Singer G-DRAGON was named to the "2025 Hypebeast 100," once again proving his influence as a global cultural icon.
G-DRAGON was listed on the "2025 Hypebeast 100 (Hypebeast 100, hereinafter HB100)," released by the U.S. global fashion and lifestyle magazine Hypebeast. "HB100" is a list in which Hypebeast selects 100 influential people who symbolize the year across contemporary culture each year—fashion, streetwear, music, art, design—and it bases selections on influence across culture beyond genre and nationality.
In this "2025 HB100," G-DRAGON joined global creative icons with strong influence across music, fashion and lifestyle such as Pharrell Williams, Travis Scott, and A Rocky, solidifying his position as a figure representing contemporary culture beyond K-pop artists.
Hypebeast said the reason for G-DRAGON's selection was, "Because during 2025 he demonstrated ongoing influence as a global cultural icon through a singular creative trajectory encompassing art, fashion and luxury beyond music."
They added, "Following the realization of the philosophical message of self-transcendence in his full-length album 'Übermensch,' his world tour and symbolic performance on the APEC summit stage showed that his artistry has expanded into social and cultural spheres beyond the stage. In addition, the fine art projects centered on PEACEMINUSONE and extremely limited collaborations with Jacob & Co. and Gentle Monster are examples of breaking down the boundaries between pop culture and high-end luxury, clearly establishing G-DRAGON as a creative benchmark that presents the direction of contemporary culture beyond being simply an artist."
Such assessments show that G-DRAGON is a figure who has shaped cultural direction with his own sensibility and attitude, not limited to music activity but spanning fashion, lifestyle and fine art. It confirms that his presence as an artist who has set the standards for trends, rather than a star who consumes them, remains ongoing in the global cultural scene.
In particular, G-DRAGON has continued an unparalleled record by being selected for HB100 for the ninth time overall this year after first being named to the list in 2013 as the first K-pop artist, with selections in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and this year. This is considered a rare case of repeated selection based solely on cultural influence despite periods of inactivity. Considering that the "creative influence" Hypebeast defines is impact across culture, style, attitude and symbolism rather than mere buzz or achievements, G-DRAGON is assessed as the only K-pop artist to be continually invoked in the global contemporary culture scene. His presence is even more striking given that the HB100 list is mainly composed of designers and figures from the creative industry.
G-DRAGON successfully concluded the "G-DRAGON 2025 WORLD TOUR [Übermensch]," which met about 825,000 attendees worldwide in 39 shows across 17 cities in 12 countries, ending with encore performances in Seoul from Dec. 12 to Dec. 14.
[Photo] Provided by Hypebeast.
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