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CL has some far-reaching, close personal connections to international stars. It’s made possible by the fact that she has lived overseas since she was a child, adapting to international environments and becoming fluent in 4 languages. But more importantly, it has stem from her talent and sincerity in dealing with music and fashion.
World-renowned fashion designer Jeremy Scott recently became the center of attention when he posted a photograph on twitter carrying CL on his back with a playful look on his face. CL has close ties with other top international designers as well, including the founder family of the luxury brand Chrome Hearts, Castelbajac and others. She is good friends with musicians including Snoop Dogg, whom she calls Uncle, will.i.am and ASAP Rocky.
Naver Star Column reveals, for the first time, CL’s photographs with international celebrity friends. We’ll continue the post with a message from “The Baddest Female” CL to the readers. Until the next time then. ^^
/ From the Editor
# Falling in Love with the Craftmanship of Chrome Hearts
I discovered Chrome Hearts by chance. 1TYM oppas were wearing Chrome Hearts a long time ago before the brand was even known in Korea. On a family trip to Hong Kong before I came to YG, I told my parents that since Chrome Hearts are expensive “I’ll just by just one item from Chrome Hearts instead of buying several things from somewhere else.”
I bought a hood t-shirt from the store in Hong Kong. I think Teddy oppa was the only person in YG who knew about Chrome Hearts back then. When 2NE1 started recording I wore the shirt to the studio one day and Teddy oppa said, “Do you know what this is?” I told him it was a brand I liked. Teddy oppa was like, “You know your fashion.” That made me happy.
I love Chrome Hearts because they’re so original. The factory is run by the couple together, and I got to visit it for a shoot when I went to the US. I realized as I talked to them how devoted they were to their craftsmanship. It was touching to see how they believed in doing one thing right, pouring all their passion and love into it. I
felt we had a connection. ^^
Their daughter Jesse Jo Stark and I are the same age, and we have a lot in common. Jesse Jo is the daughter of a mega business owner and seems to have everything, but she’s so pure and real. We talk a lot and always keep in touch. When she visited Korea for the first time, we said we should sing a song together, and that became the department store impromptu performance. We were just jamming for fun. Jesse Jo is like my other friends overseas, someone I can talk to about everyday things.
The Chrome Hearts business isn’t about inheriting. Jesse Jo just grew up watching her father and mother working, and grew up to love designing. It’s a very natural environment where mother and daughter compliment each other’s designs if they happen to like it and try it on. The Starks don’t seem to believe in handing over the company like a responsibility, but more in letting their daughter do what she loves to do.
That’s why Jesse Jo seems to accept it with an open mind and truly wants to run the company. It’s a healthy system.
# Jeremy Scott is Like a Mischievous Oppa- or is it Unni?
I first met Jeremy Scott when we made the music video for “Fire.” We were wearing his shoes, and he saw the video on YouTube. He was like “Who are these kids?” and came to Korea. We grew close during the photo shoots.
The first time I saw Jeremy I thought he was my kind of person. That was 4 or 5 years ago, so I was 18, and he had a mohawk like now. The second time we met we ate together and hung out with Teddy oppa and the Big Bang oppas in the studio. It was the first time I hung out with an international designer like we were friends.
Jeremy is a friend with so much love in his heart. He’s always been caring. Now he’s almost like an unni? :-) He’s someone I can confide in. I used to spend a lot of time with adults since I was a kid and I believe in “soul age.” Age is just a number.
Since I was a kid, I used to love hearing adults tell me about their lives. Jeremy’s life has been a roller
coaster. I really love hearing about it. Jeremy learned from Karl Lagerfeld, who called him “my man” and thought of him as a successor to Chanel. Jeremy said, “I could have taken over Chanel but I didn’t want to. I’m me and I want to be mine. I want to be Jeremy Scott.”
So he made his own brand. He’s very strong-minded. He designs clothes for celebrities in America like Beyonce, Madonna and Katy Perry. I’m not a famous person like them, but he treats me like a star and I’m really thankful for that. Sometimes, for no reason at all, he’ll say, “I love you so much.” I think I have a really great friend, and even though we might be somewhere far apart, our friendship feels very special and even romantic.
# Who is Castelbajac?
Castelbajac is a fashion designer I admire. He is the historical figure who designed rainbow-colored robes for the Pope. When I meet him and talk to him he’s like a living history book.
I always say I believe in connections, but not in fate. Connections and ties appear out of nowhere but it’s up to me to turn it into fate. Castelbajac had an exhibition that someone my friend knows was organizing, and I got an invitation.
No one around me seemed to know about Castelbajac’s exhibition, so went on SNS, which I hadn’t been to in the last two years, just to let people know. I wanted people of my generation to go to that exhibition and feel things. Later, I got to meet him to dine and talk with him. We became good friends. ^^
# Snoop Dogg, ASAP Rocky, and Will.i.am
Recently I’ve become friends with Snoop Dogg and ASAP Rocky. I met ASAP Rocky by chance at a party after a photo shoot in the UK. He already knew who I was. It turned out he was best friends with Jeremy Scott. We talked, took photos and had a fun time.
I met him again later when I went to America to see Jeremy’s show, and we became better friends. I met the designers he knew, and they were all around my age. Meeting people my age has a different appeal from meeting people who are older. We’d talk about everyday things like what’s fun nowadays or what we’re up to, and I’d think “It’s just like hanging out with Ji-yong oppa.” He even liked the purple, grape-flavored gum I gave him, which is the only gum I like. He even said he’d like to feature in my songs one day.
When I first met Snoop Dogg I thought he was cute, like a cartoon character. I told him I’d been listening to his music and watching him since I was a kid and that I really looked up to him, and we spent 4 or 5 hours talking after the concert. I played “The Baddest Female” for him, even though it wasn’t released yet. We actually talk more about everyday stuff. He’ll ask me where to find the best Korean barbecue places or where my accessories are from. Or we just put on music and dance.
Will.i.am is a very futuristic and technology-savvy guy. I learn a lot from him that way. He’s more quiet than Snoop Dogg, but there’s a lot to learn from the little things that he does.
# CL’s Idea of “The Baddest Female”
When I say “bad” I don’t mean evil, more like cool. That’s what “bad” usually means in American slang, isn’t it? I wanted for the title to mean “the cool girl,” in playful Korean, so it turned into “The Baddest Female.” On stage and in the music video, I wanted to depict the cool girl.
Hip hop is really a culture. It comes from life, it expresses who you are, and it’s a sort of recreation and poetry. I grew up with that culture and I was formed by it. So it’s better to think of hip hop as a way of thinking. It’s a recreational way of expressing myself, and not putting limits on myself. I’m expressing my own views of the “cool girl.”
Honestly, I love hip hop and it’s a base for my music, but I don’t want to limit myself as a rapper. I love singing and dancing and want to be a musician who plays a lot of diverse music.
I want other girls to see me and think, “If she can do it, I can too.” I’m speaking from my experience. There is nothing that I cannot do, I’m sure of it. I always see people I admire and think, “If they can do it, I can too” and it makes me try harder. I’d like people to see me and not give up in their endeavors.
Thank you so much for reading this. Stay healthy and be happy.
See you again ^^
Source: Star Naver
Photograph: Provided by CL, YG
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