Blackpink’s Lisa covers the September 2024 issue of ELLE US with a fashion story and interview by Stephan Lee for ‘Blackpink’s Lisa Is Ready to be Unleashed’.

Stephan Lee is the author of the ‘K-Pop Confidential’ books and works now in content creation at Netflix.

Nicola Formichetti styles Lisa in Ferragamo, JW Anderson, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors Collection, Rabanne, Ralph Lauren Collection, Stella McCartney, Tom Ford and more lensed by Gregory Harris [IG]. High jewelry from Bulgari/ Hair by Hyeyeon Jang; makeup by Jiyeon Kim

Louis Vuitton and Global Citizen Festival

Lisa’s megawatt life turned up the volume further with her recently-announced status as a Louis Vuitton ambassador. More July 2024 breaking news for the Blackpink member was the announcement that she would be co-headlining the 2024 Global Citizen Festival at New York’s Central Park Great Lawn on Saturday, September 28.

The event will be Lisa’s first solo festival performance. In 2023, the entire K-pop Blackpink supergroup Lisa, Jennie, Jisoo and Rosé were the first K-pop group headlining the 2023 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival.

Stephan Gan writes that Lalisa Manobal couldn’t have become “the world’s foremost K-pop assassin without an abundance of swagger.”

He connects with her on Zoom two days before the global drop of ‘Rockstar’, her first solo release in three years. And while Lisa’s official pop culture persona may be brash, actual bad-girl arrogance or diva behavior is not tolerated from her or any other K-pop star.

Americans love the genuine, refreshing humility of the K-pop stars.

‘Rockstar’ debuted at #4 on Billboard’s Global 200, and #1 on YouTube’s Global Weekly Chart. It represents Lisa’s first work that is independent of storied South Korean company YG Entertainment.

‘Rockstar’ is being released in a partnership between RCA Records and Lisa’s new management company, Lloud Co.

ELLE promotes Lisa as the biggest K-pop artist on Instagram.

Lisa is a product of YG Entertainment’s rigorous ‘making an idol’ process — where individuality is not encouraged and rules around dating, diet and discipline are strictly enforced. We should probably add drugs to the list.

In 2010 at age 13, Lisa, who was born in the Buriram Province of Thailand, became the first ‘foreigner’ to enter the YG trainee system, after winning an audition. The only Korean she knew was the word for ‘hello’.

Her journey to the top of K-pop world was made public in the 2020 Netflix documentary ‘Blackpink: Light Up the Sky’. Read more about this dazzling, determined young talent on ELLE.