6 K-Dramas Where Fashion Is the Main Character
By Alexus Mosley
The costume design in K-dramas is one of its best storytelling tools. Used as language, armor, and sometimes strategy, it contributes heavily to the fantasy that the dramas convey. Clothes communicate power before a word is spoken, signaling status, desire, ambition, and even heartbreak. In the most visually striking K-dramas, fashion doesn’t sit quietly in the background; it drives the narrative forward. From revenge plotlines being brought forth by the villains in couture, to powerful beauty CEOs dominating in dreamy pastel, skirt suits, these six K-dramas understand that style isn’t secondary to story. It is the story.
Celebrity
Celebrity treats fashion like currency. Every outfit is strategic and engineered for visibility, access, and social leverage. Designer labels, influencer aesthetics, and carefully curated personas reveal how modern fame is built not just on talent, but optics. Style here is aspirational, transactional, and occasionally ruthless, mirroring the realities of digital-era celebrity culture.
the fabulous
Set inside Seoul’s fashion industry, The Fabulous shows the work behind the aesthetic. Stylists, editors, models, and creatives move through a world where trends shift quickly, and burnout is constant. The fashion is modern, wearable, and realistic, but always intentional.
Hotel Del Luna
Few K-dramas have wardrobes as iconic as Hotel Del Luna. The character wears fashion like folklore, with each look layered with symbolism, history, and emotion. The wardrobe spans eras, textures, and silhouettes, turning clothing into character lore.
True Beauty
In True Beauty Fashion is a mirror and sometimes a mask. Bright, trend-driven, and youth-focused, True Beauty uses fashion and beauty to explore confidence, performance, and perception. Clothes and makeup act as tools of reinvention, reflecting how young women experiment with identity through style.
Crash Landing on You
From Seoul’s polished luxury to understated styling, Crash Landing on You uses fashion to communicate culture, class, and contrast. Yoon Se-ri’s wardrobe embodies modern femininity, elegant, controlled, and emotionally expressive.
It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
This drama redefined fashion-forward K-dramas. Gothic silhouettes, sculptural tailoring, and dramatic color stories reflect the emotional states of its characters. Every outfit feels deliberate, theatrical, and symbolic.