Amidst the ongoing rift between and ’s CEO , another HYBE subsidiary, ̧, has gotten deeply involved after Min accused the label of copying ’ concept and strategies for . BeLift tried to refute the claims through a long video on June 10, but the response they received was not favorable. Netizens felt that the arguments raised by BELIFT in their rebuttal were insufficient and failed to counter the accusations.
One of the key parts of the video, which then became a topic of debate was the term “ILLIT-core.” While explaining that BeLift carefully designed the concept of ILLIT to avoid being compared to NewJeans, their visual director claimed that ILLIT’s styling and visuals were so unique that the fashion industry started to call it “ILLIT-core.” The very next day after the video was released, a fashion industry insider left a scathing comment under the video, questioning the validity of this claim.
The individual pointed out that even for South Korea’s top fashion icon, , no similarly associated term was used in the industry. — The comment poster The industry professional went on to explain how terms like “-core” are created and applied in the context of fashion, elaborating on why ILLIT’s fashion so far cannot have a similar coinage. — The comment poster Lastly, the comment concluded by saying that the ILLIT members are talented and have immense potential to grow into influential idols.
But at this stage in their career, using terms such as “ILLIT-c.
