Blackpink headline Coachella in Korean hanboks

Publisher’s note: With good, bad and ugly, “ Look of the week ” is a regular series dedicated to unpacking the most spoken outfit of the last seven days.

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The second day of Coachella this year, the group of girls K-Pop Blackpink marked the story on Saturday evening when they became the first Asian act to have ever made the headlines. At a crowd of more than 125,000 people, Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé used the revolutionary moment to pay tribute to the Korean heritage arriving on stage in Hanboks: a type of traditional dress.

While the clothes raised the shoulders for a few seconds in their opening track, “Pink Venom”, revealing a personalized outfit of Dolce and Gabbana in black and Gabbana of each member, fans around the world had already received the message. Screenshots From the moment quickly spreads among the BlackPink Superfans, otherwise known as the flashing. “The way they went on the largest western scene in Hanboks … have literally proven their place at the top of the industry,” tweeted a flashing. “Blackpink is really in a separate league.”

Another called the group “Cultural delegation of Korea” on Instagram, in reference not only to the Hanboks but other visual clues incorporated in their show, as one of the stage sets with an angular tile roof recalling the traditional Korean architecture.

In recent years, Blackpink has experienced a meteoric ascent to world renown. According to World Records GuinnessThey are currently the most broadcast female group on Spotify and have the most viewed music YouTube channel. Last year, they were the first group of female K-Pop to reach the number 1 of the winners of British and American albums, and in 2020, their song “How You Like This” became the most seen video on Youtube in 24 hours. (The group also wore modernized hanboks, designed by Kim Danha, in one of the clip scenes.) Their landmark during the weekend was in fact a follow-up of another milestone: in 2019, they became the first female K-Pop group to have ever played in Coachella or any other American festival.

From the emblematic Jean Paul Gaultier Cone Bra worn by Madonna for his 1990 blonde ambition tour in Geri “Ginger Spice” Halliwell’s Union Jack Mini Dress, the good scene costume can always live in public memory. Especially when it is carried at a determining moment of career. During another Coachella performance, watersheds – the title of Beyonce in 2018 – the Balmain’s Singer’s College -style hooded sweatshirt was a joyful wink to black culture, in particular colleagues and historically black universities.

The four black hanboks of the group were tailor-made by the brand of design of South Korean patterns Oud and the traditional Korean seamstresses Kumdanje. Inspired by the Cheol-Lik silhouette, each garment was murdered by hand with traditional metallic Korean patterns, including Dan-Chèong’s patterns and peonies (a symbol of royalty in Korea). “It was our pleasure and such an honor to be able to show the beautiful values ​​of Korea and Hanbok together”, the designers wrote In a combined Instagram post. “Blackpink showed the beauty of Korea and dazzled the world.”

In Korea, Hanboks are always worn for special occasions and often seen on Television dramas. Many designers in the country have also created contemporary catches which are incorporated into daily wear. In Seoul Fashion Week, the Julycolumn collection, the Auto-Winter 2023 collection, relied on the bulky silhouette of Hanbok to create shirts and structured jackets. Last September, the Korean label Bluetamburin brought the garment to a Western audience using exclusively the traditional Hanbok fabric to create its spring-summer 2023 collection at Milan Fashion Week.

Whether you are a devoted or not flashing, the looks have marked a moment of Asian visibility, the recognition of traditional crafts and a powerful example of feeling seen through fashion – representing Korean culture and kissing symbolically both its past and its future.

At the end of their performance, and after approaching the public between the figures in English throughout their two -hour performance, Blackpink has finished their set in Korean: “So far, he has been Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé Blackpink. Thank you.”

Top Image: Blackpink occurring the first weekend of Coachella 2023, shortly after withdrawing their hanboks.