Fans are talking about ILLIT’s first outfits, saying they might have been copied from an online store in Korea.
On May 23, 2024, someone posted on TheQoo, a popular Korean website, asking if ILLIT’s debut outfits were taken from an online shop. They shared pictures of the group wearing white shirts, denim skirts, white socks, and Mary Jane shoes.
Some members sported braided pigtails or ponytails, complementing their mystical, ethereal Y2K concept. Initially, there was no controversy, and the outfits were well-received.
However, the mood shifted when netizens began comparing these teasers to ads released by the online shopping mall PLZPROJECT in November 2022. In these ads, models wore strikingly similar outfits, long-sleeved white turtlenecks with denim mini-skirts and high socks.
The primary difference was the footwear, with some models wearing boots instead of Mary Janes. Additionally, the hairstyles in PLZPROJECT’s ads, featuring braided ponytails, closely matched those in ILLIT’s teasers.
The post pointed fingers at Heu Serian, ILLIT’s visual director, suggesting she might have copied the concept. Despite her impressive resume, which includes work for Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, and Dazed, there is no record of her association with a shopping mall, raising suspicions about the origin of the concept.
The similarities extended beyond outfits and hairstyles, with both PLZPROJECT’s ads and ILLIT’s teasers featuring street poses.
Korean netizens quickly echoed the sentiment of the original post, agreeing that the resemblances were too close to be coincidental. The speculation has sparked a debate about the originality of ILLIT’s debut concept and the ethical implications of potentially copying another brand’s style.
