If you are anything like us, you’ve probably fallen down the CORTIS rabbit hole in the past couple of months. Since their debut in August 2025, the newest K-pop group from BTS’s and TXT’s label, BigHit Music, has been conquering every corner of the internet — and one of the markers setting them apart is their style.
Over the last few years, Y2K aesthetics have taken over womenswear by storm – crop tops, low-rise jeans, belly button piercings, and more early ‘00s staples have permeated the mainstream and become culture signifiers once again. However, menswear spaces haven’t taken up the style with the same intensity. That is, until now. Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon, and Keonho are among those spearheading the Y2K menswear renaissance, tapping into a new wave of skate-punk-inspired aesthetics.
Spiky hair, painted nails, beanies, tartan, studded belts, ripped tees, Chuck Taylors, and distressed knits were all key fashion elements in the early ‘00s during the heyday of skate punk, a subset of pop punk fronted by acts like Green Day, Sum 41, Blink 182, and Avril Lavigne — to name but a few.
Though CORTIS’s sound is distinctly influenced by hip hop, and they have said so themselves, their styling, led by VP and creative director Seoyoung Kim in tandem with style director Actoy, also borrows a lot from punk and its penchant for self-expression.
Influenced by the 1960s garage rock scene, punk emerged in the mid-1970s in the Anglo-American world as a subgenre led by teenagers. Bands like the Ramones led the charge in the US, while the Sex Pistols concurrently paved the way in the UK, crafting what we now immediately identify as the “punk” look. Think crop tops like the Ramones, Sid Vicious’s spiky hair, and Vivienne Westwood tartan. (Not coincidentally, Vivienne Westwood famously dated and later married Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols, even setting up the iconic punk boutique SEX together in London between 1974 and 1976.)
By the ‘90s, punk aesthetics had undergone another shift with acts like Nirvana in the US and Radiohead in the UK opting for a more casual look by way of jeans, sunglasses, loose shirts, and sneakers while still maintaining that “teen rebellion” core. (Fun fact, CORTIS's maknae Keonho has actually said Radiohead are his role models.)
This aesthetic, fed by a desire to break free and stand out from alienation, later gained a more “commercial” appeal as TV broadcasts and the internet became more mainstream in the ‘00s, and the “teenage dirtbag” dream was born — only to then be phased out by the 2010s. Which brings us here.
If you are on the fashion side of TikTok, you’ve probably noticed siloed elements from the ‘00s gaining popularity, like cadet hats. However, only acts like CORTIS are committing to a full-blown aesthetic renaissance — and it’s not a coincidence.
“In Korea, women have always been the early adopters. They experiment first. They try the bolder hair, the makeup, the silhouettes. Men have had a slower path because masculinity is still so policed, especially in Asia. The standard was always this very polished idol look. Perfect skin. Perfect bangs. Not a piece of hair out of place,” David Yi, author of Pretty Boys and co-founder of Good Light Cosmetics and Very Good Light, tells Teen Vogue.
“What’s happening now with CORTIS feels like a global shift. Members like Martin grew up online watching Nirvana, Radiohead, and all the angsty alt-rock that defined early 2000s Western youth culture," Yi adds. "They’re taking that moodiness and messiness and mixing it with the precision of K-pop styling. And that blend finally gives men a version of skater punk that feels doable, aspirational, and Korean.”
When it comes to style and beauty, nobody does boundary-pushing quite like K-pop. Earrings, hair dyes, makeup, and out-there outfit combos are just some of the key items that both girl groups and boy groups are known for. The aesthetics of K-pop are a central part of what makes K-pop so appealing and popular abroad. However, there’s a façade and an upkeep behind it, and when someone breaks that mold, they are bound to get attention.
“K-pop usually gives us immaculate styling. But when a group like CORTIS shows up with spiked hair, bleached tips, smudgy liner, or that slightly grungy ‘I got ready in the school bathroom’ vibe, it taps into a global memory. You don’t have to be Korean or American or European to get it. It’s universal,” Yi explains.
And it’s not just CORTIS taking on these styles. Stranger Things star Joe Keery made headlines earlier this month when she was seen at the final premiere of the show, and later in London, rocking quintessential ‘00s blonde tips, paired with slightly cropped leather jackets.
Experimentation is what it’s all about, not just a trend. Finding what works for you without letting the masses force you into current trends. The prime time for testing that out was the ‘00s, when the internet was just starting to become mainstream and there was an inkling of a shared cultural consciousness, but we weren’t so overexposed that we couldn’t form our own thoughts. With publications telling us that “it’s cool to have no followers now” and that “offline is the new luxury,” the idea of going back to a time when we were online, but not too online, seems like the promised land.
“Nostalgia hits harder when the world feels chaotic,” Yi says. “Early 2000s beauty wasn’t polished. It was emotional and a little messy. That’s the exact opposite of the perfection we see on social media today. And people everywhere, not just in Korea, are craving something that feels real.”
The need to be more out there is now communal, and we can’t have hits without some misses. As CORTIS’s own James puts it in a video interview with Teen Vogue: “You gotta be uncomfortable to level up your style.”
The real question is: Will this ‘00s anchor last, or is it another fad? According to Yi, the aesthetic “is not going anywhere for a while.” He adds: “The fact that this trend is globalized through K-pop means it reaches audiences in Seoul, São Paulo, Los Angeles, and Bangkok at the exact same time. And once young men everywhere see an alternative to the ‘perfect’ beauty standard, they don’t forget that. CORTIS isn’t doing a pure throwback. They’re modernizing Nirvana. They’re modernizing Radiohead. They’re combining Y2K angst with 2025 fashion and K-beauty. That constant evolution gives the aesthetic longevity.”
The search for authenticity is ultimately what’s guiding this grunge resurgence, and we’ve only just started to scratch the surface. “We’re entering a full emotional era for men’s beauty across the world. More color in the hair. More eyeliner. More chipped nails. More expressive styling,” Yi says. “Think of it as global sad-boi energy. Radiohead’s vulnerability mixed with Nirvana’s grit, but with the polish only a Seoul salon can give. Beauty always cycles between rebellion and tenderness. Right now, we’re embracing the rebellion. Softness is coming, and it will be global too.”
The pick is yours.
