10 Times EXO's Call Me Baby Slayed Fashion

         EXO’s back! And every EXO-L around the globe is going crazy about their just-released music video, Call Me Baby. But all the dapper faces, catchy rhythm and intense hip thrusts aside, I want to acknowledge the fashion statement that our boys sported in the music video. Whoever decided what the boys get to wear deserves recognition because EXO’s fashion every comeback never failed to amaze me. We’ve seen their remarkable fashion through the eras, from glittering alien garb to werewolf jocks to school uniforms to classy suit-and-tie combos, and now that they’ve dropped another bomb on us with Call Me Baby, a new fashion era has also began.

         Maybe it’s true what other media portals say, that EXO is the newest trendsetter in the industry, and so with the K-Pop group’s latest comeback, here’s a list of how them boys are gonna set a new trend and slay fashion once more.

 1. Turtle Necks. It’s almost summer and most of us have already kissed goodbye their winter clothes to see garbs of summer and sunshine. But it seems like most of the members of EXO are not over with turtle necks yet. As we can see from the music video, some of them sported this kind of clothing and paired it with a leather jacket or a button-up shirt (more of this later) to defeat the monotonous tone of the outfit.

Baekhyun, D.O and Sehun sporting turtlenecks.

      2. Greasy hair. We’ve seen some KPOP idols sporting this hairstyle but never really killed it. Greasy hair, for what it’s really worth looks good with Professor Severus Snape only, gives anyone else the appeal of a homeless vaganond with no two pennies to rub and get himself a good shower. Kai and Baekhyun had their hair seemed like they drowned their heads off in a tub of olive oil but they still looked good (and hot, actually). While the other boys had their hair styled up as usual but a hint of shine is visible. And, of course, who wouldn’t forget Chanyeol’s gray, fluffy hair? Not greasy but just equally great as that of the others.

Damn sleek and greasy.

     3. Cocktail of ‘70/80s fashion and hiphop. Most fans on Tumblr ranted “Why does Kai looked like he just came out of the movie Grease? Stylists, please explain.” Aside from him, the others also wore a hint of the retro fashion just like Sehun and Tao’s classic fitted button top that they looked like they could rock Ricky Martin in that outfit (lol!) Some boys paired it with a hiphop feel just like putting other patterns on the leather jackets and putting other ensembles that made them look like they’re rockstars from the ‘80s (will talk more of this later).

Grease? No. It's EXO.

     4. Leather is the new black. Like what I said, the boys wore a mixture of retro and hiphop and leather was known to be a trend back then. But because it’s expensive and definitely gets uncomfortable especially during this time of the year, it’s mostly luxury apparel nowadays. But the boys looked awesome wearing leather jackets accentuated with zippers and patterns to put the hiphop vibe somewhere in there.

Leather jackets everywhere.

     5. And so is ripped jeans. Some of the boys started wearing this fashion last year (Chen’s Up Rising, Sehun’s airport fashion, etc) but apparently, the stylist decided to rip the jeans of some of the boys too and now they all look like they’ve skinned denim and their knobbly knees learning to mount and keep a bike running but of course, we could never deny that they definitely rocked this garment.

Look at all those yummy legs.

     6. Intense layering. Again, it’s summer – the time for flimsy tops and comfy pants but the boys are still into layering! A typical layering that KPOP idols look consist of a button up shirt and a jacket but EXO somehow exaggerated this style. Who would have thought that wearing a short sleeved button-up over a turtleneck could look rad? (This is honestly my first time seeing this kind of outfit. But it’s cool tho!) Other layering included oversized shirts, hoodies, leather jackets, and  chains, lots of chains which I thought were so early 2000 hiphop style.

Intense layers, indeed.

     7. RETRO+ HIPHOP, really. Just look at this part of the music video. It looks like an ending of a 1980’s chick flick with all those dancing and singing and the outfits! 

      8. Smouldering but not tacky eyeliner. KPOP men are known to sport eyeliner (that’s why non-KPOP fans tag them as gay-looking but hey, haters gonna hate!) and only a small amount of international artists could rock this look (Adam Lambert, y’all). So with all those leather jackets and rockstar feels, it will never work out without eyeliner but Chen and Suho definitely slayed this look the most.

Grandpa Suho and Chenchen rocking that eyeliner.

     9. Pointy shoes. Who said pointy shoes are just for bachelors in suit and tie? Well, our boys proved that dancing isn’t just about sneakers and other dancing shoes as they gave justice to the rock-and-roll feel by wearing sleek pointies and still danced like they’re born to just dance.

Look at all those pointy shoes.

    10. Rockstar/Riders’ feel. With all the elements I’ve mentioned, leather jackets, eyeliners, ripped jeans, chains, and sleek hairstyles, it definitely results to them looking like rockstars from the ‘80s. You know, that kind of Joan Jett feels (she’s a girl, I know. But look at them rockstar fashion!) If you can’t feel the rockstar vibe, then the Harley stud aura probably works on you. If they’re not going to a rock concert then they look like they’re ready to mount big bikes and slay the highway ala Ghost Rider.

SatanSoo with his minions in leathers and boots.

And so that was 10 times EXO’s latest music video slayed fashion. I don’t know what their stylist have in mind when coming up with a concept for this particular comeback but in the perspective of an EXO-L (fans), this is definitely worth the recognition because this isn’t something I’ve seen in other group’s music videos. I’ve seen retro concepts in some group and hiphop on the others but never a mixture of both that’s why Call Me Baby is a remarkable one for me. Because if this, I’m looking forward for their next comeback because I trust EXO’s stylist to give us another awesome, never before seen style that could slay fashion once again.

Watch both versions of Call Me Baby MV and see for yourself! KOR | CHN