CNN
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Uniqlo has teamed up with K-Pop sensations BTS to release a range of T-shirts.
The range, which will hit stores this week, includes designs featuring the group’s BT21 characters (animated creatures that represent members of the band), as well as plainer designs bearing the BT21 logo.
All seven members of the group “actively participated in the whole process from drawing sketches to execution,” according to the Japanese fashion retailer’s website.
One T-shirt in the range, featuring the character Cooky, carries the slogan “Pinkish Tough Bunny.” Another features the “dancing machine” Mang.
BTS at a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, on April 17, 2019.
BT21 has proved another popular avenue for BTS’ ever-expanding brand, which places a heavy emphasis on social media.
The band holds a Guinness World Records for the most Twitter engagements and the most music video views within a 24-hour period – records that had previously belonged to One Direction’s Harry Styles and Taylor Swift, respectively – while the official Twitter account for their BT21 characters has almost four million followers.
Uniqlo’s decision to jump aboard the band’s success is likely to be a money-maker.
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BTS during their debut showcase on June 15, 2013, in Seoul, South Korea. Their style has undergone some changes.
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Singer Park Ji-min -- better known as Jimin -- exposes his six-pack as BTS perform during their debut.
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BTS attend KCON, an annual Korean pop music convention, on August 10, 2014, in Los Angeles. BTS were a breakout success at the convention.
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BTS pose on the red carpet of the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong on December 2, 2015. BTS scooped the award for World Performer.
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BTS make their US television debut at the American Music Awards on November 19, 2017, in Los Angeles.
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The group perform "DNA" at the American Music Awards on November 19, 2017.
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Following their American Music Awards performance, BTS appear on a handful of US talk shows. Here, BTS perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on November 29, 2017, in Los Angeles.
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BTS perform "Mic Drop (Steve Aoki Remix)" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
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BTS become the first ever K-pop group to address the United Nations at the UN General Assembly in New York on September 24, 2018. Leader Kim Nam-joon urges young people to believe in their own convictions.
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BTS attend the Grammy Awards where they become the first K-pop group to present an award on February 10, 2019, in Los Angeles.
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BTS become the first K-pop group to perform on Saturday Night Live on April 13, 2019. They perform their new single "Boy With Luv."
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BTS with US-singer Halsey at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, where they became the first K-pop group to win Top Group/Duo on May 1, 2019. Halsey features on BTS's single "Boy With Luv."
The group’s popularity has exploded internationally in the past year, with increased exposure in the United States landing the band a performance on “Saturday Night Live.”
This year, the band became the first group since the Beatles to achieve three number one albums in the US in less than a year, when their EP “Map of the Soul: Persona” shot to the top of the Billboard 200 chart.