At Coachella, two K-pop group mates, now soloists, wore similar shorts. What’s with the extra security down there? A trend? A symbol of sisterhood?

One is not only Born Again, she’s a New Woman. The other is Zen and, well, Like Jennie. Perhaps to show that both are K-pop pedigrees, they wore very similar micro-shorts during their respective performances at last weekend’s Coachella music festival. Lisa and Jennie debuted as solo artists (on separate days), and both no doubt impressed their fans with their respective styles on stage—one as scantily togged as the other. And both did chose ultra-short shorts for one of their midriff-baring looks (unsurprising, given that Coachella took place in the Colorado Desert), but curiously, both wore theirs with multiple belts across the pelvic region. As they gyrated on stage, whatever the belts suggested, it was not chastity. As far as it is known, the two women do not share the same stylist.

It is understandable that female performers desire to wear hot pants to show off their legs or to draw attention to the pelvic area during performances heavy with risqué dance moves (Lisa even twerked against the crotch of a male dancer). As visual branding is crucial to both women, it is perhaps inevitable that their respective stylist/designers would want the girded shorts they wore whoop to their audiences, whatever their respective message might be. And what better way than to strap the performers with eye-catching belts. Lisa’s, with their studs and grommets, were consistent with her strong Rockstar image, while Jennie’s essentially Western styles—with the fancy buckles and belt tips—were part of her still-evolving stage persona that seemed more sex kitten (like Lisa’s) than cowgirl.

As visual branding is crucial to both women, it is perhaps inevitable that their respective stylist/designers would want the shorts they wore whoop to their audiences, whatever their respective message might be

Their preferred shorts were so brief that they resembled underwear (no shaming of any sort intended). Each could accommodate three belts that are broad enough to be made out even from a distance. Given the brevity of their shorts, there was little that could be done by way of design or cut that allowed them to holler for attention on stage. The use of extraneous accessories is, of course, an old styling trick, but what were the chances that the near-identical could appear on two artistes at the same music festival on separate days? Could arrangements have been made so that they’d appear as sisters in art? Lisa’s belts were by American label Zana Bayne. At this moment, it has not emerged who provided Jennie’s (Ralph Lauren?)

At first, we were not sure if one of Lisa’s punkish belts was left dangling on purpose (as seen in the left photo above), but now it seems possible that it was deliberately done so that what she girded herself with could look different from her former group mate’s (assuming she received intel on Jennie’s shorts). Some fans feel that the triple-belt idea was coincidental, and showed the “aligned tastes” of two women who are members of the same group. Yet, Lisa’s touch of provocative difference in her belts could be how she desired to be more defiant or more ‘hang loose’ than Jennie. The belts are, by themselves, not exceptional, but they highlight that even in the competitive pursuit of individualism on a performing stage, repeated styling moves can create connections. Just don’t say Lisa and Jennie belted themselves to the same idea.

Photos: TikTok