Uniqlo has teamed up with K-Pop sensations BTS to release a range of T-shirts.
The range, which will hit stores this week, includes designs featuring the group’s BT21 characters (animated creatures that represent members of the band), as well as plainer designs bearing the BT21 logo.
All seven members of the group “actively participated in the whole process from drawing sketches to execution,” according to the Japanese fashion retailer’s website.
One T-shirt in the range, featuring the character Cooky, carries the slogan “Pinkish Tough Bunny.” Another features the “dancing machine” Mang.
BT21 has proved another popular avenue for BTS’ ever-expanding brand, which places a heavy emphasis on social media.
The band holds a Guinness World Records for the most Twitter engagements and the most music video views within a 24-hour period – records that had previously belonged to One Direction’s Harry Styles and Taylor Swift, respectively – while the official Twitter account for their BT21 characters has almost four million followers.
Uniqlo’s decision to jump aboard the band’s success is likely to be a money-maker.
The rise and rise of K-pop boy band BTS
The group’s popularity has exploded internationally in the past year, with increased exposure in the United States landing the band a performance on “Saturday Night Live.”
This year, the band became the first group since the Beatles to achieve three number one albums in the US in less than a year, when their EP “Map of the Soul: Persona” shot to the top of the Billboard 200 chart.