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sanstropfremir · 1 year

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are you ready? it's time for...

best stylings of 2022, first half!!

this covers my favourite stylings from january 1st to june 30th; which i am bolding and italicizing bc some people got on my ass last year about leaving things out when in fact they just did not read the title! so!! this is only half of the year!!

here's a rundown of the categories i'm using:

best overall - self explanatory: this covers cbs that were holistically well designed across the mv, music show stages, and any other promotional material that was released during the cb period

runners' up - this category is for ones that got it about half right; either they had a really good music video but the stages didn't match up, or they had really good stages but the mv was lacking. i also put mvs here that didn't get any other promotional materials

standout element - this is for one off stages or outfits that stuck out to me as being really excellent, but there wasn't the same consistency across the rest of the cb

ok, make sense? let's go!

best overall

i hate you - woodz

youtube

i'm not gonna mince words here, you all saw me go insane over this cb so there's no way it wasn't gonna be in first place. frankly i'm surprised i survived the promo period at all. i'm obsessed with the choice for them to shoot the mv in a modern art gallery (i THINK it might be the same one that cl shot her alpha performance video at last year) because i love when there's a meta acknowledgement of idols as artistic products and how they interact with different forms of art etc etc etc anyways here's all the links to stuff i went insane over you're welcome: mv behind, this jacket from its live, and honestly this one is about the backup dancers more than him but it's cute.

stages: mcountdown 220512, music core 220507, music bank 220506, the show 220510, show champion 220511

bsides: hijack the show 220510, show champion 220511

gingamingayo - billlie

youtube

they deserved to go viral for this, the mv is amazing, the styling is so consistent despite the fact that they did like a full month of promotions, and overall it's just a fun time. they set the precedent for all the ~quirky~ gg cbs that showed up after this. it has so much character and established the weird world that their story exists in, so even though it was very early on in the year, it claims one of my top spots.

stages: contour 220304, music bank 220318, inkigayo 220320, the show 220308

dice - onew

youtube

this was not a popular cb in my circles but too bad, i thought it was very fun and extremely well designed. great mv with a cute lil narrative and creative choices building on a very clear influence, plus some very fun costume pieces, some incredible stage design, and some gorgeous graphic design. 10/10.

stages: mcountdown 220414, inkigayo 220417, music core 220423

bsides: on the way music bank 220415, inkigayo 220417

bad news - tempest

youtube

an extremely strong debut that has definitely set a new tone for the incoming next generation of bgs for sure. everything about this styling is chaotic over the top mess reminiscent of early 2010s kpop mixed with a retro 90s feel that is always a joy to watch. we love to see a return to cheesy and bright boy group form and i have my fingers crossed that we're gonna start seeing it catch on beyond the flops in 2023.

stages: mcountdown 220303, music bank 220304, show champion 220309, the show 220308, music core 220305, music core 220312, inkigayo 220313, mcountdown 220317, music bank 220325, music core 2200326

bsides: just a little bit, bad at love

undercover - verivery

youtube

and i am including the japanese version in this, because it has the best outfit, which is kangmin's pink satin tracksuit that i may or may not think about every day. verivery doesn't usually catch my attention but i loved the prerelease single o from this album so it made me tune into the undercover cb when it dropped. this has been one of the few 'retro' stylings (there's been a myriad of 90s/00s revivals) that actually took some very recognizable silhouettes from the period and combined them with a contemporary flavour successfully and consistently. there's so much good texture and the sheer amount of satin they used is just (chef's kiss).

stages: the show 220503, music core 220514, mcountdown 220505, inkigayo 220501, music core 220521, music bank 220513, music bank 220506, the show 220517, show champion 220504, music core 220507, inkigayo 220508

o: mcountdown 220331, music bank 2200401

stupid cool - dawn

youtube

dawn once again proving that he and his team understand styling and fashion a lot better than most stylists working in the industy rn. he has such a strong sense of how to use silhouette and texture and i love how every new stage keeps you guess about what insane thing he's gonna wear next. this is also one of the few cbs where i actually think they should have just used the performance video for the final mv, bc its SO good. there's a few small things that i don't love which is why this doesn't rank higher, but there's still a lot that i do, so i kept from the runners' up category.

stages: mcountdown 220707, mcountdown 220630, music bank 220701, inkigayo 220703

devil - changmin

youtube

it was short but sweet, every look is a banger and i am going to include maniac and fever here as well, because it's also incredible. although all three of these songs have no aesthetic unity across them, this album very much was an exploration of genres that changmin is interested in and creating characters to embody each of those songs; we have the american gothic corrupt preacher with devil, the classic rock besieged horror heroine with maniac, and the capitalist victorian villain from an alw musical. i'd also recommend watching the jacket shooting behind to see more details from the looks in the concept photos, bc those are also excellent.

stages: music core 220115, inkigayo 220116

bsides: fever performance video - dgg

bring it on - oneus

youtube

bring it on had so much fun character and a great series of prologue films as well, and i feel like it didn't get the love it deserved. there are so many things happening in this mv and it's very busy visually, so for them to be able to keep it coherent despite the sheer number of sets is impressive. rbw has great creative teams and it's no surprise that a oneus mv ended up in my top ten.

stages: music bank 220520, inkigayo 220522, show champion 220525, mcountdown 220602

grey suit - suho

youtube

i might not have loved the title track as a song, but the mv is fucking gorgeous with some profoundly beautiful shots and like with changmin, the album as a whole is fantastic work and he produced a similar style goofy fun bside mv for hurdle that ended up being his go to concert song this year. both have really consistent design and colour palettes across the two of them, even though they're two totally different styles of song, which is a detail that i really admire. and the concept photos were gorgeous as well.

stages: music bank 220408, inkigayo 220410

bsides: hurdle mcountdown 220407

daydream - highlight

youtube

fantastic cb from them and excellent album in general, with some unusual silhouette choices. and they fully produced their album medley as well, which i don't think i've seen a group do to this same extent. it's beautiful, i highly recommend watching it. highlight has been quietly flying under the radar since their first post enlistment cb last year, and as the hag fan that i am i'm going to continue to remind everyone that they exist and are doing some of the best quality work in the industry atm.

stages: music core 220326, inkigayo 220327, music bank 220325,

bsides: night fog music bank 220325

runners' up

heart burn - sunmi

honestly this should rank higher bc it was such a good cb and everything about it was so well done, but there was just too much that came out this year and i had to bump some things down just because of quantity and the fact that tumblr limits how many links and videos you can put in a post. so please know this was in a top spot in my heart.

invu - taeyeon

i wrote a post about invu already so i won't expound on it more, but it got knocked down to runners' up just bc i didn't love all the looks, but i did love a lot of the dedication and thought and engagement they put into the cb as a whole.

dududu - tan

also already wrote an entire post about this styling, i love it i'm obsessed one of THE best debuts of all time etc etc etc you've heard me yell about them many times already. although i have to issue one addition: for some reason i didn't include inkigayo 220403 where they gave jiseong a gorgeous blue crushed velvet suit.

again - nu'est

this is only here because they never did any performances of it. the only group that's ever done anything good with hybe money and what did they get for it??? the nu'est disbandment is easily one of the most gutwrenching things to happen to me and it's double compounded by their disbandment song being called 'again'. what a fucking cruel joke. anyways this mv is fucking gorgeous even if it makes me feel like i'm eating broken glass.

epitaph - tvxq

yes this is a japanese release but they haven't done a korean cb in like four years at this point so i'm taking what i can get. incredible set design, great costuming, who doesn't loves some hot tall vampires?

feel my rhythm - red velvet

the mv is 100% the standout element here, it's so unbelievably detailed and full of art references. however i didn't love all of the costuming so the stages didn't really stand out for me. ok that's a lie, i really liked the styling for music core 220326.

love - monsta x

could i have told you what the concept of this cb was? no. was it chaotic and very fun to watch anyways? absolutely. i present to you: versace. kihyun's obliques. whatever this lace suit nonsense is. idk what a 'vibe' outfit is but they should have done a stage in them.

skinz - onlyoneof

i've talked about the mv for skinz before, but there have been a couple of stages that are just kinda batshit crazy, like whatever the hell is happening here, and this 220114 music bank with the cropped puffer jackets and kb's tshirt bodysuit. i'm not even convinced what kb is wearing here is even considered a shirt. honestly i could have ranked this cb as a whole higher because there were just so many weird suits and i did like the mv, but i did have to limit this list at some point.

cupid - dkz

we love a cb of just guys being dudes! i actually do like the mv but it doesn't tie as well into the stages as i would like, so it doesn't get the full honours. but i would like offer you a selection of: pink, jonghyeong's xxxxl shirt, kyungyoon looking like a caricature of a kid in the early 90s, and kyungyoon's sexy lil cropped green bomber jacket

11:59 - apr project

these are all former trncg members (a third gen bg that disbanded due to an abuse and mismanagement lawsuit) that are redebuting in a new group and honestly? good for them. this mv was made with about $30 but it's one of my favourites of the year specifically because of the context and the moment at 2:41, which is SUCH a strong image and not one i was expecting. this was one of my soppy emo ballads of choice this year. also wolf baby revival when.

standout elements

memem story films - purple kiss // memem is probably the weakest of purple kiss' title tracks in terms of both sound and design, which was bound to happen eventually. however the story films are PHENOMENAL and i absolutely recommend watching them (plus bonus recurring character cya!): #1, #2.

creature - e'last // once again, e'last with an excellent showing of dedication to the man crop top agenda and guys bein' slutty for no real reason. show champion 220511, music bank 220513, show champion 220504, the show 220503

beauty inside - nine.i // i love these denim suits with loopy flowers and shapes that match the flower petal motif in the choreography.

x-ray - ghost9 // these sparkly vampire outfits that never appeared in any of the other styling or design but fuck supremely.

tank - nmixx - costumes that accentuate the choreography? in my jype styling???

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part two will hopefully be up in few days!

#tumblr's 100 link limit really beats my ass doing these posts like fr its SO ANNOYING #i have to edit so much down like my playlist was 300+ videos long....#NO ONE @ ME ABOUT BLOW NOT BEING ON HERE OK!!! THERE'S POST IN MY DRAFTS ABOUT IT ITS GETTING ITS DUE I PROMISE #also i couldnt decide if i wanted to blow or phase me on here since theyre basically the same mv so left both of them off as a compromise #why was this like 10x harder than last year!!!!! there was too much!!!#i normally have a lot more 'standout elements' but the fucking LINK LIMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#kpop styling #best of 2022 #end of year posts #text #Youtube

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