There’s nothing like a 60-second video to make you look at things a little differently.
A few days ago, R13’s Chris Leba saw an Instagram video in which a content creator broke down a brand that he had noticed many K-pop stars wearing. “Let me tell you about this brand you have probably never heard of,” he started in classic clickbaity fashion. Photos of K-pop idols in distressed sweaters, bleached plaid flannels, stacked leather boots, and sneakers followed. “They love it, they’ve mentioned it by name several times,” he continued. The label in question? R13.
Leba and R13 exist in a sweet spot between “if you know, you know” fashion and mainstream style. His clothes are niche enough to not be everyone’s cup of tea but approachable enough so that most people can find something for them on a rack. What K-pop has discovered, it seems, is that Leba’s grunge sensibility (and an m.o. that consists of elevating, in his words, “iconic wardrobe staples”) has made R13 the perfect cool pop-star uniform. Just take a look at HBO’s The Idol—the show’s post-woke sleazy and wannabe-grunge aesthetic is an ode to the vibe Leba has long been working at R13.
Leba’s resort 2024 collection is not in any way influenced by his recent discovery of his K-pop-ularity; the collection was finished by the time he saw the video. But it’s made him see pieces in a different light. As he walked me through his SoHo showroom, he pointed out the pieces on the rack that he thinks will hit the K-pop sweet spot, among them the recurring flannels, this season splattered by gold paint; distressed sweaters and micro cardigans, now screen-printed with gold foil over bleached spots or knit in loose, peak-’90s-grunge gauges; and a pair of black pointy boots with an O-ring harness detail on the toe cap. These details matter—they make the plainest of clothes alluring, and they make the most famous of people look cooler than everyone else, even if they’re wearing just a flannel shirt.
The real winners here, however, are the jeans with different applications of golden foil: woven into the weft of the fabric to offer a delicate but extremely sexy shimmer (“quiet luxury!” Leba said jokingly); applied onto the wrong side of the fabric so it’s only visible when the hems are cuffed; and screen-printed throughout with the creases of the fabric breaking up the coloring. The jeans are classic R13, equal parts punk and elevated. Simultaneously capturing these two attitudes is what makes Leba’s clothing desirable.
Elsewhere, he expanded on his usual construction experiments, which this season included deconstructing and refitting oversized blazers and applying the back vents of coats to the back of pant legs for an unconventional flared effect. Most compelling was a blouse the designer described as “perfect if you like your date”—it had a panel of sheer organza attached to tiny hook-and-eye closures under its placket for a hint of opt-in sexiness.
It’s unlikely that Leba will intentionally start designing for K-pop idols; what keeps R13 fresh and consistent, at least in part, is his aversion to trends. But self-awareness is a curious thing, so come back next season to see what effect his recent discovery has on R13. Either way, as Leba says of the development, “sometimes things just develop on their own.”
