The fashion-forward look of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters required what Sony Pictures Imageworks says was a first-of-its-kind approach to animated costuming, with each of the main characters having a huge wardrobe.
Netflix’s animated film was produced by Sony Pictures Animation and won two Oscars, and has been a massive streaming hit for Netflix. At Web Summit Vancouver, the crowd got insight into the movie’s fashion secrets.
“It’s obviously a K-pop movie, and K-pop bands are very fashionable,” said Jacky Priddle, Senior Producer at Sony Imageworks, the VFX and animation division of Sony Pictures. “To accomplish this look, we did something that I don’t think has ever been done in any other animated movie; creating 20 different outfits per girl and a few more for the boys.”
The result was a mix-and-match wardrobe that yielded a huge number of outfit possibilities. “We ended up having 75 possible combinations of outfits for each girl, which I think is some sort of a record. In animated movies, you see the character always wearing the same outfit because it’s very tricky to create them. But we decided, no, we need to invest in this part, and it needs to be very fashion forward.”
KPop Demon Hunters has become Netflix’s most popular film ever. In the second half of last year, the movie racked up 482 million views. Earlier this week Netflix and AEG Presents announced they are teaming to bring K-pop Demon Hunters fans a live experience with a world tour.
Priddle explained that the outfits were key to bringing the vision of directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans to the screen. “When we first met, Maggie said, this is about the girls, this is about fashion. She wasn’t so aware of the surroundings, the environment. It was more that these girls have to be top of their game. No-one wears the same outfit twice.”
Despite the elaborate wardrobes, the filmmakers also wanted the characters to feel grounded, balancing glamour with more everyday moments.
“They can be glamorous, but they can also be like, hey, without makeup, in their pajamas,” Priddle said. “We really were following what the directors were wanting to do about the portrayal of women. Especially our director, Maggie, she was very adamant about women not being these kind of dainty princesses. We’d show one of the girls without their makeup on and she’d be saying, “Make them more tired.” Usually it’s more like, “No, you’ve gone too far.”
Expect more outfits in the next KPop Demon Hunters movie. Netflix has confirmed a sequel, with Kang and Appelhans returning to direct.
