Look of the Week: Blackpink headline Coachella in Korean hanboks

April 18, 2023 at 15:39

Bringing the second day of this year's Coachella to a close, K-Pop girl group Blackpink made history Saturday night when they became the first Asian act to ever headline the festival.
To a crowd of, reportedly, over 125,000 people, Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé used the ground-breaking moment to pay homage to Korean heritage by arriving onstage in hanboks: a traditional type of dress.
Screenshots of the moment quickly spread among Blackpink superfans, otherwise known as Blinks.
"The way they stepped onto the biggest western stage in hanboks ... literally proved their place at the top of the industry," tweeted one Blink.
(The group also wore modernized hanboks, designed by Kim Danha, in one of the music video's scenes.)
During another watershed Coachella performance — Beyonce's 2018 headline set — the singer's custom Balmain collegiate-style yellow hoodie was a joyful nod to Black culture, specifically historically Black colleagues and universities.
The group's four black hanboks were custom created by South Korean pattern design brand OUWR and traditional Korean dressmakers Kumdanje.
Inspired by the Cheol-lik silhouette, each garment was hand-embroidered with metallic traditional Korean motifs, including dan-cheong patterns and peonies (a symbol of royalty in Korea).
Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesIn Korea, hanboks are still worn for special occasions and often seen on TV dramas.
At Seoul Fashion Week, JULYCOLUMN's Fall-Winter 2023 collection drew on the hanbok's voluminous silhouette to create shirts and structured jackets.
Last September, Korean label BlueTamburin brought the garment to a Western audience by exclusively using traditional hanbok fabric to create its Spring-Summer 2023 collection at Milan Fashion Week.
Top image: Blackpink performing at the first weekend of Coachella 2023, shortly after removing their hanboks.
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