Jean Wang, a Boston-based fashion blogger, was so excited when her daughter said she wanted to dress up as Rumi, the purple-haired protagonist of the Netflix blockbuster “KPop Demon Hunters,” that she decided to go all out with a DIY costume.
Wang and her daughter Nori, 7, said they feel proud that such a popular costume — “KPop Demon Hunters” looks are already a top pick this year — is rooted in Asian culture.
“I remember, growing up, the struggle at Halloween to find a costume that felt ‘me,’” Wang said. “It’s definitely refreshing and exciting to see the ‘it’ costume of the year, for people of all backgrounds, being a female Asian character.”
Due to the film’s late summer release, big retailers have scrambled to mass produce Rumi’s purple wig and gold-black jacket and the black hanbok made iconic by demon heartthrob Jinu.
Zoey, Rumi and Mira from Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters.”Netflix
For Asian Americans, the runaway success of “KPop Demon Hunters” is another watershed moment for representation in pop culture, parents and experts say, as children no longer have to look primarily to Pixar or Disney princesses for costume inspiration.
But dissatisfied with the costumes she found online, Wang got a cropped jacket from Zara and refashioned it with gold stripes, then bought purple hair extensions and braided them herself — a hair tutorial video she uploaded on Instagram quickly went viral.
Nori loved the outfit for the demon-slaying leader of three-member K-pop girl band Huntrix so much she has worn it every weekend, Wang said.
“My daughter is definitely aware that the characters ‘look more like her,’” she said. “But at the end of the day, Rumi is a brave, talented and fierce character who also shows vulnerability in a very relatable way.”
Ella Pereyra, 11, says she was lucky enough to take representation to the next level — she’s the actual model for Spirit Halloween’s Rumi costume.
As a Filipina American girl from New Jersey, Pereyra said she feels proud to see herself on screen and in pop culture. She said she’d already watched the film “KPop Demon Hunters” about “a billion times” when she got the booking call.
“I feel very grateful that they made a movie about people that looked like me,” Pereyra said about playing Rumi. “I feel lucky to play Rumi because not a lot of people can do that.
Young A Jung, an assistant professor at George Mason University who teaches modern Korean literature and pop culture, said one factor behind the mass appeal of “KPop Demon Hunters” might be the complexity of its central characters, Rumi and Jinu.
Jean Wang’s children wear Rumi, right, and Derpy Tiger costumes from Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters.”Jean Wang
“Global teens and youth groups with complex everyday lives might no longer want to see clearcut Western-style heroes,” Jung said,