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A Chinese fashion designer has accused Lisa, the Thai rapper and dancer from the K-pop band Blackpink, of wearing a top that allegedly "copied" her design in a newly released music video. Yang Yue, a makeup artist and fashion designer based in Beijing, made the claim on Xiaohongshu, China's Instagram equivalent.
The controversy quickly gained traction on social media, particularly on Weibo, where it attracted over 130 million views.
"Not only did they copy it, but the cut is also awful. It’s exhausting. Stylist, please stop embarrassing yourself," Yang wrote.
In a teaser for her new song "Rockstar," released on June 27, Lisa is seen wearing a leather, star-shaped top that closely resembles a design Yang created in 2020. Yang's design was inspired by the Tang Dynasty, China’s first heavy metal band from Beijing, and symbolizes the spirit of rock with the star representing Beijing.
Yang, who completed the design while studying in a master’s program at the University of the Arts London, posted photos of the design process to prove her claim. Her original design features a red star-themed top with hand-painted patterns, along with versions in green leather, black leather, and blue-dyed fabric. In Yang’s design, the top is connected to a skirt. However, the music video teaser does not show whether Lisa's top is part of a skirt or paired with trousers. A full video later revealed that Lisa wore trousers.
Yang stated that her skirt designs have been either copied or borrowed through proper channels by many artists, including Ning Yizhuo, known by her stage name Ningning, from the South Korean girl group Aespa. Yang acknowledged that similar ideas can occur independently but insisted that her design was likely on someone's mood board at some point.
Despite her efforts to secure the copyright of her designs, Yang found the process too time-consuming and costly, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. She attempted to contact Lisa’s stylist but received no response.
On June 27, Yang received an apologetic email from a PR team claiming Lisa wore the outfit because the "star shape is her favorite." The email promised that the situation would not happen again and offered a sincere apology. Yang shared this statement on Xiaohongshu, but online observers quickly pointed out that the email was from a fan group, not Lisa's company, Lloud.
Lisa's "Rockstar" is her first release under Lloud and RCA Records since leaving YG Entertainment and Interscope Records last year. It also marks her first solo release in three years.
The incident has elicited mixed reactions online. Some fans accused Yang of specifically targeting Lisa, noting that she only takes action when Lisa wears similar designs but not when others do. Others expressed dissatisfaction with Lisa’s new company, believing it to be inferior to her previous one.
Source: SCMP
