Korean luxury eyewear brand Gentle Monster seems to be on top of the world right now, releasing heavy hitter collaborations back to back with powerhouse names like couture fashion house Maison Margiela, the popular Overwatch 2 video game, luxury Parisian jewelry brand D'heygere, and BLACKPINK's superstar singer Jennie Kim.

The eyewear designer teased the new collection with Jennie with a bubbly pink post on their Instagram account late on Thursday, April 18. Fans went wild over the announcement imagery, featuring a single animated capybara creature walking away to reveal simple bejeweled text stating only "Gentle Monster x Jennie" with a release date of May 1, 2024 below. The idol is famous for her signature sunglasses on stage and at the airport, frequently sporting looks from the main line and her prior "Jentle Garden" and "Jentle Home" collaborative collections that naturally followed.

The superstar singer and rapper of Korean girl group BLACKPINK has also been vocal about her love for the capybara, a large rodent species native to Central and South America, due to their friendly cohabitation with creatures like crocodiles and monkeys and unique combination of physical traits. The capybara is friendly towards humans, even kept sometimes as a pet, and is known to be very gentle - perhaps even creatively included in the new campaign as a cheeky play on the Gentle Monster brand name.

Jennie was famously introduced to a capybara on the set for BLACKPINK's music video "Ice Cream" featuring American singer Selena Gomez in 2020 in a moment that went viral online, and her fans have associated her with the animal since. For those acquainted with the pop musician, it's no surprise to see the inclusion of the world's largest rodent species in the new Gentle Monster campaign, and the comment section of the post immediately garnered attention around the creature within seconds.

The single short video post garnered over 140,000 views and 500 public comments in under thirty minutes on the Gentle Monster Instagram account, and it is safe to say that Jennie's third collaborative collection with Gentle Monster is set to continue the path of success established with the prior "Jentle Garden" and "Jentle Home" releases.

We anticipate that fans of the brand and the singer can look forward to another exciting collection pop up to be announced shortly for major cities around the world, following Gentle Monster's signature tradition as seen for the "Jentle Home" release.

Jennie Kim is a Korean-born vocalist and part of the BLACKPINK girl group. She has released singles "You and Me" and "SOLO" as well as performed guest vocals on The Weeknd's track "One of the Girls" accompanying her acting role in "The Idol" streaming series in 2023. Jennie announced the start of her own label ODD ATELIER in November 2023 after declining to renew her individual contract with management company YG Entertainment.

BLACKPINK has become a global phenomenon since their debut in 2016 with management company YG Entertainment, making waves - and fans - around the world. Consisting of Lalisa Manobal (Lisa,) Roseanne Park (Rosé,) Ji-soo Kim (Jisoo,) and Jennie Kim, BLACKPINK became the first Korean girl group band to headline at Coachella in 2023 and has been awarded numerous accolades even including honorary MBEs from King Charles III. Though the group was rumoured to potentially disband amidst an uncertain future with YG Entertainment on contract renewals, it was announced that BLACKPINK will pursue their solo endeavours as they please after declining individual contract renewals and remain with the agency for all group activities as of December 2023.

CREDITS

Writer and Fashion Editor: Laur Weeks @laur.weeks

Designer: Gentle Monster @gentlemonster x Jennie Kim @jennierubyjane

Photography courtesy of Gentle Monster campaign imagery.