The National Costume segment of the 72nd Miss Universe competition has just aired, and fans got to watch their faves represent their countries in the most colorful, traditional, and creative attire. Miss Universe Korea 2023 Kim So Yun was one such delegate—her hanbok (traditional Korean dress) not only paid homage to her culture and history, but also had a modern connection.
As per the introduction, "This outfit was made by the same designer who crafted looks for the girl group BLACKPINK, who performed at Coachella this year! It’s a modern interpretation of attire worn by royalty in a coronation ceremony. Like a modern Cinderella, she’s ready for Coachella. Korea!"
The announcer didn't specify which BLACKPINK looks were crafted by the designer, but the girls made history wearing hanboks at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Saturday, April 15, 2023.
As the first headlining K-pop girl group, Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa proudly represented the Hallyu wave and wore traditional Korean attire onstage. The black garments were worn on top of each member's custom black and pink Dolce and Gabbana outfits for their opening track "Pink Venom."
Jointly custom-designed by traditional Korean dressmaker Kumdanje and Korean pattern design brand OUWR, "the garments were inspired by a type of hanbok called a 'cheollik,' a style of jacket that was worn by military officials from the Goryeo to the Joseon eras," OUWR CEO Chang Ha Eun told The Korea Herald. Ha Eun is the daughter of Kumdanje's CEO and executive designer, Lee Il Soon.
The mother-daughter pair also did an interview with JoongAng Ilbo (an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily), and Ha Eun further shared: "Our version of the cheollik features a jeogori-style top made from traditional hanbok silk fabric and a see-through skirt bottom of modern beady material. It blends tradition with modernity and is representative of Blackpink travelling to and from Korea and the rest of the world."
The butterfly-shaped ornament on the shoulders is the hand-cut pearl-silver brooch "Navillera" from the Korean jewelry designer Rimm. As Ha Eun revealed, they also used OUWR’s eaves pattern to create the shoulder bands and belts. "The eaves patterns were designed after being inspired by the bottom part of giwa (traditional Korean tiles) roofs and rafters. We thought this would blend perfectly with the stage setting, which was reminiscent of giwa roofs."
"We heard that they loved it," said Lee Il Soon to JoongAng Ilbo. Il Soon has been a hanbok designer since 1993, and explained the creative process behind a celebrity's stage outfit. Since the stylist can only provide body measurements, it's inevitable that there will be multiple changes during the fitting process—at least three back-and-forth deliveries, apparently. "But surprisingly, the Coachella outfits were finished in one go. Even YG said this was the first time it has ever happened."
Now that the Prelims and National Costume segments are over, stay tuned and set your alarms this weekend for the coronation night livestream on Sunday, November 19!
