With Lisa at LV, BTS’ Jin at Gucci, Stray Kids at Met Gala, luxury fashion embraces K-pop

Tommy Hilfiger’s Met Gala collab with boy band Stray Kids is a reminder of the growing attachment between luxury fashion and K-pop stars

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K-pop boy band Stray Kids pose at the Met Gala in New York. Fashion label Tommy Hilfiger’s collaboration with the group is an example of how luxury fashion houses are seeking to benefit from the star power of K-pop idols. Photo: Reuters

Published: 4:15am, 12 Sep 2024Updated: 5:04am, 12 Sep 2024

American fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger browses through a rail of custom-made suits worn to this year’s Met Gala by K-pop stars Stray Kids, before opening up a tuxedo to reveal a special label.

The eight-member South Korean boy group caused an online frenzy when the Tommy Hilfiger brand ambassadors became the first K-pop group to attend the prestigious Manhattan fashion event in May.

“We did a special label ‘Tommy Hilfiger with the Stray Kids’ and they loved it, we loved it and I think it will go down in history as probably one of the most exciting projects we’ve had to date,” Hilfiger said ahead of his New York Fashion Week show this month.

“We were, if not the most talked about brand at the Met Ball, one of the most talked about brands at the Met Ball … because the strength of what is going on in K-pop and for our association I think it was appropriate timing.”

Felix of Stray Kids at the SS25 Tommy Hilfiger show in New York. Photo: Reuters

Stray Kids are just one of an ever-increasing number of K-pop acts that luxury fashion houses are enlisting as brand ambassadors as they seek to tap into their global followings.

Last year, around 30 K-pop stars were appointed as the new faces for labels including Versace and Dior, while in the last two months, Lisa of Blackpink, BTS’ Jin, and Karina from Aespa were announced as brand ambassadors for Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada respectively.