In the ever-shifting realm of fashion trends, a public dispute between K-pop tastemaker Min Hee-jin and her company, Hybe, has inadvertently launched an unconventional style statement. Min, CEO of Hybe subsidiary Ador, found herself embroiled in controversy in April when Hybe filed a breach-of-trust complaint against her with police. However, it wasn't just the legal battle that captured public attention.
Min's attire during her April press conference, in which she swung between a tearful plea and using swear words to defend herself, became an unexpected focus. She was dressed simply and casually, wearing a blue baseball cap and a green striped sweatshirt. Both her Japanese brand California General Store T-shirt and 47Brand cap quickly sold out online afterwards.
This isn't the first time figures embroiled in controversy have intersected with the Korean fashion world. In 1999, Sin Chang-won, a notorious fugitive serving a life sentence for murder, became an unlikely fashion icon. After escaping prison in 1997, he remained at-large for over two years.
His capture was the top news nationwide and the vibrant Missoni T-shirt that he was wearing during his arrest sparked a national trend, with knock-offs flooding the market. Similarly, controversial figures like Shin Jeong-ah, whose fabricated academic credentials rocked the nation in 2007, and Choi Seo-won, confidante to ex-President Park Geun-hye and jailed for her influence over state affairs leading to the latter's 2016 impeac.