BTS returned as a full seven-member group for the first time in four years with an outdoor comeback stage expected to draw 160,000 people and streamed live worldwide on Netflix. When the group appeared at 8 p.m. on March 21 with Gwanghwamun as the backdrop, the armorlike costumes drew nearly as much attention as the music on the live “ARIRANG” stage.
Behind the look was South Korean fashion brand Songzio, which said it aimed to push tradition and modernity — strength and lyricism — at the same time.
“Clothes are completed when someone wears them. When one person wears different outfits and an impressive look is created, that’s when I feel it’s complete,” said Song Jae-woo, Songzio’s creative director, who built each BTS member’s comeback identity.
Song combined the toughness of traditional armor with the flexibility of hanbok, using zippers, draping and asymmetrical structures so silhouettes would shift onstage. He also produced costumes for an 80-member performance team, in addition to the seven BTS members.
The stage personas were set as: RM as “hero,” Jin as “artist,” Suga as “architect,” J-Hope as “sorikkun” (traditional singer), Jimin as “poet,” V as “doryeong” (young nobleman) and Jung Kook as “pioneer.” Netflix said the audience for the performance reached 18.4 million viewers.
Song said he sought to portray “heroes of a new era” by combining early Joseon-era warrior armor with the sensibilities of an artist and a traditional singer. “Rather than simply reproducing Korean sentiment, we focused on expressing it as futuristic energy,” he said.
Founded in 1993, Songzio has presented avant-garde menswear based in Seoul and Paris, and has recently introduced women’s collections.
The collaboration went beyond making stage outfits, expanding to participation from the planning stage of “ARIRANG.” The result aligned the show’s push to foreground Korean elements with the brand’s approach of reinterpreting tradition in modern form.
The collection’s keyword was “Lyrical Armor,” described as “singing armor” — blending the strength of traditional armor with a lyrical sensibility to add emotion and narrative to images of protection and resistance.
By combining early Joseon warriors’ armor with hanbok tied to the sensibilities of sijo and folk songs, the team said it sought to depict “heroes of a new era who overcome turbulent history and build a new future.”
The project was presented as more than styling, placing Songzio’s aesthetic on one of the most widely watched stages.
“Living with fashion, it naturally becomes part of life. It seems to keep worldview, art and fashion from being separated in everyday life,” he said.
He said his designs draw on Renaissance and Romantic painting, classic literature and film.
“Fashion is similar to film. It’s a genre that combines many fields, and it contains images, eras and stories of people,” he said. “I work by imagining each person’s narrative.”
He said he is currently reading Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” and works by Aeschylus.
Another source of inspiration, he said, is “han,” a Korean concept often associated with deep, enduring sorrow and resolve.
“I think ‘han’ isn’t simple sadness, but an emotion that’s rich and also contains the power to move forward,” he said.
He said the project focused not on reproducing that feeling, but on turning it into forward-looking energy.
His operating philosophy, he said, is straightforward: don’t be impatient.
“In a changing world, it’s important to keep what’s yours. If you do, I believe good opportunities come someday,” he said.
Asked about differences from the founder, he pointed to repetition.
“It’s important to repeatedly imprint the brand identity, because the public doesn’t watch shows every six months,” he said.
He said “authenticity” is his key standard.
“Whether it’s minimalism or avant-garde, what matters more than form is persuasiveness. When it’s expressed authentically, I feel it’s beautiful,” he said.
He said he tries to restrain emotional swings and described “avant-garde elegance” as seeking elegance within the experimental — an elegance he linked to Eastern sensibilities. He said his frequent use of black reflects a choice to maintain restraint rather than display a specific emotion.
He also emphasized hand sketching over digital tools.
“A very subtle difference changes the result. The ‘hand feel’ in the process of making clothes is important,” he said.
He added that while his designs begin by hand, they are completed on the person wearing them.
That approach, he said, strengthened the costumes’ character-driven concepts. He singled out V’s “doryeong” concept as a favorite.
“We focused on making each character’s narrative clearer,” he said. “It fits the brand direction well, with an image that has strength and lyricism at the same time.”
For the stage, the team maximized visual impact through black-and-white contrast, a choice meant to keep structural designs from appearing too heavy. Early concepts also included removable layered structures so a single look could change during performance.
Song said the project, which more boldly reflected Korean elements, helped address a long-held creative desire and aligned closely with the “ARIRANG” concept.
The brand is preparing new expansions, including a Disney collaboration, activewear, an “Oriental futurism” collection and a New York flagship. The New York store is being planned not only as a fashion space but also as an art space in collaboration with Korean artists.
Songzio framed its work as offering an attitude as much as clothing: patience over haste, restraint over excess, and identity over trends.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.