Previously on BTS: Holidays and High Fashion in the Age of COVID-19 Dec 18-24, 2021

It’s somehow just over Week 2 of BTS’ vacation, yet ARMY is still being treated to a myriad of holiday gifts in the form of seemingly endless digital and print content. The headlining feature this week had to be the release of an enormous dual magazine shoot with Vogue Korea and Gentleman’s Quarterly Magazines, where BTS graced seven individual and multiple OT7 covers for both magazines. Despite being born to model, it's tender songs like V's Christmas Tree, his solo OST from Our Beloved Summer, that made us truly fall for them. This week was jam-packed with regular Instagram and Weverse content showing the daily lives (and quarantine struggles) of all seven members, a surprise Butter Holiday Dance Practice, and holiday greetings and photos for those with ARMY memberships. Unfortunately, ARMY also had to extend a rather unique campaign of well-wishes to SUGA, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on his return to Korea.

Photo shoots and Interviews

Landing the cover of one global fashion magazine, let alone two, is a feat that most celebrities only dream of; however, BTS is doing both for the January 2022 editions of Vogue and GQ Korea. Each member selected their own outfits from the late Virgil Abloh’s final Louis Vuitton collection for their appearances on three unique Vogue covers featuring all seven members, and eight GQ covers: one for each member and one for the entire band. Each member’s personality and style was clearly reflected in their shoots: Jin paired with various animals evoked strong images of his solo song, Tonight, which was written for his pets, j-hope’s shots full of powerful movement captured his mastery of dance, and SUGA, always a vocal advocate for defying gender norms, captured fans’ hearts with a dramatic black skirt. Giving viewers a three-dimensional perspective of each outfit, Vogue released fashion films for each member, showing the boys modeling clothes and giving their best visuals.

True to the authenticity, complexity, and nuance that draw so many fans to BTS, the in-depth interviews with each member were just as remarkable as the photoshoots. In his GQ interview, Jimin talked about finding new joy, happiness, and calm in the midst of tumultuous global upheaval. Jungkook’s comparison of himself to a “broken hexagon” served as a powerful metaphor for how he approaches his desire to achieve new goals, though the most paramount of these is finding contentment within himself. RM, forever an icon of intellectual and artistic prowess, talked about everything, from his metacognitive abilities to his poetic and mathematical conceptualization of a more multifaceted love than we often see or hear about in mass media. Of course, more light-hearted aspects of each member’s personality shined through: V’s dream of meeting ancient Greek gods was an amazingly creative take on the question, “Who would you like to meet if you went back in time?”

Summer for Christmas? V’s Newest OST Transcends all Seasons

V’s unique mind was also showcased this week in his newest single, Christmas Tree, written for the new drama, Our Beloved Summer. The full version, released on Christmas Eve, contains beautiful lyrics comparing midsummer stars to Christmas trees and discussing how love can transcend moments of perfect understanding. The song’s message and soft instrumentals shot it almost immediately to #1 on iTunes in over 80 countries, which is no surprise given that the teaser version dethroned even Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You on Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart before it was even released. Just like last year’s Snow Flower, V’s newest Christmas song is the perfect holiday present.

Of course, it’s a little more wistful than the fun and festive Butter: Holiday Remix dance practice video released on BTS’ YouTube channel this week, where all seven members donned holiday sweaters, tinsel, and themed hats and headbands to surprise ARMY. Fans were also able to watch the TV premiere of the group’s 2021 Jingle Ball set, which was accompanied by a performance video uploaded to YouTube.

SUGA’s COVID-19 Diagnosis

Unfortunately, some of the holiday cheer was cut short on December 24, when HYBE announced via Weverse that SUGA tested positive for COVID-19 upon his return to Korea earlier this week. Though SUGA is vaccinated and was reportedly asymptomatic, concerned ARMY around the world are sending him love and support. BTS has been a vocal proponent of vaccination, which can decrease the risk of both contracting COVID-19 and hospitalization/life-threatening complications. Particularly with the new variant Omicron, we, like RM, want COVID-19 to “stay away” as much as possible, and we hope SUGA recovers soon.

Well, that’s it for now, ARMY. At ARMY Magazine, we know a lot happened on December 25. This weekly recap wraps up on December 24, so we will discuss those other events in our next blog. Until then, stay safe and remember, we purple you!

Written by: Mariko

Edited by: Marcie

Designed by: ThornToHisRose

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