[NY Times Interview] G-Dragon in Paris, Another Appearance on Chanel’s Front Row

By ELIZABETH PATON

JANUARY 26, 2016

PARIS — The latest stage of the Asian invasion of the Paris couture season occurred at the Chanel show, held at the Grand Palais on Tuesday morning.
While the creative director Karl Lagerfeld’s muses remained out in force (the model and actress Cara Delevingne with her puppy Leo and the actresses Diane Kruger and Clémence Poésy), the star attraction proved to be G-Dragon, a South Korean pop star-turned-rapper and aspiring fashion entrepreneur who set Twitter alight with his naval-captain-inspired Chanel couture suit, flawless foundation and gigantic black fur hat.
A former teenage sensation and leader of the K-Pop boyband BIGBANG, G-Dragon (whose real name is Kwon Ji-yong) has been a front-row fixture at recent Chanel shows the world over, from Dallas to Paris. His chameleon style, kaleidoscopic hair shades and catchy songs have won him an army of fans in the millions in Asia, especially in his home country. (This no doubt explains part of his appeal for Chanel, who has identified South Korea as a leading luxury growth market.)

  
“Of course I wanted to come to the couture shows again, it is an amazing spectacle,” he said after the models had left the runway. “Since getting to know Karl, I have learned a huge amount from him and his work. I also like that he is a man whose image is incredibly distinctive — you hear his name and you can picture him immediately in your mind. I find that very inspiring.”
G-Dragon, who said he has made several investments in Asian fashion companies in recent months, emphasized that, while he had aspirations for the fashion world, they did not involve being a designer. “I would only create clothes myself if I felt I could do something really different — create a new style subculture for my generation and that is very ambitious,” he said. “What is more interesting to me is how all my worlds appear to be colliding at the moment — music, film, fashion and art — you can be one man, but be a force that combines all of those sectors together. There are business opportunities to be found within that.”
On previous visits to Paris, G-Dragon said, he had focused on shopping, but this time he planned to go to art galleries. “I now know that inspirations must come from everywhere,” he said, tilting his head toward Chanel’s artificial bright blue sky, part of the show set. “The sights you can find here in Paris are second to none.”
Source: http://nyti.ms/1PAoXhX