Forget the Fashion — at CELINE SS23, K-Pop Was the Main Event
At CELINE's Spring/Summer 2023 runway show in Paris, it wasn't the ultra-skinny suiting, the equally thin models, or creative director Hedi Slimane, patron saint of rock 'n' roll-tinged fashion, that caused a commotion.
Instead, it was the attendance of two celebrities — BLACKPINK's Lisa and BTS' Kim Taehyung, AKA V — that stirred full-on pandemonium.
Closing out Paris Fashion Week with panache, hordes of K-pop fans lined the street to greet the stars as they pulled up to CELINE's show, held at Palais de Toyko. As evidenced by footage filmed outside of the event (and firsthand accounts from attendees), the both artists elicited screams and chants that had LVMH execs Bernard Arnault and Sidney Toledano in awe.
The show marked V's first public appearance since BTS announced it was going on hiatus on June 14, a turn of events that sent shockwaves through the boy band's fandom.
Slimane is a longtime supporter of both BTS and Blackpink. During his stint at Saint Laurent, the designer regularly dressed members of the two groups. After moving to CELINE, the designer appointed Lisa as the house's global ambassador. And earlier this year, Slimane granted her another covetable title: global ambassador for CELINE fragrance.
According to WWD, the crowd of fans vying to get a glimpse of Lisa and V was so massive that show attendees were escorted through the runway's backstage area to exit. If it wasn't already clear, K-pop stans are a force to be reckoned with — from sabotaging a Donald Trump rally to shutting down Paris Fashion Week, no job is too big for the dedicated fandom.
