Before BTS went on hiatus while its seven members cycled through Korean military service, they had become not just musical phenomena, but fashion phenomena. Their presence on a front row created the equivalent of millions in earned media value, and the individual members had contracts with Dior, Gucci, Calvin Klein and Celine, among other brands. For their last joint appearance at the Grammys in 2022, they wore Louis Vuitton men’s wear by Virgil Abloh.
So the fact that they chose to wear looks by the Korean brand Songzio for their comeback concert was, like their choice of venue (Seoul’s historic Gwanghwamun Square) and the name of their album (“Arirang,” a 130-year-old Korean folk song), a statement as much about the place of Korean culture and identity on the global stage as about style.
Songzio was founded in 1993 by Zio Song and is based in Seoul and Paris. Sold in about 120 stores worldwide, with boutiques in Seoul and Paris and one under construction in New York, the brand is designed by Jay Songzio, the 30-year-old son of the founder. It was Mr. Songzio who created the costumes for all seven BTS members and the 80 additional dancers, singers and instrumentalists involved in the concert.
Here’s what he said about how it came about. This interview was edited and condensed.
Were you surprised that BTS came to you for its comeback, and not one of the big European luxury names it has worked with in the past?
They’ve worn our brand several times throughout their careers, but this is the first time we conceived a collection together from the very beginning. In the international luxury market, it’s difficult as an independent Korean designer. So it was heartwarming, to be honest, to have these Korean icons come to a Korean brand for this historical moment. It’s a very supportive feeling and gives me a lot of motivation.
Did they explain why they wanted to work with you?
They try to emphasize Korean history, but reimagine it into a more contemporary message. And that’s what we try to do ourselves — bring our Korean roots and sensibilities to our brand, but reinterpret them.
A lot of Korean history and emotion comes from this one word: Han. Han means Korea, but it can also be translated into a mix of longing and sorrow, which comes from our very turbulent and challenging history. So we tried to reimagine these BTS members as these heroic figures, leading our culture into a brighter future.
Did the band have any specific design requirements?
They wanted each member to have their own character. Before the army, they had more of a group identity, but now they have much, much stronger individual identities. So we had separate meetings with each member, going back and forth about what the costumes would look like.
OK, so how did you imagine the characters they represent?
One key word that nobody wanted for some reason was “warrior,” so I changed that to “hero.” RM is the hero, since he’s the leader. Jin is the artist. Jimin is the poet. Guga is the architect. Jungkook is the vanguard.
J-Hope and V are the two characters whose names might be a bit unfamiliar. We decided to name J-Hope Sorigun. Sori means sound, and gun means men. So it’s sound men, a mix of this musical flair with history. V’s character’s name is Doryeong. There isn’t the exact word in the Western vocabulary, but it’s a mix of nobleman and sophisticated Korean gentleman.
What did that mean in terms of clothing?
My first idea was trying to reinterpret traditional Korean armor. But once we started designing with the different plates, it got quite rigid, which was an issue because there is a lot of activity. So we tried to mix this with hanbok, which is Korean traditional clothing, where one of the most important ideas is fluidity.
Every band member got one costume, but it had to transform. That was both conceptual and practical. Conceptually, it reflected the idea of metamorphosis. But they also had to perform for two, three hours, so they requested a lot of detachable elements that could be taken off, draped and worn in different ways.
J-Hope has these militaristic cargo pants with a hidden zipper at knee level that could be undone to create very large volume and be worn as shorts. RM has a long jacket with a zipper that can be unzipped to create a cape-like silhouette.
Was everything made in Korea?
We had a lot of washed, destroyed fabrics, a lot of natural, organic fabrics, a lot of cotton and linen, all developed in Korea. We actually created a new fabric for this: a cotton hand-woven with very thick threads that kind of protrude to create a brushstroke effect like historic Korean landscape painting, which was on very rough paper.
Are you going to keep working with BTS?
We’re in the process of discussing the world tour. At the moment, we’re trying to reimagine the Korean flag as a group costume.
Vanessa Friedman has been the fashion director and chief fashion critic for The Times since 2014.
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