Jisoo, a member of the girl group Blackpink. Photo Sports Kyunghyang DB
It appears Jisoo of the girl group Blackpink is being cleared of the allegation that she failed to return outfits.
Benjamin Bautmans, founder of the Belgian fashion brand Judasim, said on May 8 (KST) via his SNS (social networking service), “I want to publicly clarify the situation regarding Jisoo and her team, and also take responsibility for the way I initially addressed it (I wnt to publicly Clarify the situation regarding Jisoo and her team, and also take responsibility for the way I initially addressed it).”
He added, “Neither Jisoo nor her agency stole the clothes, nor did they directly handle, ship, or personally keep them,” and “There was never any intention to directly blame her.”
While explaining the situation in detail, Bautmans added, “I hope this explanation helps the artist (Jisoo) be separated from this situation and the communication issues surrounding it. At the same time, I hope the tangible impact this incident has had on my brand and work is acknowledged.”
A May 8 (KST) social media post by Benjamin Bautmans, founder of the Belgian brand Judasim. Photo Benjamin Bautmans social media screenshot
Earlier, he claimed on SNS that some of the outfits sent to Korea for a recent photo shoot with Jisoo had not been returned, tagging the account for Jisoo and using heated expressions such as “Return my items” and “You stole my items.”
As the controversy spread, on the 6th Bautmans uploaded an additional video, saying, “I did not attack Jisoo,” and explained that he mentioned the name to hear a response from the outsourced stylist in charge of the work at the time.
Jisoo carries out Blackpink activities with YG Entertainment, but handles her solo activities through Blissoo, the agency she established after going independent. Blissoo recently faced suspicions of family involvement in management due to various controversies involving her older brother, Mr. A.
However, now that the designer has issued an apology and started to lower his stance, the unreturned-outfit allegations surrounding her appear to be entering a phase of resolution.
