japan however was not ready to be in a position of power once again. Tetsuo exemplifies this, the power he receives only serves to hurt. Japan is afraid of what might happen when they return to power.
While it would be remiss to compare atomic bombs to economic crises, it’s easy to see the connections between these two works. Both deal with a society in flux, Neo-Tokyo is levelled by Tetsuo as he struggles to deal with his new powers, and Seoul is climbing further into the sky every day. The people of Seoul are pushing themselves into higher and higher positions, hoping for increased wealth. Attaining power only for power’s sake creates people like Tetsuo (an orphan) who can’t handle it when they get what they want. Without a system of support behind you, it’s easy to get lost.
As the youth of Seoul earn money and forget about marriage, they turn to other pleasures in hopes of fulfilling themselves. Neon Bunny shows people drinking, having seemingly casual sexual relationships, and (judging by the visual effects) taking drugs. Her unique vocal delivery that sounds at once bored and passionate shows the immediate but melancholic pleasure she gets from this. Her performance in the video as well is marked by expressions of tired apathy and bursts of happiness. Placing herself in the video is vital of course, she sees herself very much a part of this generation. Which means we know it is not judgmental, she can not only see herself but great beauty in these transient encounters.
Wong Kar Wai is also interested in the small moments of romance that can happen when we least expect it. Born in Shanghai, Wong, like most Chinese directors, plied his trade in Hong Kong where he was free from censorship. He is known for using unconventional cinematography in films that focus on relationships. He is interested in all kinds of relationships but always examines small moments in detail. They can be just as interesting as whole stories of love and using space to define these is something he does too (best seen in the claustrophobic apartments of “In The Mood For Love”).
Wong’s aesthetic is seen most clearly in “Forest of Skyscrapers” whenever Neon Bunny and her motorcyclist lover are on screen. The motorcycle shots are a direct reference to Wong’s “Fallen Angels” (and Akira’s iconic use of motorcycles). None of his films show more directly his idea of transitory relationships. In it, two stories are told of new relationships that burn bright and quick. The passion is always clear, these relationships take place in front of a backdrop of crime which emphasizes the speed and aggression of the romance. Something which Neon Bunny also does by turning up the sound of the motorcycle and allowing visual effects to create a sort of dangerous momentary feeling to every shot.
While never overtly romantic, Wong finds fleeting moments of love in unlikely places. Neon Bunny does too. Despite growing up in the Sampo Generation, she still believes in romance. “I think I have to be in love,” she mentioned in her interview. In emulating Wong Kar Wai, she brings great meaning to the fleeting moments of desire. Skyscrapers cut through the night sky as reminders of what Korea is becoming, but Neon Bunny chooses to ignore them. Yet the creeping unease is always evident and eventually becomes too much to ignore.
The final sequence of the video occurs after Neon Bunny and the motorcyclist go through what looks like a marriage or bonding ceremony of some sort. Performed by a man in traditional clothes and makeup, it’s a defiant rejection of modern ideals that are hurting Korean society. The video then allows its form to fall in on itself becoming a trip of sex and confusion. It finishes with an image of an ultrasound. Neon Bunny emerges naked once again into the night sky. She is unnaturally attracted to the monolith of neon on the hilltop. It stands before Seoul’s cityscape, the opulence of the rising buildings is too much for a young person to ignore. She looks into the mirror of the monolith, looking at who she thinks she is. Seoul has already decided this for her though. She looks at herself and only herself.
“Forest of Skyscrapers” is a momentous work. As well as the video, the song proves to be uniquely chilled in an industry of maximalism. Its house synths wander through the song as Neon Bunny mournfully croons. Her voice always full of exhausted pleasure. It all combines to address the young people of South Korea. Neon Bunny knows it is tough that wealth is hard to ignore. Yet the expensive dangers of desire should never be forgotten. As the city of Seoul continues to build upwards, her wishes may never come true.
What do you think of “Forest of Skyscrapers? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter,Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/neon-bunny-541ed9b8ec90e.jpg10001000Joe Palmerhttps://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngJoe Palmer2016-02-15 04:24:392016-02-15 04:24:39Neon Bunny and the Sampo Generation: How Space Defines a Society
