Here is an archive of all the instances of kpop idols wearing any flavor of rock band merch I have collected. The images are in no particular order. Check out the captions for my nerdy commentary! There’s some additional information I’ve added for some, such as which pieces are custom, common, rare, etc.
I don’t even care that this is some streetwear bullshit shirt made by Praying (seemingly unlicensed at that), THAT’S CHOI BEOMGYU IN A “BRING ME TO LIFE” SHIRT, DAMN IT! It’s extra funny that the sleeves say “I can’t/wake up.” Evanescence will always have my heart. (Side note: I’m so sorry Kai.)Here we see Yuqi of (G)IDLE in a Maximum the Hormone shirt. MTH is another Japanese metal band that I’ve seen called everything from J-Pop to hardcore punk so you decide. Regardless, one of their tracks was the theme to a Dragon Ball Z movie, so they’re pretty fucking cool. They also have a female drummer named Nao which makes them even better.You know what’s even cooler than Giselle in PANTera? Karina shouting out Joan Jett. I believe this is the shirt sold by Madeworn for $185. When will aespa cover Cherry Bomb? Bjork pin Beomgyu, my beloved. Bjork isn’t a rock band but I don’t care. I think you should giggle at this with me anyway. Here Hyuna wears a Motley Crue tee. I don’t really give a shit whether readers support her or not; I’m not erasing this massively influential woman from my amateur kpop coverage. That’s too unprofessional for even me.Huening Kai is a lucky guy, really. He seems to get the most interesting band merch picks. Here he is in a Dead Kennedys Police Truck shirt. This is only made funnier when you know that he performed in this right next to Taehyun repping Twenty One Pilots.Another Nirvana In Utero shirt. This one is sold by Spencer’s which is funny to me. This image is also extra fun to me because there’s a Dance Gavin Dance Afterburner poster in the background. I genuinely love that album but unfortunately I must say that was the rudest crowd I’ve ever been in at a live show. If you’re not a white man don’t go to a DGD show.
So Hat Trickers is this Japanese “clockwork punk” oi! band that makes horror movie parody tees. Naturally they have won my heart because not only do these droogs have good taste in music, they also do in cine. Hat Trickers has had female members in their lineup, proving ladies can also kick some yarbles. Oh, by the way, this is Minnie from (G)-IDLE. aespa’s Giselle in an excellent, stunning, show-stopping Pantera shirt with custom pants that I would honestly kill for. If anyone can acquire this outfit for me I’ll give you blood.Taehyun repping Ramones. This is another fansite photo unfortunately so if anyone knows of a better source hmu.No, seriously, where the hell are Big Hit getting these shirts? Shadows Fall? The Art of Balance shirt is supposedly from 2002 and seems to only be on secondhand sites.Def Leppard is such a dad band. Honestly it’s a cute choice for Bahiyyih. Pour Some Sugar on Me? Love Bites? Tell me those phrases wouldn’t make a kpop girl group chorus.This one was a bit of a doozy for me at first because it looks like your standard Appetite for Destruction shirt but the cross is cyan and the text isn’t in the usual placement. Turns out this is a random 2012 run produced by Black Frog Entities, Axl’s publishing company. Miyeon of (G)IDLE might be accidentally making some statements with that one. I haven’t been able to find a glittery bedazzled “Highway to Hell” shirt yet so I think this is a custom job for the “SUPER BOARD” music video. Felix of Stray Kids certainly suits a sparkly rendition.Here’s Ryujin of ITZY in a Rolling Stones Steel Wheels Tour ’89 shirt. You can get this at Hot Topic if you want.
Huening Kai has also worn a Hat Trickers shirt, but his is a Friday the 13th parody. Another banger shirt for the history books. Iron Maiden may be a more common band to see on idols, but this one definitely has my heart for a Fear in the Dark skirt. I’m a spooky girl and that might just be my favorite Iron Maiden song. Too bad I refuse to choose.Nothing is more punk than the DIY spirit. Chaeyeon didn’t make this but her stylist did and that is dope. I might have to start making some cute merch skirts myself.Eddie Van Halen Beomgyu is another of his most banger looks. He is technically the TXT guitarist, so I’d really hope he knows who Eddie Van Halen is.This is a 1991 Metallica shirt from the Brockum group. The print is a collage of their different album art and this Yuqi stylist’s crop doesn’t really do it justice. It’s actually a pretty sweet design when you can see the whole thing. Yuqi also wore Tripp pants with this, by the way.There’s been this trend to stitch two different band shirts together and create an entirely new piece of apparel and nowhere have I seen it more than on TXT. This one is the funniest of the bunch to me- a Billy Joel “Uptown Girl’ shirt stitched to a Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik shirt.Here’s another Stray Kids member, Hyunjin, repping Slipknot for aforementioned “SUPER BOARD” M/V. This shirt was sold by Korean fashion brand Raucohouse.
Bibi, my crush, flipping off the camera while wearing a Misfits shirt. She’s really hot and cool and I’m gay so she gets to be at the top of the page.Now Scorpions isn’t really one of the bands I see on kpop idols’ shirts very often. I guess they aren’t quite ubiquitous enough to be appropriated by streetwear brands for the metal aesthetic. They do sell this shirt on their website, though, although it has been altered to add those cheetah print sleeves. Soobin will rock you like a hurricaine!The Trooper Shuhua, because we all know Shuhua really is a trooper for hanging in there with so few lines. She earned this one. Does this mean she has beef with Russians?Here’s TXT’s Soobin in a distressed The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste Ministryshirt. I haven’t seen this on R13’s drops or anything so I don’t really know where they got this one either.The way I yelped when I was watching this music video for the first time and Han turned around only to flash Cardinal Coppia in my face. And the long sleeve no less! Stray Kids’ stylist seems to have a soft spot for Ghost.Now the (G)IDLE ensemble from their “Tomboy” music video certainly warrants its own deep dive post and will be dissected there. For now, I’ll hold you over by listing the bands featured here: AC/DC, Babymetal, Metallica, Nirvana, Slayer, and Slipknot.Butthole Surfers Felix has become a little infamous after kpop twitter discovered why the shirt was censored in the “MANIAC” music video. Regardless, here’s Stray Kids’ resident baritone repping the album Psychic Powerless.Miyeon could really be wearing any of infinite versions of the Purple Rain shirt here. These things practically grow on trees.
Rocker Kpop 