“I don’t know who you are, but I know you’re big.”

This is what Jon Koon, the 30-year-old owner of downtown Manhattan boutique Private Stock, says to the slight, 5'8" blonde-haired Asian man browsing his store on a sweltering Sunday in July.

What is it about the stranger that signifies he’s kind of a big deal? It could be his boyishly handsome—dare we say “pretty”—face. Or perhaps it’s because he’s rolling with a seven-deep entourage that includes, loudly, the celebrity jeweler Ben Baller. Possibly, maybe. But to Koon, a luxury menswear designer, it is his guest’s outfit that stands out most: a custom black Givenchy-inspired snapback, Lennon-style shades, sleeveless Jil Sander striped T-shirt, tattered Saint-Laurent jeans, Chrome Hearts necklace, crispy Air Jordan XIs, and an oversized red Hermes HAC bag.

The mystery visitor is 25-year-old Kwon Ji-yong, better known as G-Dragon, and he is wildly famous in his native South Korea. In fact, he is the biggest Asian pop star in the world—if we pretend that “Gangnam Style” never happened. But unlike labelmate Psy, G-Dragon isn’t making a name in the U.S. off of a gimmicky song, or, for that matter, any music at all. Instead, it is the uniqueness of G-Dragon’s personal style that has piqued the curiosity of American tastemakers.

Koon is just the latest to join G-Dragon’s growing list of U.S.-based admirers, which includes the “in” crowd of influencers. Kanye West consigliere Don C is a fan, as is Virgil Abloh of Pyrex Vision, who saw his brand’s popularity skyrocket in Asia when G-Dragon rocked a PV flannel on Instagram. (Amazing what 1.2 million rabid followers can do.) GD has also become a fast favorite of all-leather-everything label En Noir. “I always saw G-Dragon on Tumblr but never knew who he was,” says brand director CurT@!n$. “People would post pictures of him and I’d be like, ‘Who is this kid?’ He’d be so loyal to a certain brand: Balmain head to toe, or Givenchy head to toe, or Dior. He’s like a rock star, so he pulls off a lot of outfits.”

So much so that G-Dragon is in many ways the perfect menswear muse: He’s slender enough to make everything look cool and his Asian “otherness” allows for risks that would scare off most dudes, from androgynous hairstyles and makeup to unisex outfits that the A$AP Mob wouldn’t dare touch. American streetwear types might only now be catching on, but high-end fashion brands around the world have long been jockeying for GD’s lucrative co-sign.

Of course, none of this would be possible if G-Dragon wasn’t already a Korean pop juggernaut adored by tens of millions of fans in Asia for his music, both as a solo artist and with his group Big Bang. “Just to put it real simply, [American tastemakers] are taking notice because I’m doing well,” says GD in Korean, smiling. “If I didn’t do well, they wouldn’t even have noticed me or cared. So I don’t put too much meaning behind it.”

G-Dragon, as he will tell you, is a musician first, but his crossover to the U.S. is being propelled by Tumblr tags, Instagram pics, and fashion blogs. Last summer’s obsession with “Gangnam Style” quickly reduced Psy to a caricature; could the fascination with G-Dragon’s wardrobe threaten to overshadow his talent?

“The music is nothing I would sit in my house and play,” admits CurT@!n$. “But I just said the word ‘G-Dragon’ around some Korean girls and the reaction was…maybe I should be listening to it.”