BLACKPINK on April 15 dances with choreography like that of a traditional Korean fan dance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the largest music event of its kind in North America, held this year at Indio, California. (BLACKPINK's official Facebook page)

By Lee Jihae

CNN has hailed BLACKPINK's wearing of Hanbok (traditional clothing) as a headliner at the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the largest music event of its kind in North America.

The Atlanta-based news network on April 19 covered BLACKPINK's attire in the article "Look of the Week: Blackpink headlines Coachella in Korean hanboks."

"Look of the Week" is a section on the "most talked about outfit of the last seven days."

BLACKPINK "made history" as the first Asian act to headline Coachella, CNN said, adding, "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."

A fan quoted in the article called the girl group "Korea's cultural delegation," and CNN said the stage backdrops featured "an angular tiled roof reminiscent of traditional Korean architecture."

The article also mentioned the influence of costumes in pop culture history like Madonna's cone bra worn in her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, a Union Jack mini-dress worn by Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls in 1997 and a yellow hoodie worn by Beyonce in 2018, when she became the first Black woman to headline Coachella.

The Hanbok worn by BLACKPINK was inspired by the silhouette of cheollik (traditional military clothing), CNN said, as "each garment was hand-embroidered with metallic traditional Korean motifs, including dan-cheong patterns and peonies (a symbol of royalty in Korea)."

In an interview with CNN, pattern design brand OUWR and traditional Korean dressmaker Kumdanje, who designed and made the Hanbok for the group, said, "It was our pleasure and such an honor to be able to show the beautiful values of Korea and Hanbok together," adding, "BLACKPINK showed the beauty of Korea and dazzled the world."

BLACKPINK in 2019 became the first K-pop girl group to appear at Coachella and headlined this year's event on April 15.

Launched in 1999, Coachella attracts over 200,000 visitors every year. The first part of this year's festival in Indio, California, was held from April 14-16 and the second from April 21-23. 

CNN on April 19 covered BLACKPINK wearing Hanbok as the girl group on April 15 headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. (Screen capture from CNN website)