Forget the Fashion — at CELINE SS23, K-Pop Was the Main Event (2024)

AtCELINE's Spring/Summer 2023 runway show in Paris, it wasn't the ultra-skinny suiting, the equally thin models, or creative director Hedi Slimane, patron saint of rock 'n' roll-tinged fashion, thatcaused a commotion.

Instead, it was the attendance of two celebrities — BLACKPINK's Lisa andBTS'Kim Taehyung, AKA V — thatstirred full-on pandemonium.

Closing out Paris Fashion Week with panache, hordes of K-pop fans lined the street to greet the stars asthey pulled up to CELINE's show, held at Palais de Toyko. As evidenced by footage filmed outside of the event (and firsthand accounts from attendees), theboth artists elicited screams and chants that had LVMH execs Bernard Arnault and Sidney Toledano in awe.

The show marked V's first public appearance since BTS announced it was going on hiatus on June 14, a turn of events that sent shockwaves through the boy band's fandom.

Slimane is a longtime supporter of both BTS and Blackpink. During his stint at Saint Laurent, the designer regularly dressed members of the two groups. After moving to CELINE,the designer appointed Lisa as the house's global ambassador. And earlier this year,Slimanegranted her another covetable title: global ambassador for CELINEfragrance.

According to WWD, thecrowd of fans vying to get a glimpse ofLisa and Vwas so massive thatshow attendees were escorted through the runway's backstage area to exit. If it wasn't already clear, K-pop stans are a force to be reckoned with — from sabotaging a Donald Trump rallyto shutting down Paris Fashion Week, nojob is too big for the dedicated fandom.