ILLIT’s Pictorial Accused of Plagiarizing a Shopping Mall Photoshoot?

A post titled “ILLIT suspected of plagiarizing from a shopping mall photoshoot” was shared on the Korean forum “theqoo” on May 24. This post gained over 50,000 views and received 600 comments.

Based on the subject matter, the first photoshoot of ILLIT features the members sporting braided black hair and dressed in white turtlenecks and black skirts, giving off a similar vibe to a shopping mall photoshoot that took place in November 2022.

In the subsequent photoshoot, the models were styled in white turtlenecks and black skirts with braided hair, the only variation being the addition of belts.

Upon examining the portfolio of ILLIT’s visual director, the author of the topic noted the absence of any shopping mall photoshoot, leading to the conclusion that this cannot be the work of the same person.

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A post shared by aplz🏷plzproject🌐 (@plzproject.studio)

Here are a few remarks from internet users regarding the accusation of plagiarism:

If this is “inspiration” , then they should have disclosed it. It’s not a referral, it’s plagiarism.
The idea was replicated too blatantly. Were there no intentions to modify and develop it even slightly?
The clothes are common so that alone wouldn’t be plagiarism. However, the way the photos were taken was also similar…
Wow, HYBE seemed to have been quite lazy haha. The background, hair, clothes, and even the girls all appear to be identical.
At this point, they can be called the plagiarism idol

The source for this information can be found on theqoo website.