[Throwback Thursday] ZEROBASEONE's Zhang Hao Explains His Definition of Love with 'L’Officiel China

@ZB1_official, @MnetMcountdown

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While I may be late to the party to celebrate this, this achievement still deserves love and recognition. February is the month of love, and 'L’Officiel China got the chance to explain what love is through a photoshoot and interview with ZEROBASEONE’s Zhang Hao, whose words are full of appreciation for everyone that surrounds him. 

Last month, a Weibo post from 'L’Officiel China caught attention. The post includes two clipboards, with the front one displaying a pastel sunset background. At the center is Zhang Hao, drawn in all white and with a pair of angel wings at his back. The angelic display of the group’s center, surrounded by the phases of the moon, shows him playing his violin. Nostalgia hits ZEROSE as they recognize it from his opening performance for the 2023 MAMA Awards, where he performed a rendition of “Here I Am”, the theme song of the survival show “Boys Planet”. Some calligraphy also accompanies the drawing. The word “Rosin” is highlighted, which is a substance that is applied to the bow, and slides without problem across the strings, producing sound. Lastly, the calligraphy at the bottom says: “February 02, 2024; Coming Soon.” This beautiful drawing with L’Officiel China’s poetic description of the February 2024 issue is enough to say “yes” to spending Valentine’s Day early with Zhang Hao.

https://x.com/ZHANGHAOGLOBAL/status/1747223350110482931?s=20

[Throwback Thursday] ZEROBASEONE's Zhang Hao Explains His Definition of Love with 'L’Officiel China
@MnetMAMA on X

Unfortunately, the original post on Weibo was deleted a few hours later as requested by ZEROBASEONE’s label, Wakeone Entertainment. Strangely, before the upload of the post, 'L’Officiel China was unable to get a response from Wakeone for approval, to which they contacted the Chinese fanbase for Zhang Hao, RosinEstrella, instead. Before its deletion, 'L’Officiel China’s post received 183K likes and 16.4K comments, and was shared 32K times on Weibo.  

[Throwback Thursday] ZEROBASEONE's Zhang Hao Explains His Definition of Love with 'L’Officiel China
L'officiel China on Weibo

But the deletion of the post and lack of communication didn’t stop ZEROSE, curious viewers, and 'L’Officiel China. An opportunity like this not only shows who Zhang Hao is but also gives support to his other 8 brothers/bandmates of ZEROBASEONE. Days later, 'L’Officiel China released previews of Zhang Hao in some stunning outfits from Gucci, accompanied by some poetic verses fitting for Valentine’s Day on Weibo. The official X account for ZEROBASEONE (@ZB1_official) has also uploaded the previews on their account. What makes this more amazing is that Gucci is one of the many fashion brands that “bidded” to be Hao’s stylist for this photoshoot. Other fashion brands are also found in this lineup of stellar outfits Zhang Hao is found wearing for this month’s issue.

On the topic of Gucci, this isn’t the first time ZEROSE have seen the luxurious fashion brand. It was first seen with the members back around July 2023, when Sung HanBin and Kim JiWoong were invited to the Gucci Mens FW Event. The second time around was when all nine members arrived at Incheon Airport for their departure to Los Angeles for KCON 2023 LA. During W Korea's 2023 “Love Your W” event, JiWoong and HanBin once again donned Gucci outfits, complimenting Zhang Hao’s outfit from Loewe.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by ZEROBASEONE (@zb1official)

But it wasn’t only at events and airport departures where ZEROSE spotted the fashion brand. Some of Gucci’s items can be found worn by a few of the members for their “Mystery” concept for their 2nd EP, “Melting Point”. The brand could also be seen throughout ZB1’s Mnet Plus, selfies, birthday lives, and videos.

With ZEROBASEONE’s resume filled with previous sessions for brands like SKOOL LOOKS and Romantic Crown and magazines like Singles Korea,  a potential brand ambassadorship with Gucci would further prove their unyielding and undeniable impact on KPop.

At the time of this writing, 199,324 copies from L’Officiel China were sold during the 24-hour pre-order event from January 26 to January 27th, an impressive record that shows the love and support for the group’s center. The magazine now sits at #10 in the “Top 30 Sales of Domestic Entertainment Magazine and Publications for Chinese Artists”, making him the first Chinese K-Pop artist on the list. Zhang Hao is also the 2nd K-pop artist overall to reach the Top 30, coming after Sehun of EXO.

This also isn’t the first time Zhang Hao was featured in a magazine in China. All nine members of ZEROBASEONE got their first opportunity with Arena Homme + China’s October 2023 issue. The theme showed ZEROBASEONE as “blossoming and glittering” idols, further reflecting the theme of their debut song “In Bloom”. Since ZEROBASEONE’s feature on Arena Homme+ China was mentioned, check out their ZE_pisode below! For convenience, a subbed version of their group interview from Weibo can be found here.

Words are not enough to describe the hurdles it took fans and L’Officiel to get Zhang Hao this opportunity. The love and support pulled through, and we were greeted with even more love in return. Were it not for RosinEstrella and the united voices of the fandom, this opportunity would’ve been lost in time. A special shoutout to L’Officiel China’s staff, who flew to Seoul during the winter and took care of Zhang Hao. Thank you for showing everyone why he is a loveable and lovely idol, and for your determination to make him your cover model for February.

Congratulations on your feature with L’Officiel, Zhang Hao! Listen to Zhang Hao’s solo “Always” from ZEROBASEONE’s Debut EP: “Youth In the Shade”, and his OST “I Wanna Know” from the reality dating show “Transit Love 3” (“EXchange 3”)! His loveable, multi-talented group will also be returning with a new episode of ZBTV on Friday, February 16. Tune in later for their post-Valentine’s Day gift full of laughter and happiness, directed and led by Directors Zhang Hao, Han YuJin, and Kim JiWoong of the Film and Drama Department: JinJiHao!

* Disclaimer: The articles by Fan Writers are unique and creative expressions that are independent from Kpopmap's opinions. We encourage diverse viewpoints and the freedom of expression from our fan community.

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