MANILA, Philippines — Korean girl group ITZY proved that more than just music idols, they are also fashion and beauty icons as they sported ‘90s and Y2K (2000s) “fits” (outfits) at the Manila leg of their second world tour “Born to Be” in Mall of Asia Arena last Saturday, presented by Live Nation Philippines.
For their opening act, headlined by the titular “Born to Be” track, Yuna, Ryujin, Chaeryeong and Yejin came in their signature black and red ITZY colors, which also served as a transition from their first world tour “Checkmate” last year, which had them clad in black and white.
ITZY seemed like gaming goddesses in their Act I “fits” composed of body-hugging and abs-revealing separates, in shiny and metallic fabrics, giving an overall vibe of anime school girls-meet-French boudoir in makeshift corsets and knee-high boots.
For Act II, the four members presented their renditions of their solo singles. Chaeryeong was an all-white goddess in a draped top matched with a layered miniskirt and knee-high boots as she performed "Mine.”
Ryujin was a sexy rockstar as she donned an oversized leather jacket over a swimsuit-cut leotard while head-banging to her self-composed song "Run Away.”
Yuna was a pink disco diva in a pink metallic dress as she rendered "Yet, But."
Finally, Yeji brought to mind the ongoing Paris Olympics with her gymnastics-like black, long-sleeve top with peek-a-boos as she sang, "Crown on My Head.”
“This song has the message na mahirap ang daan para magsuot ng crown,” she said through an interpreter during the group’s interaction with their audience later in the concert.
“But nowadays, we deserve to wear the crown,” she added.
During the interaction, which had the group dancing to the chorus of Filipino girl group BINI’s hit “Pantropiko,” ITZY wore ‘90s-inspired ensembles, including bandanna or scarf cropped tops, cargo pants and skirt-over-pants, which are getting revived in fashion nowadays.
They wore the same pieces until Act III ended with “Loco,” and then changed into white separates of cropped tops and miniskirts, and sneakers, for Act IV, which included in the set the songs “Not Shy,” “Cake,” and of course, “Sneakers.”
For the encore until the curtain call, the group displayed different variations of their official black tour shirt, with their faces sketched in white.
Yeji wore her shirt Venus-cut style; while Ryujin had rockstar grommets on her shirt’s shoulders; cutout cold shoulders for Chaeryeong, and a cropped halter top for Yuna, with her pink extensions standing out from the blackness of her shirt.
“Manila MIDZY are very bright and shining!” Yuna said in response to Philstar.com’s query at the group’s press event in Glorietta Activity Center, Makati City prior to the concert.
Complementing the group's costumes were stunning animated projected visuals of the songs' titles and music video recreation; smart laser lights and party poppers; interactive videoke segments and thrilling, Apocalyptic-like short films starring the four members.
The one-night-only “Born to Be” concert tour is from the group’s third overall studio and second Korean-language album released last January 8, 2024 through the group’s talent agency, JYP Entertainment, as well as Rebublic Records and Dreamus. The album is promoted by the group as a quartet following Lia’s hiatus due to health concerns. — Videos by Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo, video editing by Anjilica Andaya