Crafting the Visual Identity for a K-pop Group Through Fashion

Last week’s Louis Vuitton show at JFK airport didn’t only mark the unveiling of Nicolas Ghesquière’s resort collection. It also was something of a coming-out party for the K-pop girl group Itzy — a five-member ensemble that was flown to New York and the front row to help boost Vuitton’s Korean commercial potential. The group only has one song, “Dalla Dalla,” under its belt since debuting in mid-February — but it made Itzy Korea’s first all-girl group to win nine music TV shows, a TRL-type countdown broadcast format that remains popular in the country. For the Vuitton show, Itzy members Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna wore head-to-toe looks by the brand styled by Hee Sun Choi — the group’s fashion creative director who compiles outfits for each of their public engagements. Itzy at the Louis Vuitton cruise 2020 show.  Stephane Feugere/WWD K-pop fashion is highly strategized and is seen as the initial oeuvre that draws admiration from fans, with record companies pouring billions of Korean won into wardrobe budgets. “The groups that are very fashionable are more popular,” Choi told WWD in Seoul last month. “Fashion is the first dimension that the audience will see visually. It’s the first mode of communication, so [record

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