KATSEYE on Teaming up With Monster High and Their Affinity for Starting Beauty Trends
“In Monster High, monsters are embraced for their uniqueness, and that’s a big part of our image as KATSEYE.” — Sophia Laforteza.
Having just released their second EP, Beautiful Chaos, and embarking on their first-ever world tour this November, global girl group KATSEYE has already conquered the world — and now, they’re setting their sights on the Monster High universe. Fittingly, the group’s members Daniela, Lara, Manon, Megan, Sophia and Yoonchae already resemble living dolls themselves, thanks in part to their distinct aesthetics as individuals.
For EYEKONS, or fans of the group, KATSEYE is doing more than just selling out venues and climbing the charts. The six members, who represent four different countries, have always unapologetically celebrated their identities — and this collaboration with Monster High is no different. In addition to remixing the “Fright Song,” KATSEYE assisted in the creation of their very own, one-of-a-kind dolls. Referencing mythological beings from their home countries and their defining physical traits, KATSEYE’s world seamlessly flows into Monster High’s.
Only a year after the group’s debut, KATSEYE has already established an easily recognizable, yet ever-changing, visual identity. While their first EP Soft Is Strong harps on that bubbly, hyper-feminine aesthetic, Beautiful Chaos is gritty and subversive, with the looks turning more mature, along with all members reverting back to their natural dark hair. Unsurprisingly, beauty is an essential part of the group’s ethos. After the release of their controversial “Gnarly” single, it became apparent that small beauty details, like long nails decked out in chunky charms, serve as a vehicle for storytelling.
No matter what visual era KATSEYE is in, the members’ individual characteristics will always fundamentally shape who they are as a group. Lara will always be synonymous with her signature light-reflecting bindi, Manon will always sport her straight eyebrows, and Daniela’s voluminous curls will always show through. Coincidentally, these exact details played a big role in making the group’s Monster High dolls feel like real, monster versions of themselves. Just like KATSEYE’s deeply intentional visual identity, the small details are the reason the girls deeply connect to their monster personas, as well as their newfound place in the Monster High world.
Ahead, we speak to all six members about teaming up with Monster High and the impact beauty has on their ethos as a group.
What’s it like working with Monster High, were you fans of the dolls as kids?
Daniela: When we were kids, we would play with Monster High. So it’s an amazing opportunity to finally be able to team up with them and have our own dolls.
Sophia: My favorite part about working with Monster High is how each monster is kind of — when you grow up thinking about monsters, you’re scared of them, and it’s like they’re almost like minorities in a way. But in Monster High, they’re embraced for their uniqueness, and I think it’s a big part of our image as KATSEYE.
Can you tell us about your Monster High alter egos and the inspiration behind them?
Sophia: [My doll] is a vampire, or a Manananggal, which is a creature from lores in the Philippines. She’s kind of like a vampire — she flies, and her body can separate. She uses her voice to entrance people, and her powers come alive at night. I feel very connected to her.
Manon: Mine is a sea monster — and I really wanted to make sure that my doll has all of my key features. So, you’ll see my moles on there, you’ll see my waist beads on there, and my braids that I usually have. I love her.
Megan: My doll is a Chinese fox spirit. It’s inspired by just having fun, and being very mysterious at the same time. Kind of similar to Manon’s, I wanted to incorporate the things that I wear every single day, like my jade bracelet, I think my tattoo is on there as well.
Lara: My doll is a modern day Rakshasa, which is basically like the devil or a villain in Indian mythology. She also has my key elements, like my nose ring and my bindi. She has, really beautiful long black hair, which I love. She has the power to [shape shift] into any form that she wants, which I think is so cool — I feel so connected to her.
Daniela: For my doll, I’m a werewolf — a fierce werewolf. I feel like what really inspired this was my hair. I had to embrace, of course, my natural curls, and I feel like that’s kind of giving a werewolfy vibe. Just like big, long, thick, curly hair. Obviously I incorporated little things too, like my gold hoop earrings, because I always wear them.
Yoonchae: Mine is a white tiger monster, which is a Jang San Bum — a Korean monster. She has my small mole on [my] face, and there’s a charm on her arm. She looks like just like me.
What did the process of conceptualizing the dolls look like?
Manon: The whole process was super natural and easy. We didn’t even have too many notes. The team came back to us with amazing dolls. I was like, “You guys killed it.”
Sophia: We gave them so many details about specific features that we wanted to be shown in the dolls. I showed photos — I was like, “I want this mole here, I want my black silky hair.” And I feel like [they] took all of those details and really put them into our dolls to make our little mini monster me’s.
Nails play a huge role in your music videos and identity as a group, how did this come to be? Have you always been interested in nails?
Lara: I’ve been getting long acrylics and gel x, since I was 12 or 13. I feel so bare, and uncomfortable when I don’t have nails on. We love to express the song, the vibe of whatever we’re doing, and how we feel about ourselves through our nails. It’s such an important and beautiful detail — and with our song “Gnarly,” our hands are shown a lot, so the nails really played a big part in that. It’s just something we love to do.
KATSEYE is entering a new era with Beautiful Chaos. How is this era different, visually, from Soft Is Strong?
Sophia: The fans have definitely seen the kind of [beauty looks] we’re bringing for this EP. We all went with our dark hair this time. It has a lot more edge, a lot more rawness, a lot more grit. I feel like it’s the same thing with our different hairstyles for performances. We’re definitely exploring a lot. When we were in our SIS era, we [all had] a specific look that we would go for — I always had either straight or wavy hair. Now, we’re exploring different hairstyles and pushing ourselves a lot more. As well as embracing the differences that we bring with just hairstyles and outfits. It all feeds into that “beautifully chaotic” theme that we have going on.
Since you’re a global group from all over the world, do you have any favorite makeup trends from your home countries?
Lara: For me, I wear a lot of kajal — which is the Indian, really thick, pigmented, black waterline eyeliner. I love to put a lot around my eye, and I also love to do a dark brown lip liner.
Yoonchae: Koreans love to do aegyo sal, [they] draw aegyo sal every day. I love to put blush, and different colors [under my eyes]. I feel like I always get inspired from Korean trends — I always think, “what spots should I put my blush in?”
You’re responsible for starting so many beauty trends, like Manon’s signature straight brows. Are there any other brow looks you’ve been wanting to try out?
Lara: I have a little eyebrow slit that I’m obsessed with. It’s never going away. It’s my new thing.
Manon: I used to have bleached brows.
Sophia: Really?
Manon: Yeah, for like two weeks — and then I was like “mmm, lemme not.” Maybe [I'll] bring them back someday.
Megan: I just made my eyebrows thinner.
Lara: What if we did, neon colored [eyebrows].
Sophia: I know somebody was talking about a brow piercing, who was that?
Lara: I want an eyebrow piercing so bad. One day.
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