Being the very first Kpop girl group to perform as the headliner of Coachella,
aka the most influential music festival in the world, BLACKPINK has obviously hit the headlines
non-stop for breaking the records like no one before. In typical BLACKPINK’s stages , the
show-stopping performances included lots of dramatic elements, including pink fireworks,
dazzling visuals and, of course, custom-made and astronomically expensive designs. Turning up as
one of the most powerful girl groups for the ninety-minute-performance, each member
changed three outfits in total. Yet, a little bit different from their usual outfit choices
for BLACKPINK’s concerts where the girls would exclusively wear designs from brands
they have been endorsing, they went for a mix of brands in this monumental Coachella feature.
Custom-made black-and-pink outfits:
Entering Coachella, the four turned up in outfits spotlighting their signature colors,
black and pink specifically designed by Dolce & Gabbana and Michaell Ngo. However,
BLACKPINK didn’t forget to incorporate a sense of South Korean culture into their
epic opening by overcoating the modernized Hanbok by Ouwr and Kumdanje. While each member
wore a different design, a consistent theme was maintained as they all dressed in simple shorts
mixed with sophisticated tops highlighted by trendy strips of flowing pink chiffon,
which was attached to each member's hips to amp up the drama as they moved on stage. To reflect the
personal style of each girl, different styles, forms and accessories were also incorporated.
Unfortunately, since these were custom-made designs, prices were non-disclosed, which
actually also made sense as the designers had no intention of selling the second ones either.
Jisoo — who typically embraces more feminine looks — was given a halter top uniquified by
pleated details and a noticeable pink flower in the middle, wisely referring to her successful
solo hit FLOWER. Carrying an almost contrasting vibe, Jennie appeared tougher in a cropped leather
jacket paired with a pink corset, representing her signature sexy and rebellious aura. Most
famous for her elegant yet also empowered image, Rosé showed up in a black romper featuring her
favorite V-shaped neckline and a black leather belt, flaunting the aunt-waist size and smooth
bodyline. Lisa’s outfit was also custom-made but it didn’t come from Dolce & Gabbana but
rather from a Vietnamese designer, Michael Ngo. Surprisingly, there was still harmony between her
outfit and the rest’ considering the matching in materials and colors and simultaneously,
her free-spirited and powerful pop-star aura was also perfectly portrayed through the shoulder
padded detail of the crystal-embellished top as well as the sexy lace-up shorts.
Before moving to the next outfits of the girls and seeing how mind-boggling their price tag could be,
I want to talk a little bit about netizens’ reactions toward these very first headlining
designs. Most people were let down by the rather peasant and outdated vibe of the fits,
especially those made by Dolce & Gabbana. Compared to the proposed design, there was a huge
difference between the idea and the execution, mostly resulting from the rusty fabric choice
as well as questionable manufacturing, Especially for the outfit of Jennie,
it wasn’t hard to see the embellishing details were poorly executed and her corset top turned
out to be way less attractive than the design on paper. For Lisa’s outfit, some wondered if the
ruffle strips were sewed at the last minute to maintain the consistent theme with the
others’ but still, it looked most acceptable for a flamboyant music festival performance.
Black and silver group outfits:
Due to the exclusivity and scarcity of BLACKPINK’s Coachella outfits, the exact price for the designs
worn by Jisoo, Rosé and Lisa in the act’s black and silver theme wasn’t disclosed yet according
to Fashionista, Grace Elwood was the mastermind behind the three’s stunning appearances.
Despite following the full black concept, which was believed to spotlight the powerful,
fearless side embodied by the color black in BLACKPINK, the girls didn’t appear to be
boring or predictable thanks to designs with bold cut-outs and asymmetrical detail. Not only that,
the outfits were also designed to highlight each member’s figure,
wisely showcasing the unique figure beauty of the girls.
Particularly for Rosé, as she possesses an extremely flowy body line and a tiny ant-sized
waist, the cut-outs for her top were maxed out to flaunt the admirable figure. Maintaining
the consistent theme with the first black-pink outfit, strips of chiffon were attacked around
her hips yet to give the fit a more dynamic feeling, a silver belt mimicking an ammo
strip was added to her shorts. While the price for this bedazzling design wasn’t disclosed,
the values of her Tiffany&Co necklaces and the platform boots by Dr.Martens were already
enough to leave people speechless. According to Style Blackpink, Rosé layered three silverwares
for this outfit and the total price amounted to $79,450, one of which cost a whopping amount of
$75,000 for being fully beaded with diamonds. For the punk-inspired boots, they were sold
at $420 as a special design created in a collaboration between Dr.Martens and Rick Owens.
As for Jisoo and Lisa, besides the fact that their gorgeous appearances were the
artwork of Grace Elwood, information and price tags of other accessories weren’t found out.
However, netizens are still amazed by the sophistication of their outfits as they
perfectly captured the woman-empowerment image BLACKPINK represents yet also gave
a big shout-out to the girl’s individual color. Particularly, as Jisoo has always
preferred harmony and simplicity while refraining from too revealing styles, her outfit stuck to
the basic mix-and-match between a long-sleeved croptop with beaded embellishments and shorts
with symmetrical fringes on the waist, adding curves to her slender figure.
In contrast, Lisa’s outfit caught eyes with bold cut-outs, especially for her shorts. As
we all know about her love for shoulder-padded garments and experimentalism in fashion, her
top was made asymmetric with the highlight being lots of gems embedded around the shoulder areas.
Out of the four, Jennie’s outfit was said to be most netizens’ pick and according
to Style Blackpink, it was created by layering two latest designs from RUi,
which cost about $841 in total. As the top was the spotlight, her bottom wear
was kept simple to balance out the fit. Here, she wore the basic, ruffle black shorts paired
with the over-the-knee leather boots from Maison Margiela, which were sold at $1,085.
Jisoo’s solo outfit
Bringing her additive solo debut hit FLOWER to Coachella stage,
Jisoo burnt it up with the fire red design by DAVID KOMA.
To create this masterpiece, the designer house had hand-linked each specifically designed pliable
flower to one another. Also to represent the undying wish to thrive, which was also the message
in Jisoo’s FLOWER where she specifically talked about a new blooming cycle at the end of the MV,
the dress was made to be asymmetric where flowers were extended to the right front,
at the same time making Jisoo appear taller and more elegant. Unfortunately,
the price of this gorgeous dress wasn’t disclosed since this item, which was part of the
Ready-To-Wear Autumn-Winter 2023 Collection, must be directly contacted to DAVID KOMA for the price.
Pairing with the stunning design was a pair
of patent leather gloves also from DAVID KOMA whose value was $1,530.
Lisa’s solo outfit
Portraying the flamboyant and dominant vibe of MONEY, Lisa presented herself in the most
exuberant design by Yueqi Qi. However, due to the deep cut-out of the neckline,
stiff metallic material flowing along the dress and the extra lengths of the skirt and train,
this futuristic and royal design was cut short by BLACKPINK’s coordies
and layered outside a long-sleeved semi-sheer metallic bodysuit by MUGLER.
With such an alternation, obviously the uniqueness of the dress decreased but considering how Lisa
was the main dancer and the choreography of MONEY also required her to execute big,
constant moves, the outfit worn that day was the perfect option simultaneously serving the
purposes function-wise: helping wears move confidently around, as well as visual-wise:
capturing the crazy power and crazy richness held by Lisa.
As this was a look from Yueqi Qi’s SHANGHAI FALL 2022 collection, the price wasn’t publicly
disclosed but rather, it was only available to those who were really interested in owning one.
Rosé’s solo outfit
Effortlessly slaying the headlining stage of Coachella 2023 and being
called the member best carrying all performances, Rosé’s impression in
the hearts of people grew even more when she appeared in the edgy design of Paco Rabanne.
With the sophisticated silver circular rings flowing along the dress,
it’s very likely that this masterpiece was also a hand-made work of art. However,
BLACKPINK’s coordies didn’t seem to be 100% satisfied with the design so
when it came to Rosé’s outfit, they had modified it to be shorter and bolder.
To better flaunt the slender shoulders of Rosé and avoid repeating the same look from her first group
outfit, the neckline was changed from the V-shape to the halter style, adding a warrior-esque vibe
to her presence. As the asymmetrical hemline is super in vogue in 2023, the coordies continue to
create another look following this style, completely cutting off the upper-part and
keeping only the lower one to shape it into an asymmetrical short dress for Rosé. As a look from
Paco Rabanne’s Spring 2023 Collection, the price for this experimental design wasn’t published.
However, Rosé’s look that day was still crazy expensive as the wrap necklace from Tiffany & Co.
alone was already valued at $3,500 and her boots from Dr. Martens were $420 as mentioned above.
Besides, since there wasn’t much information about the leather jacket Rosé wore at the
beginning of her GONE performance, the price wasn’t disclosed either.
Jennie’s solo outfit
Quickly going viral worldwide after her headlining feature at Coachella 2023,
and also the most trending member on Twitter U.S,
Jennie obviously had had one of the best moments of her career here.
Performing the hit You & Me that was just introduced when BLACKPINK started their
world tour, Jennie took over people’s hearts with a fashionable look from Denicheur. While
she still pursued the ballet-esque theme that has created You & Me an elegant yet also daring vibe,
her image was completely refreshing as the top was purely made out of pearls,
an unprecedented material compared to the previous ones used for her solo
stage outfits. As creative and meticulous as Jennie has always been, she even removed the
sheer skirt on stage to better slay the newly-written bold and nasty rap verse.
Personally, I love most of the looks for the historic feature of BLACKPINK at Coachella this
year. However, I also agree with many people that the coordies could have done better with
the black-pink outfits the girls wore at the beginning of the performance since the pink hue
was a bit 2007 and didn’t really portray well the cute, girly side of “PINK” in “BLACKPINK.”