South Korean fashion eyewear label Gentle Monster has launched a new collection for 2024, the “GENTLE JELLY”. The gummy-inspired assortment was unveiled on 19 January. The next day, a pop-up experience opened at the Gentle Monster shop at Sanlitun Taikoo Li in Beijing. The pop-up is one of two in the world, the other being at Haus Dosan in Seoul.
The collection takes inspiration from various sweets from gummy bears to Love Hearts. With model names like “Yummy”, “Gummy”, “Juicy”, and “Panna Cotta”, the glasses bring a sweet twist to Gentle Monster’s usual sleek goggle-shaped silhouettes. The range utilises semi-translucent gradient frames in pastel colours, icing-like surface coatings and candy-shaped ornaments to create the candy feel of the theme concept. There are also more conventional single-coloured versions of the glasses for the less adventurous, but are still unique enough to be noticed.
The in-store pop-up space, on the other hand, features a floor-to-ceiling installation depicting pastel-coloured giant sweets, in shapes including moulded jelly, stars and the titular monster, all pouring out of a huge bag. The bag is modelled after the iconic Haribo bags but monster images replace the bear and added Love Hearts-style messagres. The immersive experience provides not only a great photo opportunity and serves as a “check-in” point at the mall but is also a way to experience a sweeter side of the brand and its spring-infused concept for the new launch. The Pop-up space will remain open until 29 February.
Gentle Monster is best known for its creative and artistic pop-up spaces and themed collections. Last November, it launched school-themed spaces, again in Beijing and Seoul, for its 2024 optical collection “Gentle High School”. By complementing its launches with themed immersive experiences, Gentle Monster can bring its vision to life and allow customers to feel the products in person, similar to how luxury and fashion brands create their in-store spaces. By only launching the pop-ups in Beijing and at home in Seoul for the past two events, the brand demonstrates the significance of the Chinese market.
