Rising star, MEOVV member and Prada Ambassador, GAWON tells L'OFFICIEL what to expect from the group&rsquo;s upcoming comeback, and how she&rsquo;ll be celebrating the K-pop act&rsquo;s one year anniversary this month.&nbsp;

When MEOVV debuted one year ago, they quickly got music- lovers pumping their hands up, and widening their eyes (the act&rsquo;s name is an acronym for &ldquo;My Eyes Open VVide&rdquo;) with the South Korean girl group&rsquo;s energetic performances and bold blend of diverse themes &mdash; Brazilian funk, hip-hop as well as more delicate, vulnerable sounds. Fashion houses too swiftly became enchanted by the fresh line-up of five girls, and by April this year, our September issue cover star, GAWON was named a Prada Ambassador. MEOVV&rsquo;s fans, PAWMPAWMs can&rsquo;t get enough of the Korean-American starlet&rsquo;s eloquence and her versatility as a vocalist, rapper and performer. And now, the group is on the cusp of its first comeback. &ldquo;Expect the unexpected. We&rsquo;re exploring a new sound and expanding our musical spectrum. We&rsquo;ve been in the studio... dancing a lot, and refining every detail. We love this track and we&rsquo;re so excited to share it,&rdquo; says GAWON.

Hi GAWON! This September marks one year since MEOVV debuted and "MEOW" was released. How has this one year been and how will you celebrate the anniversary of your debut? 
It&rsquo;s been a year filled with love, excitement, and lots of hard work. I feel so blessed to have started this journey with the girls &mdash; I honestly can&rsquo;t believe it&rsquo;s already been a year! It&rsquo;s been a time of so many &ldquo;firsts&rdquo;, and I&rsquo;m still learning something new every day. To celebrate, I&rsquo;d love to spend time with my members over a good meal, just like we used to back when we were trainees.
 This past year, what are some of the career moments that got your eyes open wide? 
Definitely the big stages &mdash; performing at MAMA, Gayo Daejeon (가요대전) Summer, and most recently, KCON LA. Being in front of such massive crowds and feeling them enjoy our music is surreal. It&rsquo;s the kind of joy and appreciation that words can&rsquo;t fully describe.

As a member of a relatively young yet successful group that spans cultures and continents, how would you describe the sound and look of MEOVV? 
We like to push ourselves both musically and stylistically, which is a habit we learnt since we were trainees. We&rsquo;re constantly experimenting and stepping out of our comfort zones &mdash; whether through various genres, vocal tones, or visual concepts &mdash; all while staying true to MEOVV&rsquo;s essence. Ultimately, what the five of us create is something only we can do &mdash; it&rsquo;s unique to us &mdash; so we will continue pushing that narrative moving forward and keep evolving within that identity. You co-wrote the track "TOXIC". How much do you enjoy writing, and could you describe your lyrics-writing process? 
Songwriting is something I naturally gravitated towards as a little girl &mdash; I would scribble down lyrics all the time. I&rsquo;ve dreamt of becoming a songwriter long before I started pursuing music seriously, so writing definitely holds a very special place in my heart. As someone who tends to plan everything meticulously, I&rsquo;ve learnt that songwriting often demands a different approach, and that my most comfortable methods don&rsquo;t always produce the best results. I try to stay connected with the rawness of my emotions and thoughts while writing, and I&rsquo;m still learning how to trust that process of being more honest with myself, but I really enjoy it.

MEOVV took home the Favourite Rising Artist award at the MAMA Awards last year. Was that a big source of motivation for you? What are your other sources of drive and motivation? 
Absolutely! Since I was a trainee, I often visualised my future self &mdash; the artist I wanted to become. Keeping that image in mind motivates me every day and is one of my strongest sources of motivation. My members, our producers, and fellow label mates all inspire me. They remind me why I love what I do and why I keep pushing myself. You attended your first Milan Fashion Week earlier this year with Prada, and now you are a Prada Ambassador. How was your experience attending the event and what did you enjoy most about Milan? 
I&rsquo;ve always dreamt about fashion week, especially Milan Fashion Week. Since I was young, I&rsquo;ve associated Milan with fashion, so as a devoted admirer and lover of fashion, attending the Prada show was a dream come true. What I loved most about Milan (and there are so many to choose from) was simply people-watching. Everyone was so effortlessly chic, and I remember saying I could spend the entire day just watching people walk the streets. And the architecture! I visited the Duomo di Milano the night before the show and I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve ever been so awestruck.

What's your idea of the perfect day off? 
I have two versions that I like to alternate between. I would go out for brunch with my mum, walk around and grab some coffee, go shopping, and end the day with a movie either at home or at the theatre. The other is staying in all day, recharging in silence and comfort. Could you tell us a bit about what we and PAWMPAWMs can expect from MEOVV's upcoming comeback, and how you&rsquo;ve been preparing for it? 
As always, I&rsquo;d say: expect the unexpected. We&rsquo;re exploring a new sound and expanding our musical spectrum. We&rsquo;ve been in the studio with our main producers, TEDDY and 24, dancing a lot, and refining every detail. We love this track and we&rsquo;re so excited to share it &mdash; I really hope our PAWMPAWMs will love it too.

Cover Credits:
Photography JI+DOH Words and fashion direction&nbsp;Ian Lee Word Choi Younghoe Makeup Hong Umji Hair Jo Dami Photography assistants Lee Dain, Park Urgin and Kim Jihyung Videography Kim Hae Chan Production manager Kim You Hah

Cover Story: MEOVV's GAWON on making waves in K-Pop, fashion and more

Tags

Related Articles

Fashion

A Tribute: Giorgio Armani in the pages of L'OFFICIEL archives

Beauty

Chanel launches the new limited-edition Les 4 Ombres Boutons

Fashion

Classic hues, cutting-edge fabrication, UNIQLO rewrites Fall/Winter 2025

Recommended posts for you

Watches & Jewellery

Longines debuts the reimagined PrimaLuna collection

Arts, Culture & Lifestyle

Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown makes an entrance

Travel

Pearl on the coast: M Social Resort Penang beckons

Issues