Hanbok stage costumes designed by OUWR and Kumdanje for K-pop girl group BLACKPINK’S performance at Coachella festival (Courtesy of OUWR)

K-pop giant BLACKPINK made more ground-breaking history this April, becoming the first Asian girl group to ever headline California’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The four-member group is currently the most streamed female group on Spotify and has the most-viewed music channel on YouTube.

What made their presence even more sensational were their outfits. Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rose stepped onto the stage wearing costumes that paid homage to Korean hanbok, catching the eye of CNN and several other international media outlets.

Inspired by the traditional silhouette of a robe worn by generals from the mid-Goryeo (918-1392) to late Joseon (1392-1910) dynasties, each member sported a garment emblazoned with various hand embroidered, traditional Korean motifs. The hanbok also complemented the black and pink Dolce and Gabbana outfits they wore under their robes. Even the backdrop of the stage gave a nod to Korean culture, resembling the angular eave seen at the corner of a tiled palace or temple roof.

It was a bold move to play up their Korean heritage so much and is suggestive of where the future of hanbok lies, in terms of resonating with a younger, wider audience, according to Chang Ha-eun, president of the Korean pattern design brand OUWR.

She worked jointly on BLACKPINK’s hanbok with the traditional Korean dressmaker Kumdanje, which her mother has run for over 30 years.

“I grew up watching my mother work with hanbok all my life. I would play with piles of traditional textiles in her atelier as a kid. … However, even for someone like me, it has not been easy wearing hanbok in daily life, which got me thinking, ‘How difficult would it be for other people to wear it?’” Chang said in a recent interview at her atelier in Seoul.

Second-generation hanbok designer Chang Ha-eun, right, received “New Hanbok Person Award” given by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in October (Photo by OUWR)

That question led her on a quest to bring hanbok into every aspect of Korean life, while giving it more dimensions with distinctive patterns. For Chang, it was a way to embrace both the past and future of traditional craftsmanship. Her approach resonates well with hanbok saenghwal (lifestyle), the culture of wearing traditional clothing. The Cultural Heritage Administration actually designated the wearing of hanbok an official National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2022.

In Korea, hanbok is still worn on special occasions like weddings or at ancestral rituals, but its popularity and market share in the fashion industry are waning since the outfits comprise many relatively high-priced pieces.

“Whereas my mother devoted her entire life to making traditional hanbok, I wanted to find a newer and more modern approach to the attire,” Chang said.

Her first initiative came with the patterns, which she described as a “crucial component” of hanbok.

“Small or big, hanbok cloth always contains patterns. It often carries letters and figures that are beautiful and meaningful,” she said.

Official Joseon dan-cheong patterns from the end of roof beams re-imagined on cloth by OUWR (Courtesy of OUWR)

So Chang, who majored in textile and pattern design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), adopted Korean motifs from the clouds, animals and other patterns found in traditional paintings and elsewhere to make authentic, contemporary Korean patterns. Compared to the patterns found on her mother’s hanbok, Chang’s designs are simplified and have more vibrant colors. She hopes to see them become as pervasive and global as checkerboard and polka-dot patterns are now.

Although Chang sticks to hanbok’s traditional graceful and refined silhouettes, her works also feature more simplified designs.

“Traditional hanbok forms a voluminous shape by adding layers of innerwear under the skirt. But we got rid of the innerwear and simplified the outfit by making separate, independent pieces, so people can incorporate them into their usual outfits. They can be worn casually like an accessory, and I think that still counts as hanbok,” Chang said, underscoring that she aims to carry on the heritage of hanbok, while also blending it in with contemporary aesthetics and lifestyles.

Chang plans to continue to acknowledge the country’s heritage in her work as she has seen and experienced the growing global popularity of Korean attire and culture.

Last month at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s annual Hanbok Culture Week, Chang received the “New Hanbok Person Award.”