North Korean dictator in tune with Gen Z vibe, bans skinny jeans. Also out: the mullet, and nose and lip piercings

Generation Z TikTok users have it in for skinny jeans, mocking them as an outdated hangover from the millennial era

North Korean’s Kim-Jong-un has outlawed them – and the mullet, slogan T-shirts, and nose and lip piercings – as decadent symbols of a ‘capitalistic lifestyle’

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Generation Z users of TikTok have had it in for skinny jeans recently. Now North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has outlawed them as a symbol of the “capitalistic lifestyle”. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:15pm, 24 May 2021Updated: 12:27pm, 24 May 2021

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Gen Z have something in common: they both hate skinny jeans.

According to various reports, the North Korean dictator has banned skinny jeans and other “decadent” Western trends like the mullet, the controversial haircut that has had a resurgence of sorts in recent months.

“We must be wary of even the slightest sign of the capitalistic lifestyle and fight to get rid of them,” Rodong Sinmun, the North Korean state newspaper, said, quoting the totalitarian head of state.

Kim also outlawed other “foreign” items such as ripped jeans, slogan T-shirts and nose and lip piercings.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un has banned trends symbolising the “capitalistic lifestyle” such as skinny or ripped jeans, the mullet hairstyle, slogan T-shirts and nose and lip piercings. Photo: Reuters

This is not the first time Kim has railed against the possible influence of Western pop culture and fashion on the young in North Korea. K-pop bands from South Korea have also been banned in the country, for fear that they will corrupt the public.

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