There was much to love—and comment on—when Dua Lipa debuted her “La Vacanza” collection in Cannes on 23 May. The 38 butterfly-and ladybird-strewn looks, unveiled in the villa where Hitchcock’s To Catch A Thief was once filmed, married the best of the Versace archive with a dose of Gen-Z playfulness. “Glamour is a sparkle that comes from within, it’s an energy, it’s the way you carry yourself, and clothes just help to express this energy,” Lipa told the gathered fashion press ahead of the presentation, which saw the likes of Iris Law and Irina Shayk storm the runway against a turquoise Mediterranean backdrop.
More than one fashion star was born in Cannes last night, though. As it turns out, there’s three certainties in this life—death, taxes and the ferocity of K-pop fans—and the bulk of viewers frantically refreshing the “La Vacanza” livestream were, in fact, there for Hyunjin rather than the Greca Goddess Mini Bags, collectively losing their minds at the sweet way he greeted Dua and Donatella. Wearing cool linen separates and Versace accessories, he looked the part for his first appearance on the FROW for the Italian house, and all but guaranteed he would be a fixture at the spring/summer 2024 collections.
K-pop stars have become the MVPs of the fashion circuit over the last few years, from RM at Bottega Veneta to Jimin at Louis Vuitton—and now their presence is becoming integral to Cannes, too. Take Jennie, who lit up the Croisette in Chanel couture for her Cannes debut, wearing a design originally modelled by Kaia Gerber on the spring/summer 2020 couture runway. And next month? The Blackpink star will make her TV debut in Sam Levinson’s controversial The Idol opposite The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp. Long may K-domination continue.
