Photo Credits: ESQUIRE Korea. Great M Entertainment
“Where vulnerability meets edge, tomorrow’s icons are forged.”
82MAJOR’s pictorial preview for ESQUIRE Korea’s October 2025 issue is less a photoshoot and more a meticulously crafted fashion thesis—dramatized on the bodies of K-pop’s brightest new icons. Where typical editorials might trade in safe homage, this shoot carves out new ground: sculptural tailoring is deftly shattered by flashes of metallic accessories, classic monochrome punctuated with modern, insouciant layers and unexpected pops of subversive detailing. It’s a masterclass in the push-and-pull that drives K-fashion’s current era—the line between tailored rigor and the controlled chaos of streetwear, between idol fantasy and authentic self-expression. Every frame captures the evolving performance of masculinity, as each member navigates the space between vulnerability and edge, their postures as telling as the clothes themselves.
“This isn’t just style—it’s a new language of masculinity.”
Fans are already calling out the tension between the softness of draped shirts and the angularity of oversized coats—a duality that feels pointedly next-generation. Social feeds are alight with discussions of “emotional armor,” the clever lifts of collar or fall of fabric acting as shields and signatures both. For the global fashion audience, 82MAJOR’s spread signals something crucial: K-pop idols now shape the mood boards of not only their home country but the entire international editorial landscape. Their look here is less about selling clothing and more about embodying a creative shift, a visual manifesto in real time.
From Seoul’s ateliers to global timelines: 82MAJOR leads, the world follows.”
Industry insiders, meanwhile, note that the group embodies “the new face of editorial masculinity,” deftly collapsing distinctions between luxury and off-duty, sculpture and street. The impact is potent, kinetic—every thread calculated, but never over-calculated, signaling a freedom that’s increasingly rare. For fans, every image is an invitation to translate high-concept styling into daily self-reinvention—a dialogue between idol and observer, between Seoul and everywhere else.
“Fashion that refuses to whisper—every silhouette tells its own story.”
