SNACK three-line summary
- Weverse Magazine released the official director interview for ‘ICONIC BY MISTAKE’, directly explaining the visual blueprint behind ILLIT, LE SSERAFIM, and KATSEYE.
- Cody Critcheloe described ILLIT as a group connected to the feel of 1990s alternative rock music videos, and said the three teams entered one song with different energies.
- The key point of this interview is that it gives an official explanation of how ILLIT’s wisdom tooth motif, LE SSERAFIM’s tombstone scene, and KATSEYE’s references were tied into one MV world.
Snackgirls editor note
AIKO: “This time, there is much more to read because it is not just a collaboration announcement—the official explanation also tells us why those images appeared.”
Kirari: “The part that reads ILLIT as quirky and strangely charming explains the exact texture of these visuals.”
Red: “Even though the three teams are blended into one mood, the official interview clearly explains why each group’s motifs were left in place.”
Today’s IDOL midday lane came after a RESCENE Geoje collaboration story had already gone out that same morning, so the question was whether there was another item with new official visual commentary on ILLIT and HYBE-affiliated girl groups. The Weverse Magazine interview released on June 17 met that condition. Director Cody Critcheloe directly explained why ILLIT, LE SSERAFIM, and KATSEYE were placed in the same frame and how he read each team.
How the director described ILLIT
The most striking line in the interview is the definition of ILLIT. Cody Critcheloe described ILLIT as a group with a subtle, unique, and somehow offbeat charm. He then noted that this atmosphere naturally connects with the mood of 1990s alternative rock music videos.
In the same context, LE SSERAFIM is described through fearless rock star energy, while KATSEYE is framed with bold, pop confidence. In other words, the core of this official interview is not simply the collaboration that brought the three teams together, but the way it publicly explains how their different energies were separated and made readable inside one song.
How existing motifs were tied into one world
This interview matters even more because the director himself gave an official explanation of scenes fans had already recognized. Cody Critcheloe explained that while keeping LE SSERAFIM’s tombstone scene, ILLIT’s wisdom tooth motif, and KATSEYE’s visual references, he designed them so they would gain new meaning inside one larger narrative.
This is also why ILLIT’s part stands out so clearly. The wisdom tooth imagery familiar from the earlier song ‘Cherish (My Love)’ is not simply repeated in this collaboration. Instead, it is repositioned as a device that lets the three teams stay within their own worlds while connecting through the same mood. Thanks to that explanation, the visual links become much clearer when watching the MV again.
Why surveillance and solidarity share the same frame
In this interview, the director also described the police, surveillance, judgment, and verification that repeatedly appear in the MV as a metaphor for the entertainment industry as a whole. The important point is that the members are not left only as victims of that gaze. He said he wanted the members of the three teams to look like people who choose and act for themselves, even inside exaggerated and unfamiliar scenes.
The final campfire scene follows the same logic. By bringing everyone together after all kinds of chaos, the MV ends as a joint visual package that holds anxiety and humor, surveillance and solidarity, at the same time. That is why this update feels less like a simple behind-the-scenes note on a collaboration and more like an official set of words for reading the current visual direction of ILLIT and HYBE’s girl groups.
Sources and checked date · Official release 2026-06-17 / checked 2026-06-18T04:42:52Z
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