{"id":371184,"date":"2025-11-11T09:02:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T09:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/371184\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T09:02:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T09:02:16","slug":"ateezs-hongjoong-on-first-fashion-show-petit-coussin-and-his-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/371184\/","title":{"rendered":"ATEEZ\u2019s Hongjoong on First Fashion Show Petit Coussin and His Style"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tFor K-pop<\/a> star Hongjoong, it all comes back to self-expression.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 27-year-old rapper and producer is the leader, or captain as they call it in the group, of the chart-topping boy group ATEEZ<\/a>. For the last seven years, he\u2019s been at the forefront of shaping the group in their journey from the underdog group from a small company to global stars, topping charts around the world \u2014 including the Billboard 200, twice \u2014 and becoming the first K-pop boy group to perform at Coachella.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn between trips to Paris Fashion<\/a> Week and world tours with the eight-member group, Hongjoong has come up with a project that adds another title next to his name: designer. Timed to his 27th birthday, on Nov. 7, the performer released his first fashion collection, Petit Coussin, or little pillow in French, through a filmed fashion show on the group\u2019s YouTube Channel. The show \u2014 inspired by memories of childhood and broken up into four parts, labeled by the time of day \u2014 featured 24 looks designed by Hongjoong and modeled by an array of young models.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI just wanted to bring my child side to [the present],\u201d Hongjoong tells The Hollywood Reporter on a Zoom from his label KQ Entertainment\u2019s headquarters in Seoul. The rapper, dressed casually for the conversation, is outfitted in a jacket he previously designed for himself.<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, Hongjoong takes THR through the process of designing his own line, how his mother inspired the name and the collection and why he\u2019s always working on new projects.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat inspired you to do this project? Can you tell me where this came from?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve been to many fashion shows over the last two or three years. Whenever I went, I always visited the designer\u2019s office or the designer\u2019s workroom. During that time, I thought, someday I want to try to make my own fashion show too. When I saw their studio or workroom, I felt something deep. It gave me a different emotion than when I make music or when I\u2019m on the stage. I just thought, I want to make my own clothes, and I want to make my fashion show too. I thought this was the perfect timing to do this project, so I began this year.<\/p>\n

\n\tHearing you talk about timing, I am really curious. It doesn\u2019t seem like you and ATEEZ have a ton of free time. How did you find time to do this on top of everything else?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tATEEZ\u2019s schedule is always full, but I have my free midnight time \u2026 Actually, everyone thinks we\u2019re so busy, but I think I have enough time for myself. I don\u2019t want to waste my time just lying in my bed. That\u2019s why I [like to] try something and create [music] every time [I have free time]. This time, I just changed that to designing clothes. The [amount of] time is enough, I think.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tHongjoong preparing for his first fashion show.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKQ Entertainment<\/p>\n

\n\tHow long did you work on it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tAlmost six months. When I make music or other things, I start with a very small idea. I just make my, I love to make my dream bigger and bigger. I was on an airplane and I thought, oh, it\u2019s a little bit late and there\u2019s nothing fun in my life. Six months ago, [life] was just a little ordinary, so I wanted to do something very crazy. I thought this was the time to make my fashion show.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat did you do next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tBetween the end of last year and the start of this year, I started going around to Dongdaemun (a well-known market in Korea for clothes, fabric and materials). I walked around and took pictures of a lot of things. There were a lot of fun and interesting materials that I saw there during my strolls in the area. I\u2019d be on the plane, going through my phone, and then I\u2019d choose a material that I thought was fun. I\u2019d start from there. Since I was on a plane, I didn\u2019t have a sketchbook or anything to work on, but I would take my phone and write notes on what I imagined it to be.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat about the sketches for the pieces?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tAt first, since I don\u2019t know how to draw, I would draw something very approximate. Then I would be writing [on the sketch], this is the right, this is the left, this is where the bottom would go. When I was doing this, I felt the same excitement I felt the first time I started working on music. I couldn\u2019t wait for the plane to land, so I could go straight away to start making them as real clothes.<\/p>\n

\n\tThen, from the places I saw during my visits to Dongdaemun, there was a small shop with a very old grandpa that I called. I told him, I want to make this. I will send you a better sketch. That\u2019s how it started, how the first outfit came out to be.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019ve clearly spent so much time on this. What made you decide to go with children\u2019s clothing for the collection and show? It was very cute.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tActually, that story, about the first item, I just told was about other clothes. I wanted to wear my clothes first. After I made a few pieces of clothing [for myself], I thought about making something [for others]. I wanted to go by step. When I make music, I start with making a beat. I usually make very minimal sounds to make it maximal. I just [keep adding] something [and] something [to the beat]. With design, it\u2019s the same. I wanted to make small clothes first. The small ones need more details. I think that\u2019s cute and interesting; the clothes are smaller but there\u2019s more details. I visited Jacquemus\u2019 fashion show in June, and the fashion show\u2019s whole story was about Jacquemus\u2019 nostalgia for the countryside he grew up in. While watching the show, the idea came to me. I remembered the shop where my mother used to sell children\u2019s clothes.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tHongjoong attends the Jacquemus Menswear Spring\/Summer 2026 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on June 29, 2025.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPascal Le Segretain\/Getty Images for Jacquemus<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did you get the name Petit Coussin?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThe name of my mother\u2019s shop was Petit Cochon, but it was pronounced very Korean. I didn\u2019t know what it meant, so I called my mom and asked. My mom said she just heard that it\u2019s French, and it means small pig. I thought small pig was interesting, but I thought pig was not that good [of a name to use for making] clothes. I looked for a similar pronunciation, and then I found coussin (French for cushion), so that\u2019s why Petit Coussin is the title.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIt all seems a bit like fate. Do you think your mother running a store when you were young made you interested in clothes? Were you around them often as a child? How did you become interested in clothes and style<\/a>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tFunny story, I never thought about it before. I never thought about the relationship between that. But when my mom started showing my pictures and bringing some of the outfits that were still left from that time, that\u2019s when I realized. I was like, oh, maybe that\u2019s how everything started.<\/p>\n

\n\tYour style onstage is obviously more of a character you\u2019re putting on, but you have your own unique style offstage. Can you tell me more about the differences between your style onstage and your personal style?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI think that\u2019s the point. When I\u2019m both onstage and offstage, I think that\u2019s all me. ATEEZ has many conceptual stages, and when I\u2019m onstage, I just try to show my captain image. ATEEZ has a very raw and rough image too. But also, at the same time, I just want to put my own character into it too. I talk a lot with my stylist about that. Offstage, I can express my own style, not any character. I don\u2019t need to express that point too. When I go somewhere and am wearing my own clothes, I don\u2019t have any plan for tomorrow or the next day. In the morning, [I think to myself], today, I want to wear this or I want to wear that. I think that\u2019s my own character, my own thing. I don\u2019t have many plans to wear my own clothes [onstage], but if fans [see what I\u2019m wearing and] think, oh, that\u2019s a little cute or that\u2019s cool. I\u2019ll remember for myself that if I wear that kind of clothes, I look cute. Or I look cool. Next time I want to be a little cuter, I just wear those clothes again (Laughs). So, I don\u2019t [go into picking my clothes] with any plan \u2014 I like to express how I\u2019m feeling that day.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe child models for Hongjoong\u2019s fashion show.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKQ Entertainment<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat does self-care look like for you amidst busy schedules?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThese days I\u2019m more of a runner. I go out for a run and spend some time with myself outside. That\u2019s not something I used to do, but it\u2019s something that I picked up recently. I\u2019m doing it quite routinely. But for the longest time, my form of self-care has been sitting by myself and making things, working on things and thinking about what I can do next. I always have so many plans. Sometimes I think too much, so I have to make something because when I\u2019m making it, that thinking goes away. I\u2019m always making something. If I don\u2019t want to show it to our fans or audience, I just hide it. Then if it\u2019s a good result, I\u2019ll show it.<\/p>\n

\n\tI can relate. What do you hope comes from this line and this fashion show? What do you want to do next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t know how many people know about it, but I did so many projects myself after I debuted. It could be my solo project, or it could be our group project. I did many things, but all of it was about expressing myself. This project was the same too. I just want to express my own sense of fashion and my birthday is so soon. I just want to share my story through my fashion or style and my own clothes. I think I want to do more projects about fashion because during this project, I was so happy with everything. It was so fun. I was so happy preparing this show, so I want to do more projects with my design side too. I think [my next project] can also be something else where I can express myself, like I always do. Preparing for this project, there were some difficulties and some challenges I had to face. Those challenges are something I learned from. I\u2019ll also take [what I learned] to express myself onstage. That\u2019s what I challenge myself again and again with different things.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For K-pop star Hongjoong, it all comes back to self-expression. The 27-year-old rapper and producer is the leader,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":371185,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[12559,171,10574,1801,6467,60340,38290,5921,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-371184","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-ateez","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-fashion","11":"tag-international","12":"tag-k-pop","13":"tag-k-pop-news","14":"tag-person-of-interest","15":"tag-style","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115530259128159656","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}