Auction house Myart Auction and designer Kim Rieul have faced heavy criticism from the K-Pop supergroup BTS’ fanbase – known as ARMYs – following an announcement that they had plans to auction off one an outfit worn by one of the members. The wearer of the oufit? BTS Jimin. No biggie, right? We’d all love to have memorabilia from our fave artists. But! The main issue that ARMYs found with the auction was the fact that Jimin’s outfit would be sold: unwashed.
The outfit in question is the hanbok suit Jimin wore during BTS’s Gyeongbokgung Palace performance of “Idol” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. At that time, the suit drew attention as it managed to seamlessly combine traditional Korean clothing with a modern suit, one that looked comfortable and easy to move in (after all, BTS does some heavy dancing as part of the choreo for their hit songs).
The designer was quoted as saying:
“This outfit is touched and worn by Jimin. I didn’t even wash it… These are the clothes that still keep Jimin’s sweat and fragrance of that day.”
Reports confirm that, after the show, the styling team did not dry or clean the outfit before returning it as they had rushed schedules. Despite that, somehow, the auction house managed to convince the designer to put the outfit up for sale. Fans of the 25-year-old singer slammed the decision, arguing that the decision to sell his outfit unwashed was a serious misstep. And it wasn’t just about hygiene fans complained about. It was also about generally respecting the artist.
Why? What was the reason? ? this is highly unethical, and does the artist even aware that the clothes is being auctioned in that condition? ? https://t.co/EPCP7wsOqv pic.twitter.com/F6APydJZnr
— Dita ᴮᴱ⁷ (@almostdita) April 20, 2021
Yikes. Incredibly invasive to auction the clothes without washing it. This is the type of thing that promotes toxic fan culture like sasaeng behavior. https://t.co/lXTzb6nmv0
— ?ᴮᴱ134340 miles from sanity⁷? (@naija0329) April 20, 2021
This is crazy.. Pleaseee wash it and respecttt the artistt.. ???
— ?Jliulyw? (@jliulyw) April 20, 2021
When fans first expressed their disgust, the auction house released a statement detailing their decision to auction the outfit in its unwashed state. They explained that they highlighted the fact that the outfit was unwashed as they saw it as ‘preservation of the prototype’ of the work.
“As for artworks, the beauty of the work, as well as the history and preservation form of the work, highlights its value. This work is a work that has shared history with world-renowned artists and has been preserved in its original form.”
They went on to highlight that a previous exhibition that saw Kurt Cobain’s unwashed cardigan go on auction – for the same reason – fetched a whopping estimate of 140 million won. The auctioneer in charge of the exhibition said “The Stains are still there,” to highlight the importance of the fact that the garment was unwashed when considering realism. They said:
“On the left shoulder of this hanbok suit, there are traces of cosmetics on the left. This proves that the site has been preserved. We will always do our best to increase the value of the work and not to damage the original form.”
However, since the backlash, the designer behind the suit has decided against putting the suit up for bidding. Initially, Jimin’s hanbok suit, tagged as Lot 53 in the auction, was priced starting at 5 million won ($4,468) and was supposed to be open for bidding on April 22. On Instagram, the designer Kim Rieul posted,
“First of all, I sincerely apologize for canceling the auction. It has been really hard for two weeks.”
Earlier this year, a full set of costumes from BTS’ Dynamite video was sold for $162, 500 USD (RM 668,281).
*Cover image credit: Film Daily