Before sitting down with the members of Winner backstage at Madison Square Garden, I didn't anticipate having to assure Mino that it's OK if Yoon thinks he dresses like grandpa. It's definitely not an insult — to me, at least.
I had just prompted the Korean boy group to describe the personal style of the member sitting to their right in one word. Yoon, Winner's lead member, goes first. "Grandpa," he declares, looking at Mino.
The 25-year-old rapper Mino is dressed in a greige tweed suit with chocolate trimmings — a look befitting of a 76-year-old haberdasher who's lived in the same Upper West Side apartment since 1953. And yet, he rejects this description of his personal aesthetic. The only aspects of his look that truly separate him from a grandpa are his shimmery champagne eye shadow and the silver barbell through the center of his lower lip. Unlike many K-pop stars who have been clipping on fake lip rings lately, Mino's labret piercing is real.
"What the fu-? What the fu- did you say?" Mino grumbles after Yoon repeats "grandpa," this time in Korean. That's when I step in.
"My friends say I dress like a grandma all the time," I offer. However, the puffy sleeves and retro-printed pieces I typically wear have an aesthetic that categorizes more as "middle school art teacher who just retired in Boca Raton with her ferret" than Mino's "sophisticated grandpa who's cool enough to still have a lip ring."
After everyone stops laughing, Yoon elaborates on his original point. "[Mino's] style is so classic and his hairstyle," he explains, now speaking English.
Mind you, earlier in the interview, Mino mentioned his favorite beauty moment from the Everywhere Tour in North America was a wavy platinum hairstyle that almost looked electrified. Fans have been calling him a mad scientist. Yoon called him Einstein.
"He really likes colorful clothes," Yoon continues. "So I think he looks a little bit like a grandpa." Still, Mino is confused. For him, classic and colorful just don't add up to "grandpa."
Mino on Jinu
Mino lets Yoon's response settle in for a second before pondering how to portray Jinu's personal style. "He's..." Mino pauses to hum to himself before continuing, "pretty."
Yoon interjects to say Jinu is like a prince. Mino agrees, tacking "casual" and "boyfriend" on as additional descriptors for Winner's oldest member, who is 27. (Unlike Mino, Jinu doesn't have any objections to this characterization.)
From what I can tell, Mino's answer is on point. During the small amount of time I spent with the group, I could tell Jinu was the most minimalist member. All four wore a myriad of silver rings. However, at one point, I notice Jinu's suddenly in a pile on the table between us. Clean, crisp lines are often the focus of his outfits, too. And his favorite beauty moment on tour was the most low-key of the whole quartet: blue colored contacts.
When it comes to skin care, Jinu is the savviest on the subject. In fact, Yoon calls upon him after I ask how their routines change on tour. "Going on many tours, we have attained know-how for taking care of our skin," Jinu tells me. His acquired skin-care expertise that is included but not limited to a top-secret method for clearing breakouts and lots of sheet masking.
Jinu on Hoony
Next up is Hoony. Jinu looks to Winner's main dancer, who is sitting next to him on a large black leather couch, and thinks of the one word to illustrate Hoony's style. In Korean, Jinu explains that 27-year-old Hoony is innocent and child-like.
Before this little game, Hoony mentioned their solo performance looks on tour reflect their personal style best. For his fun rendition of Taeyang's "Ringa Linga," Hoony slipped on a black leather jacket with flame-like tassels over a KISS shirt with the sleeves cut off and ripped black skinny jeans. His chocolate-mauve hair was also spiked up. In fact, the color and style changed up for the tour. "I colored my hair a lot back in Korea, so when coming to the U.S., I cut it really short," he explains. "It’s really easy to wash my hair now." My interview with Winner took place before the last show of the North American tour, so the rocker look was unexpected based on Jinu's description.
Hoony on Yoon
Hoony proceeds to call Yoon, who was sitting on the other side of the room in an armchair, "pocket boy." Yoon could probably see the confusion on my face because he clarifies, "I have so many pockets in my clothes or in my bag." At one point during the concert, I wasn't sure where exactly Yoon's hand was. Upon closer inspection, it was tucked away in one of the many pockets of his shirt. Suddenly, Hoony's description of him made complete sense.
My pre-show interview with Winner also made me more aware of their eye makeup, too. Yoon tells me the pinkish eye shadow he wore for the tour was his favorite beauty moment. When Winner made their grand appearance on stage via a moving platform illuminated by bright white lights, Yoon's dusty rose shadow was the first thing I noticed. Mino, on the other hand, had a rose gold hue swept all over his lids. A wash of coral on Jinu's was hidden under his long bangs, which were styled to have a wet look. Hoony seemed to have on a similar shade, too.
Winner on Winner
Before my interview with the members of Winner, I planned to prove a hair color-based theory. You see, when I think of their latest single "Millions," magenta immediately comes to mind. It has less to do with synesthesia and more to do with dye jobs. If you watch the incredibly colorful music video for it, you'll notice that Hoony's hair is the bright pink shade. With this in mind, I wondered if Jinu, Yoon, Mino, and Hoony associated some of their most beloved songs with the bright dye jobs they had at the time.
Only Yoon plays along with my supposition. "Everyday" is dark blue, he decides. What color was his hair when the song was released in April 2018? A stunning teal-toned sapphire.
Then, Mino exclaims "yellow" when "Really Really" comes up, and Yoon agrees. Although the music video for this song is in black and white, it's easy to tell that Yoon bleached his hair platinum blonde. Through my many interviews with idols, I've learned that many call blonde hair yellow, so my theory is checking out so far.
Things go south when it comes to "Millions," though. Unfortunately, none of the Winner guys associate the song with any shade of pink. Mino declares "Millions" is mint; Jinu calls it sky blue. (For the record, neither of them had green nor blue hair for the music video.) When Hoony doesn't say anything, I own up to my ulterior motive.
After hearing about my hair color theory, Yoon and Mino ooh and ahhh. "Wow, wow," Yoon states like his mind has just been blown. "That shocked me a little bit." He goes on to admit that he wears deep blue every day, so that might be why he said that. To that, Mino calls him selfish. But I'm the most selfish one in this situation, let's be real.
With nearly five years under their belts, Winner has firmly established its style and presence in the K-pop world. But I wondered how they identified themselves as a group, overall. Mino describes Winner's style as a boyfriend, fun, and easygoing vibe. It has a broad, instantly loveable appeal to it. "It’s quite different from our personal styles because our individual personalities are very clear and distinctive," he explains. "They're a little different from what people would think of Winner, in general."
In the past, Yoon says the group focused on a heavier, refined aesthetic — one portrayed in "Really Really" and "Love Me Love Me." But with the December 2018 release of "Millions," Winner began leaning towards a lighter, happier style filled with good vibes. "Back in the days of our debut [in 2014], we wanted to look mature," Yoon recalls. "Nowadays, we want to go with the flow with a young, youthful type of thing. We are all young, so we just want to go with the same lines of who we are right now, whether it be music or style."
So, while Mino may emulate a grandpa in his day-to-day life, he embraces being the 25-year-old he truly is onstage with his Winner members.
Read more about the beauty routines of K-pop stars:
- How Amber Liu Is Redefining Her Approach to Beauty as a Solo Artist
- Red Velvet Reveals How They Get Glowing Skin Ahead of Every Comeback- Astro Shares the Weirdest Things They Wash Their Faces With
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