The familiar pulse of a bassline, the roar of a crowd, the flash of a thousand cameras—these are the hallmarks of a stadium tour. Yet, in a seismic cultural shift, this very energy is being transplanted from the concert arena to the high-fashion catwalk. The latest, and perhaps most definitive, evidence of this new world order arrived with the stunning announcement that four members of the global K-pop phenomenon, Twice, performed at the 2025 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. This was not a mere celebrity appearance; it was a coronation. The runway is now officially K-pop’s most coveted stage, and this moment signals a point of no return for both industries.
For years, a flirtation has been brewing between the meticulous, high-gloss world of K-pop and the historically exclusive domain of luxury fashion. What began with idols seated in the front row as coveted guests has rapidly escalated into a full-blown strategic integration. The news from the Victoria's Secret show, however, represents a profound evolution. It confirms a wider, undeniable trend: K-pop icons are no longer just adjacent to fashion—they are becoming its central, driving force, transforming the very purpose and power of the runway.
The Victoria's Secret Moment: A Calculated Coup
To understand the magnitude of Twice's performance, one must first appreciate the context. The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is a titan of American pop culture, an event that once defined a very specific, and now heavily debated, vision of beauty and glamour. Its recent efforts to rebrand and reclaim cultural relevance have been scrutinized at every turn. In this high-stakes game of reinvention, every choice is a statement. Placing four members of a Korean girl group at the heart of its landmark event is arguably its most strategic move yet.
This was not a simple booking; it was a masterclass in cultural symbiosis. For Victoria's Secret, it’s a direct line to Gen Z and a global, digitally native audience that reveres Twice not just for their music, but for their style, personalities, and the powerful parasocial bonds they foster with their fandom, known as "ONCE." The brand doesn't just get a performance; it imports an entire ecosystem of engagement, loyalty, and astronomical social media reach.
Crucially, the summary highlights that the members of Twice performed. This distinction is paramount. They were not merely models walking a runway; they were entertainers commanding a stage, blurring the lines that have traditionally separated the talent from the clothes hangers. This act transforms the runway from a passive display of garments into an active, multi-platform entertainment spectacle. The clothes are now part of a larger cultural moment, amplified by the star power of the idols at its center. It’s a powerful acknowledgment that in today's media landscape, the narrative is just as valuable as the nylon.
From Front Row to Center Stage: The Idol as Supermodel
The journey of K-pop idols within the fashion hierarchy has been a swift and decisive climb. A decade ago, their presence at a major European fashion week would have been a niche curiosity. Today, it is an expectation—and often the main event. We have witnessed a clear, three-act progression in this relationship.
Act One was about presence. Idols were flown in to sit front row, their meticulously styled appearances serving as powerful PR moments for brands, generating a flurry of online activity that often overshadowed the show itself. Act Two was about partnership, with idols ascending to the role of global brand ambassadors. This cemented their influence, plastering their faces on billboards from Seoul to Paris and validating their status as legitimate fashion players.
Now, we are firmly in Act Three: participation. The Twice performance at the Victoria's Secret show is the pinnacle of this stage. Idols are no longer just wearing the clothes; they are activating the brand's narrative on its most sacred ground. They are walking in shows, closing collections, and, as we now see, integrating their own musical performances into the fabric of the presentation. This marks the final dissolution of the boundary between muse and model. The K-pop idol has effectively become the new supermodel—a figure whose personality, global following, and cultural cachet are the primary assets, with the ability to move product on an unprecedented scale.
The Symbiotic Power Play: Why Fashion Needs K-Pop
This is not a story of one industry conquering another, but rather of a potent, mutually beneficial alliance forged in the crucible of the digital age. Luxury fashion, an industry built on heritage and exclusivity, has found itself in a relentless battle for relevance. K-pop provides the ultimate solution.
For fashion houses, the appeal is multifaceted and undeniable:
- Unrivaled Audience Access: K-pop groups command some of the most organized, dedicated, and digitally fluent fanbases on the planet. An endorsement from an idol is a direct injection of a brand into a vibrant, global youth culture.
- Economic Impact: The concept of "media impact value" is redefined by K-pop stars. A single Instagram post from an idol wearing a brand's latest collection can generate millions of dollars in equivalent advertising spend overnight. Their fans don't just consume content; they amplify it exponentially.
- Cultural Relevancy: In an era of fleeting trends, aligning with a K-pop idol provides a potent dose of "cool." It signals that a brand is not a dusty relic but a dynamic participant in the global cultural conversation.
Conversely, the allure of high fashion provides K-pop agencies and their idols with a critical platform for expansion and legitimization. Association with storied European luxury brands offers a specific kind of validation, elevating the idols from pop stars to global cultural icons. It’s a powerful signal of their arrival on the world stage, transcending language and musical genres. Fashion offers another visual medium through which to express their meticulously crafted concepts, extending their artistry from the music video to the catwalk.
A New Vision for the Runway
Perhaps the most fascinating consequence of this trend is how it is fundamentally altering the nature of the fashion show itself. The traditional runway was often a serious, even somber, affair—a procession of anonymous models serving as blank canvases for a designer's vision. The introduction of K-pop stars shatters this paradigm.
Idols bring their inherent star power, their polished performance skills, and their distinct personalities directly onto the runway. They are anything but blank canvases. Their presence transforms the show into a high-energy spectacle, a hybrid of a concert and a couture presentation. The focus shifts from the passive observation of clothing to the active consumption of a cultural "moment." The goal is no longer just to present a collection but to create a viral event that dominates social media feeds for days.
The performance by members of Twice is the ultimate expression of this new format. It’s a declaration that the modern fashion show must be an immersive entertainment experience. The clothes are important, yes, but they are part of a larger package of music, performance, and personality designed for maximum digital impact. It’s a louder, more dynamic, and arguably more democratic vision of what a fashion show can be.
The Final Stitch
The image of Twice on the Victoria's Secret runway is more than just a photograph; it's a snapshot of a paradigm shift. It represents the culmination of a decade of growing influence, where the cultural gravity of K-pop has become too immense for the fashion world to ignore. What was once a novelty has become the new establishment.
This is a meticulously engineered reality, built on the mutual needs of two global powerhouses: fashion's hunger for a new audience and K-pop's ambition for total world cultural dominance. The catwalk is no longer just a platform for clothes; it is a stage for global superstardom, a battleground for cultural relevance, and, for the moment, it belongs to K-pop. The only question now is not if, but how much further this integration will go. The show has only just begun.
