A Soompi styling roundup, a Chanel runway in a French beach town, and a 59,900-won dress worn by an ITZY member are all pointing at the same silhouette. Mermaid chic is the look Korean female idols carried through the last weeks of summer 2026 — and it arrived at wildly different price tags.
What Is K-Pop's Mermaid Chic Trend, and Why Is It Everywhere Right Now?
Mermaid chic is a summer styling aesthetic built on draped or fishtail skirt silhouettes, sheer and iridescent fabrics, pearl and shell jewelry, and beach-wave hair. On August 26, 2026, Soompi published a roundup naming seven K-pop idols styled in the look, framing it as nostalgic, "whimsical and sweet" dressing suited to the tail end of Korean summer heat . The list spans Joy, Huh Yunjin, Chiquita, Winter, Miyeon, Sunmi and Jisoo — read the full breakdown at Soompi.
Quick Answer: Mermaid chic is 2026's summer siren look — draped fishtail skirts, sheer organza, pearls and iridescent nails. Soompi named seven K-pop idols wearing it on August 26, 2026. It traces to Chanel's Cruise 2026/27 show, but entry pricing starts near 59,900 won (~$43), as ITZY's Chaeryeong demonstrated.
The runway source is traceable. Matthieu Blazy's debut Cruise collection for Chanel, Cruise 2026/27, showed on April 28, 2026 at Le Casino Municipal in Biarritz — the French city where Gabrielle Chanel opened her couture house in 1915 . Its title translates as "Underneath The Salon, The Beach," and the marine pieces were literal: paillette-covered gowns mimicking fish scales, seashell and coral earrings, and two models closing the show in fin-adorned gowns, per Grazia. Chanel's own collection page lists the season officially.
What makes the trend unusual is how little the price ceiling matters. On August 6, 2026, ITZY's Chaeryeong was photographed in a wine-colored mermaid-cut dress — spaghetti straps into a halter neckline, backless at the waist, opening into a floor-length mermaid skirt — that retailed at roughly 59,900 won, about USD $43 . She styled it with straight hair and minimal jewelry, as documented by K-POPIT.
One editorial caveat matters before anyone starts shopping: Soompi credits no designer or brand for any of the seven idol looks . The roundup is a styling read, not a verified list of purchasable pieces, and the same list was syndicated the same day by KpopNewsHub without credit to the original reporting. Treat any product match below as an independent sourcing exercise.
From Biarritz to Seoul: How Chanel's Runway Became a K-Pop Fashion Moment
The mermaid look reaching Korean idols in August 2026 traces back to a single show: Matthieu Blazy's debut Cruise collection for Chanel, presented April 28, 2026 at Le Casino Municipal in Biarritz, France . Titled "Underneath The Salon, The Beach," the Cruise 2026/27 collection — labeled Cruise 2027 by some outlets — was staged in the city where Gabrielle Chanel opened her couture house in 1915 . The marine language it introduced is now visible, in diluted form, across idol promotion photos.
The runway pieces were literal. Grazia's show report describes iridescent gowns embellished with paillettes mimicking fish scales, 1920s-inspired tweed bathing suits, fishnet dresses, seashell and coral earrings, whole seashells worn over the ear, pearlescent clutches inlaid with golden sea creatures, old-timey swim caps, and barefoot sandals finished with "heel caps" . Models Noor Khan and Josephen Akuei closed the show as Chanel mermaids in fin-adorned gowns — the image that gave the season its shorthand. Chanel's own collection page blocks automated retrieval, so every garment specific here is grounded in Grazia's on-site reporting rather than the house's release .
What travels from Biarritz to Seoul is the register, not the paillettes. Glam's June 24, 2026 piece by Kelsey Goldbach reframes the 2026 wave as "summer siren," a more mature reworking of the 2023 TikTok-era mermaidcore revival . The 2023 version ran on iridescent fabrics, fishtail skirts and bold nautical hues; the 2026 version strips out the vibrancy.
"Like a less-uptight version of the quiet luxury or stealth wealth trends that have dominated the fashion world over the past few years, the siren look is all about integrating timeless pieces with dynamic materials and cool accessories," writes Kelsey Goldbach, staff writer at Glam (source: Glam, 2026-06).
Goldbach's defining elements read as a shopping list: light colors, especially white; sheer organza and mesh; woven materials; well-cut lightweight skirts; short babydoll shift dresses; draped high-low pieces; and sheer organza jackets in both cropped and full-length cuts, with Tory Burch, Jimmy Choo, For Love & Lemons, Reformation, Ralph Lauren, Rag & Bone and Max Mara cited across the piece . Who What Wear frames the same return more bluntly: a trend that read as tacky in 2016 is back chicer, minus the holographic PVC .
The jewelry follows the same line. Marie Claire's 2026 forecast, published January 22, 2026 by Irina Grechko, lists sea-inspired pieces among seven defining trends of the year — "shell and coral shapes, pearls and turquoise stones, and oceanic textures that feel anything but castaway" . That forecast landed three months before Biarritz, which is why pearls recur across the idol looks as a trend-aligned choice rather than a coincidence: Chiquita's pearl necklace and Chuquita-adjacent delicate jewelry, and Sunmi's pearl pieces, both sit inside a category the market had already been stocking since January. Chanel's six accompanying nail colorways, meanwhile, pushed "mermaid nails" into summer 2026 manicure coverage — the cheapest surface on which a runway idea becomes a copyable look.
The 7 Idols Soompi Named, and What Each Wore
Soompi's August 26, 2026 roundup "7 K-Pop It Girls Who Are Rocking The Summer Mermaid Chic Trend," written by staff writer sammilee, names seven idols and describes what each is wearing — but credits no brand or designer for any of the seven looks . That matters if you plan to shop it: the article is a styling read, not a product list, so every match has to be sourced independently. The same list was republished the same day by aggregator KpopNewsHub without Soompi credit , so a look you find attributed elsewhere likely traces back to this one piece.
What the seven have in common is not a garment but a signal — drape, iridescence, pearls, or wave-textured hair. Here is each entry as Soompi described it :
- Joy (Red Velvet) — a flowing, draped skirt from her "Surfin' Boy" promotions, with the fabric called "reminiscent of a mermaid's tail" and pitched as a summer-party silhouette. The look is anchored to real promo activity: Velvet Summer, Red Velvet's third summer mini album and first full-group release in about two years and two months since Cosmic, arrived August 3, 2026 at 6PM KST — reported as August 4 by outlets converting from other timezones .
- Huh Yunjin (LE SSERAFIM) — a shiny jewel-toned top with long, loose hair, framed as the everyday entry point: "perfectly chill while still exuding glamor." One reflective top and untied hair is the entire formula.
- Chiquita (BABYMONSTER) — red hair, a ruffled dress, delicate jewelry and a pearl necklace, compared directly to Disney's Ariel. It is the most literal reading on the list, and the one most dependent on hair color to work.
- Winter (aespa) — a loose, lacy summer dress with voluminous beach waves and braided hair. This is the daywear version: no shine, no fishtail hem, texture doing the work.
- Miyeon (i-dle) — a blue, pink, green and white palette with green eyeshadow, pink highlight and white gloves. The most color-forward entry, and the one furthest from the muted 2026 palette described elsewhere in coverage.
- Sunmi — shorts and a shirt, not a dress. The mermaid cue sits entirely in beauty and accessories: shiny nail polish, pearl jewelry, voluminous wavy hair and adventurous eyeshadow.
- Jisoo (BLACKPINK) — linen fabrics with gold accents and blue eyeshadow, described as "old-school cool." The most mature take, and the one that reads as summer dressing first, trend second.
Sunmi's entry is the useful outlier. Because she carries the look without a single mermaid-coded garment, her styling shows the trend can be executed at the cost of a nail polish and an eyeshadow — the same surfaces that "mermaid nails" coverage pushed into summer 2026 beauty . Her pearl pieces and Chiquita's pearl necklace also line up with an accessories forecast published months earlier: Marie Claire's January 22, 2026 jewelry trends piece by Irina Grechko lists sea-inspired designs among the year's defining categories, citing "shell and coral shapes, pearls and turquoise stones, and oceanic textures that feel anything but castaway" .
Read across all seven, the list splits into two camps: garment-led looks (Joy, Chiquita, Winter, Miyeon, Jisoo) and signal-led looks (Yunjin, Sunmi). The second camp is the cheaper one to copy, and the one that survives outside a photoshoot.
What It Costs: Price Bands From Fast Fashion to Runway
The mermaid silhouette spans roughly a 300x price range, and the cheapest end is already proven on a K-pop idol. ITZY's Chaeryeong was photographed on August 6, 2026 in a wine-colored mermaid-cut dress — spaghetti straps into a halter neckline, backless at the waist, a smooth line through the hips opening into a floor-length fishtail skirt — that retailed at about 59,900 won, roughly USD $43 . That single data point does most of the work here: the cut is a construction choice, not a materials budget, and mass-market manufacturing handles it fine.
The mid-range tier is where the 2026 "summer siren" reading actually lives. Glam's June 24, 2026 trend piece by Kelsey Goldbach names Tory Burch, Jimmy Choo, For Love & Lemons, Reformation, Ralph Lauren, Rag & Bone and Max Mara as the labels carrying sheer organza layers, woven materials and well-cut lightweight skirts . These are contemporary brands, not luxury houses — the price step from the $43 dress is real but not categorical.
The luxury tier sets the reference image rather than the shopping list. Chanel's Cruise 2026/27 collection, shown April 28, 2026 at Le Casino Municipal in Biarritz, included paillette-scaled iridescent gowns, 1920s-inspired tweed bathing suits, seashells worn over the ear and pearlescent clutches inlaid with golden sea creatures . Most of those pieces have no confirmed retail availability, and Chanel's own collection page does not publish per-item pricing .
| Tier | Anchor reference | Indicative price | What you actually get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mass market | Chaeryeong's mermaid-cut halter dress, Aug 6, 2026 | ~₩59,900 / ~$43 | The full fishtail silhouette, minimal jewelry styling |
| Beauty entry | Chanel Cruise nail colorways driving "mermaid nails" | Cost of one polish | Iridescent nails, blue or green shadow, beach waves |
| Contemporary | Reformation, Tory Burch, For Love & Lemons, Ralph Lauren | Brand-dependent, no published trend pricing | Sheer organza jackets, draped high-low skirts, babydoll shifts |
| Jewelry | Marie Claire 2026 forecast: shell, coral, pearl, turquoise | Wide range | The pearl and shell signal Chiquita and Sunmi both used |
| Runway | Chanel Cruise 2026/27, Biarritz, Apr 28, 2026 | Not retail-confirmed for most pieces | The aesthetic ceiling and the source imagery |
One caveat matters before anyone starts matching products: Soompi's August 26, 2026 feature names no brands or designer credits for any of the seven idols . The bands above describe the trend market, not verified idol purchases. Chaeryeong's dress is the only look in this article with a reported price attached.
How to Shop the Look Without Overspending
Shopping mermaid chic on a budget comes down to five anchor pieces: a draped or fishtail midi skirt in a light tone, a sheer organza layer, a loose lacy or crochet summer dress, pearl and shell jewelry, and iridescent nail polish. Chaeryeong's wine mermaid-cut dress, reported at about 59,900 won (roughly USD $43) , shows the silhouette is already priced for mass-market shoppers. Nothing here requires a runway budget.
Start with the skirt, because it carries the most trend signal per won. Glam's June 24, 2026 breakdown of the "summer siren" reworking points to well-cut lightweight skirts, short babydoll shift dresses and draped high-low pieces in light colors — white above all — rather than the iridescent, boldly nautical fabrics of the 2023 revival . That shift matters for cost: toned-down colors and woven or organza materials are far more common in mid-tier retail than holographic PVC, which Who What Wear notes the 2026 version has dropped entirely .
Jewelry is the second-cheapest lever. Two of the seven idols Soompi listed carry the signal through accessories alone — Chiquita's pearl necklace and delicate pieces, and Sunmi's pearl jewelry worn with shorts and a shirt rather than a dress . Marie Claire's January 22, 2026 jewelry forecast places shell and coral shapes, pearls, turquoise stones and oceanic textures among the year's seven defining trends , so a single strand and a pair of shell earrings do real work over a plain outfit.
The cheapest entry point is beauty, not clothing:
- Blue or green eyeshadow — Jisoo's blue lids and Miyeon's green shadow with pink highlight are the two clearest examples in the Soompi list .
- Iridescent nails — the six colorways tied to Chanel's Cruise show drove the "mermaid nails" manicure trend this summer ; drugstore duochromes read the same at arm's length.
- Beach waves — free. Winter, Sunmi and Huh Yunjin all rely on volume and wave, not garments.
One last check before you buy: cross-verify the retailer and the listed price yourself. No idol look in the Soompi feature carries an official brand credit , and the same roundup was republished by aggregators without credit , so any "as worn by" tag you find on a shopping site is a guess, not a source. Buy the silhouette, not the attribution — a light draped skirt, a pearl strand and a bottle of duochrome polish get you there for well under Chaeryeong's $43.
Frequently asked questions
What is the K-pop mermaid chic trend?
K-pop mermaid chic is a summer 2026 styling wave named by Soompi in an August 26, 2026 roundup of seven Korean female idols . It describes nostalgic, whimsical, ocean-inspired dressing — draped fishtail hems, sheer and lacy fabrics, pearls, shells and iridescent beauty — rather than one product line. The look traces upstream to Chanel's Cruise 2026/27 show, staged April 28, 2026 in Biarritz .
Which K-pop idols wore the mermaid chic look?
Soompi named seven: Joy of Red Velvet, Huh Yunjin of LE SSERAFIM, Chiquita of BABYMONSTER, Winter of aespa, Miyeon of i-dle, Sunmi, and Jisoo of BLACKPINK . Joy's entry came from promotions for "Surfin' Boy," released August 3, 2026 at 6PM KST . Sunmi's was the outlier — shorts and a shirt, with pearls, wavy hair and shiny polish carrying the theme.
How much did ITZY's mermaid dress cost?
ITZY's Chaeryeong was photographed on August 6, 2026 in a wine-colored mermaid-cut dress that retailed for roughly 59,900 won, about USD $43 . The dress ran spaghetti straps into a halter neckline, left the waist backless, and opened from a smooth hip line into a floor-length mermaid skirt. She styled it with straight hair and minimal jewelry. That price band is mass-market, not designer — the silhouette, not the label, does the work.
Is 2026 mermaid chic the same as 2023 mermaidcore?
No. Glam's June 24, 2026 piece by Kelsey Goldbach reframes the 2026 version as "summer siren," a more mature reworking it calls a less-uptight take on quiet luxury and stealth wealth . The 2023 TikTok revival leaned on iridescent fabrics, fishtail skirts and bold nautical color; 2026 strips the vibrancy back to light shades, sheer organza and mesh, woven materials and well-cut lightweight skirts. Who What Wear makes the same point, noting the holographic PVC is gone.
Are the idol looks tied to specific brands?
No. Soompi's roundup lists no brand or designer credit for any of the seven looks , and the same list was republished by aggregators without credit, which is how uncredited "as worn by" tags spread. Treat any price band you see — including the labels named in Glam's trend piece, such as Reformation, Rag & Bone and the shell and pearl jewelry lines forecast for 2026 — as trend-market references, not idol endorsements.
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This article was written using information collected and analyzed by NAMANE's in-house K-pop research AI engine. We use AI technology to bring you faster, broader coverage, and in the process some details may occasionally differ from the latest facts. For important information such as dates, venues, and prices, please double-check with official sources.
