Even with the blazing summer in full swing, Asian pop stars have brought even more heat to Europe’s fashion capitals – from Milan to Paris, even Berlin.
As they stage their 2024 Spring/Summer menswear and co-ed lines, fashion houses and designers debut their global ambassadors and fly in a cast of actors, musicians, models, and athletes from all around the world.
We spotted some of Asia’s brightest music stars at the June 2023 shows:
Vernon (SEVENTEEN) at Kenzo
As he arrived in Paris as Kenzo’s first global ambassador, SEVENTEEN’s Vernon read a fan’s placard, which echoed his own bars in ‘Fire’: “Been touring domes now, haven’t you heard now, Paris Fashion Week now.”
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Attending the show held at the Passerelle Debilly bridging the Eiffel Tower and the Palais de Tokyo, Vernon made a splash on the Seine and stunned with a black leather jacket and striped trouser ensemble. Given Kenzo’s top man Nigo’s links to hip-hop culture and vision for the Paris-based house (“A bridge between cultures”), the New York-born idol’s debut showed how he ought to represent the brand well.
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SEVENTEEN’s hip-hop unit stalwart was spotted beside fellow rapper Offset (formerly of Migos) on the front row. He even shook hands with Pharrell Williams, Nigo’s longtime friend (see: Billionaire Boys Club) and the newly-minted creative director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear atelier.
The Spring 2024 co-ed collection (featuring frequent collaborator and BLACKPINK’s new artistic director Verdy) was said to be inspired by City Pop, specifically drawing from the late founder Kenzo Takada’s archives around the time of the sound’s heyday.
Taeyong (NCT) at Loewe
Kitted out in a sleeveless black top and dark brown wide-leg pants, with his lavender hair slicked back, Taeyong was turning looks as the newly-signed global ambassador at Jonathan Anderson-helmed Loewe.
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Even if a sort of Succession reunion was happening just a few meters away, the NCT leader might as well have been the main event. In this monumental outing for designer Anderson, the Loewe show space was also filled up with other actors, models, sportspeople, and musicians such as Omar Apollo, Oliver Sim (The xx), Dev Hynes (a.k.a. Blood Orange), and Troye Sivan.
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For Taeyong, his debut as ambassador is a full-circle moment, recounting how the bag he bought when he visited Paris for the first time was, in fact, from the Spanish fashion house. “I believe that marked the beginning of this special journey with Loewe that led up to this moment,” he told WWD.
Jaehyun (NCT & DOJAEJUNG) at Prada
At Prada’s show in Milan, Italy, the models walked a runway of cold, meshed steel as lime green slime dripped from the ceiling – an allegory, supposedly, for the fluid, “unconfining” sartorialism that dynamic duo Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons wanted to convey.
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On the front row, Jaehyun of NCT (and its trio DOJAEJUNG) was serving blue steel, looking piercingly gorgeous in a grey suit – just accented by details such as tufty cerulean fabric and big, pointed tan collar. He was spotted beside Aussie Troye Sivan, among other music stars who were Prada’s guests.
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Doyoung at Dolce & Gabbana
In a crystal-studded black tuxedo with alluring tailoring emblematic of Dominico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s house, NCT and DOJAEJUNG’s Doyoung arrived in Milan to throngs of NCTzens and stepped up as a new ambassador of Dolce & Gabbana.
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The ‘Perfume’ singer was spotted on the front row along with the likes of Machine Gun Kelly and Italian singer Blanco.
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“I’m truly excited to become part of the great Dolce & Gabbana family,” he said in an official statement written ahead of the ‘Stile’ SS2024 show. “I feel a strong connection that can give birth to a powerful synergy between me and the brand.”
Jeonghan (SEVENTEEN), Ten (NCT & WayV), Mark Tuan (GOT7), and LØREN at Saint Laurent
In Berlin, Germany, Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello set his structured, genderless garments against the backdrop of the stately geometry of Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie.
Show Guests
— SAINT LAURENT (@YSL) June 19, 2023
Men's Summer 24
by Anthony Vaccarello
Mitch Modes, Inès Rau, Daniel Caesar, Louis Hofmann, LØREN, Béatrice Dalle, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Gracie Abrams, Travis Bennett, Mark Tuan, Kiko Mizuhara, Georgie Farmer, Karl Glusman & Iris Law#YSL #YvesSaintLaurent… pic.twitter.com/CPtN4ls5bq
With the sharp but light tailoring of the men’s line for Summer 2024, the French house dressed some of South Korea's biggest stars like SEVENTEEN’s Jeonghan, NCT & WayV’s Ten, GOT7’s Mark Tuan, and LØREN. They were standouts among a cast of celebrities across different industries and continents: Kento Yamazaki, Kiko Mizuhara, Conan Gray, Manu Rios, Coi Leroy, Jessica Alexander, and more.
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Yuta (NCT), Jackson Wang and BamBam (GOT7), Nissy, Jeffrey Ngai, Austin Lin, and JJ Lin at Louis Vuitton
All the stars had descended on Pharrell Williams’ first Louis Vuitton show. Named as the late Virgil Abloh’s successor, the musician and fashion icon naturally gathered a formidable cast to witness his debut as men’s creative director at the famed maison: the likes of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, just to name a few.
A smattering of Asian superstars stepped out onto the cobbled runway of the Pont Neuf, including idols Yuta of NCT, GOT7 brothers Jackson Wang and BamBam, Nissy a.k.a. Takahiro Nishijima of AAA, Hong Kong’s Jeffrey Ngai, Taiwanese actor-singer Austin Lin, and Singapore’s JJ Lin.
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Cha Eunwoo (ASTRO), Mile Phakphum and Nattawin Wattanagitiphat
As Kim Jones celebrates 5 years of making his mark in the house of Dior and steering its menswear division to meteoric heights, he assembled his dearest friends and a whole array of A-listers and rising talent.
Among those flanking the breathtaking futuristic stage at the École Militaire were South Korean buzz-makers like actor and ASTRO member Cha Eunwoo, as well as Revenge of Others and All of Us Are Dead lead Lomon.
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Thai actor-singer Mile Phakphum Romsaithong with his KinnPorsche co-star Nattawin Wattanagitiphat (a.k.a. Apo) also appeared as the house’s newest ambassadors.
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Eric Nam
Eric Nam was quite the ubiquitous presence in Paris’s June fashion shows.
To see Wales Bonner’s soulful collection, Eric joined the likes of Aminé, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, and iconic supermodel Naomi Campbell.
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The Korean-American singer and DIVE Studios co-founder also showed up at the Kenzo presentation, and even joined SEVENTEEN’s Vernon for a picture, considering they go way back.
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At the Palais de Tokyo for Rick Owens’s Lido SS24 show, too, Eric arrived in an austere, billowy look, fitting right in among the brethren of the so-called dark lord of fashion.
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Utada Hikaru, Kohh, and BM (KARD) at Sacai
With the sun beating hard at Sacai in the Sorbonne, master hybridist Chitose Abe staged her 2024 Men’s Spring & Summer and Women’s Spring collections.
Among the guests was Japanese pop icon Utada Hikaru who sat together with rap star KOHH (who featured on the former’s Fantôme song ‘忘却’).
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Utada even posted their own footage of the runway looks, giving them a generous “10s, 10s, 10s across the board.”
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KOHH, a.k.a. Yuki Chiba, also walked the runway at the Japanese label FACETASM.
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Eric Nam also attended the revered Japanese designer’s show, as well as his frequent collaborator at Dive Studios, BM of ‘Icky’ hitmakers KARD — seen here, posing with Teyana Taylor on the front row:
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Ahn Hyo-seop at Jacquemus
It was a long shot, but Simon Porte Jacquemus made it happen: staging a Jacquemus show at the majestic Palace of Versailles. On top of making the seemingly out-of-reach happen, he had a bold idea: instead of a run-of-the-mill front row, make the guests sit on boats. “I told [brand CEO Bastien Daguzan] that I wanted people arriving by boat and looking at the collection from the boat,” he shared with Vogue.
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Needless to say, the ‘Le Chouchou’ Fall 2023 ready-to-wear show was a star-studded affair, counting Business Proposal and Dr. Romantic star and singer Ahn Hyoseop among them.
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Jeff Satur at Valentino
Pierpaolo Piccioli sent his models down a runway weaving through the verdant Renaissance-era courtyard of La Statale, a public university in Milan. With vibrant hues of mint green, turquoise, hot pink, raspberry-red and cobalt blue – emblazoned with quotes from Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life – Valentino’s latest collection was a study in how “true power and strength are about the freedom to show your own fragility and sensitivity,” in Piccioli’s own words.
Thai singer Jeff Satur, in his white Valentino Black Tie number, was a radiant presence on the front row, where he was joined by the likes of Jacob Elordi (set to play Elvis in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla) and Shanghai-born actor and brand ambassador Yang Yang.
Taeyang (BIGBANG) and Fan Chengcheng at Givenchy
Two years after beginning his tenure at Givenchy (on top of his own brainchild, the conceptual label 1017 ALYX 9SM), Matthew M. Williams took his presentation to the Hôtel des Invalides – where just nearby, Napoleon Bonaparte is entombed. A whole lineup of mainstay names marched up to their seats in some of the brand’s signature silhouettes, while the designer navigated the interplay of youthfulness and timelessness in his latest collection.
BIGBANG’s Taeyang showed up in a 2023 archival look – slick and all drip in black leather. He even told GQ France that this was a personal favourite of his.
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Fan Chengcheng (of Nine Percent fame; the younger brother of superstar actress Fan Bingbing) also arrived, being the brand’s ambassador in China.
@JaredLeto, #NoomiRapace, Chinese brand ambassador #FanChengcheng and @Leomie_Anderson attending the #givenchyss24 Menswear show, by @MATTMWMS, at L'Hôtel National des Invalides. pic.twitter.com/o2n2gXNnbP
— Givenchy (@givenchy) June 23, 2023
Juyeon (THE BOYZ), Hael Husaini and Greg Han at Fendi
With their Spring 2024 show held at their new 50 million euro factory in a Tuscan village not far away from Florence, Fendi demonstrated their artisanship in a deft and tactile way. “In fashion, you hear a lot about the designer, and the brand, but to be fully transparent you should be able to know who makes the items, and in what conditions. That’s what we want to do today,” the brand’s longtime creative director of menswear, Silvia Venturini Fendi, told Vogue.
Friends of the House and special guests attended the #FendiSS24 fashion show.@jrmypope @IST_THEBOYZ pic.twitter.com/WezZ3xIt4a
— Fendi (@Fendi) June 16, 2023
THE BOYZ visual and main dancer Juyeon, Malaysian singer Hael Husaini, and Taiwanese actor-singer Greg Han were among those invited to see the forthcoming Spring collection – a revealing but upscale take on workwear – all up close.
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Lee Hyeri at AMI Alexandre Mattiussi
In his latest outing, Alexandre Mattiussi wanted to do more with less – by turning to the proverbial route of going back to his roots: the ‘90s, when he first fell in love with fashion.
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Notwithstanding the Vincent Cassell opening moment, AMI’s Spring 2024 show aimed for less spectacle on the runway. However, there was definitely no shortage of star power, as the “Friends of the House” — the likes of Manu Rios and The Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey, as well as Korean actors Choi Wooshik and Lee Hyeri (also the maknae of girl group Girl’s Day) occupied the front row.
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Hael Husaini
Malaysian singer Hael Husaini was making the rounds in the Europe shows, too. Apart from Fendi in Italy, he attended the MSGM, Brunello Cucinelli, Emporio Armani, Prada, MCM, and Zegna shows.
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Days later, he also pulled up to the Louis Vuitton, Paul Smith and Kenzo shows in Paris.
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James Lee
Korean-American singer-songwriter James Lee (formerly of Royal Pirates) attended top Italian craftsman Brunello Cucinelli’s cinematic outing in Milan.
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Caelan Moriarty and Sunnee at Kenzo
Japanese-American act Caelan Moriarty (formerly of Avex-backed boy group INTERSECTION) was also spotted at Amiri and Homme Plissé Issey Miyake.
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He also joined Nigo’s presentation for Kenzo over the Seine River with the likes of Pharrell, Tyga, Noah Cyrus, Barbie Ferreira, Evan Mock, and Thai Mandopop singer Sunnee.
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