Style Profile: LAPILLUS’ Bessie Spills Her Tips on Staying Effortlessly Chic And How Her Style Has Changed Since Debut
In the series “Style Profile,” celebrities exclusively share details of their fashion and beauty with EnVi. In the first installment, the members of the K-pop group LAPILLUS offer a picture of their personal style, sartorial inspirations, and favorite trends.
Composed of Chanty, Shana, Yue, Seowon, Haeun, and Bessie, the K-pop girl group LAPILLUS debuted in 2022, rapidly making waves with their catchy music and girl-crush image. As a vocalist and rapper, the 18-year-old Bessie — born Susanna Kim — embodies LAPILLUS’ cool-girl charm to a tee. The star grew up listening to Korean music in her household, wishing to become an idol herself. Now, as she conquers the stage with her group, Bessie is making her dreams come true one step at a time. In this exclusive interview for Envi‘s Style Profile series, she spills her style tips, beauty essentials, and how her fashion has changed since debut.
On Personal Style: Effortless Chic
Recognized as LAPILLUS’ fashion enthusiast, Bessie is often the person her bandmates go to for style tips. The reason why her fellow group members trust her with fashion advice becomes clear when she connects with EnVi through a Zoom call. The singer pops up on the screen, donning an effortless yet classy look — a black turtleneck with skinny jeans, accessorized with a couple of gold necklaces. Engrossed in fashion talk, Bessie later explains that she has a penchant for keeping things practically chic.
How would you describe your personal style?
Nowadays I like to wear chic styles. To give an example, I try to wear black clothes. Since my hair is pretty bright right now, by wearing dark clothes, I try to emphasize my hair.
What influences your style?
I’m actually very interested in fashion. So I try to find and look at different references for my looks. Whenever I’m on stage or in casual clothes, I look at myself and see what suits me best, that’s how I usually choose my fashion
Do you have any fashion pet peeves?
I don’t really have a fashion no-no but if I had to choose, I usually use long pants because when I wear skirts, my legs look shorter. I really try to use long pants or shorts, and if I had to choose, I usually avoid wearing skirts.
If you were to switch closets with your members, who would it be?
If I had to choose it would be Haeun because she usually wears hip styles and she also has a lot of oversized clothes and for me, usually on casual days I wear oversized clothes a lot so if I had to switch I’d switch with Haeun!
Photos courtesy of MLD Entertainment
Bessie
On Fashion Must-Haves: A Classic Combination
Like any fashionista, Bessie recognizes the power of crafting personal style codes. As she confides, her footwear choices need to align with her day-to-day style. Bessie also acknowledges the importance of having an outfit combination that can never go wrong. Hers? A classic style formula that reflects her effortlessly chic aesthetics.
What type of accessories you can’t live without?
The one I’m wearing right now, necklaces!
Do you have a go-to type of shoes?
As I told you, my usual style is chic, so I don’t really wear sneakers a lot. I usually go for walkers; they’re comfortable for the feet and they’re also stylish and you can really just style them with different kinds of fashion.
What’s an outfit combination that can never go wrong?
It’s actually the one I’m wearing right now — a long sleeve black turtleneck and skinny jeans. So like skinny pants and since it’s cold nowadays I try to wear turtlenecks that are tighter. It might look simple but it’s also chic, so yes, what I’m wearing right now: tight tops, skinny pants, and walkers. It looks clean but still pretty.
On Skincare: Sticking To Essentials
When it comes to a beauty regime, Bessie — just like many of her bandmates — champions minimalism. Bessie’s skincare routine centers around cleansing thoroughly and only using what she needs — her secret to keeping her skin clean and clear. Most importantly, she shares, the key to nailing a beauty routine is to know what suits her and her skin type well.
Do you have any mantras when it comes to beauty?
I feel that for beauty you guys would be most curious about skincare. For my skincare, in the beginning, I used to put on a lot, which backfired and made my skin become bad, so nowadays, I try to keep it really simple by using moisturizer and facial masks.
Do you have any beauty product that has become essential?
My skin is actually the oily type. I try to do facial masks and creams that suit my skin type well. You really have to know your skin type well to know what can help you.
When buying makeup, What do you tend to look out for?
For makeup, I usually try to have a lot of different types of makeup. For lips, I don’t really go for the really pink ones, I go for the shades that suit both warm and cool tones well. [When it comes to] eye makeup, I really like fake eyelashes.
On Idol Life: Of Dark Concepts and Long Hair
After her debut, Bessie has not only continued to grow as a performer, but her sartorial adroitness has evolved too. Through her performances and promotions as part of LAPILLUS, the singer has been able to explore and experiment with different styles, which — to put it in a way — has been a journey of self-discovery. As she shares with EnVi, idol life has encouraged her to be more open to trying new looks. Bessie even believes that if it weren’t for her work, she would’ve probably never sported long hair.
You wear different costumes and looks for your performances, does style impact your performance in any way?
With all the different stage outfits and makeup we try, I’m trying [new] things. As I said before, I like darker colors, but when we’re performing we always have to wear colorful clothes. With that, I actually realized that I actually suit these colors well, and I’ve been able to know myself more.
Out of all the looks you’ve tried onstage so far, what’s the most memorable one?
I feel that for me, my biggest change has been my hairstyle. I used to have short hair, but right now, as you can see, I have long hair. I realized that I actually suit this long hairstyle now and I can try different kinds of stylings, including how I curled my hair [for this interview].
Are there any concepts you want to try in the future?
I actually want to try to do a dark concept because as you know we’ve had really colorful concepts and we have a varied group of members. I really want to try a concept where there’s almost no color, and [it’s] all dark and cool vibes.
After debuting as an idol, you’ve worked with stylists, worn different stage outfits, and had a bigger exposure to fashion and beauty. Has your personal style changed?
After debuting, I do think a lot [has] changed! I mentioned earlier how I have long hair now. [As an idol] I’ve been able to show different sides of me and know what makeup and hairstyles suit me best. Also, the things I didn’t know about myself I know now, and I think of them as [style] references for me.
In tandem with her evolution as an idol, Bessie has constantly learned and uncovered new sides of herself. The idol’s open-minded and free-spirited attitude have allowed her to experiment with fashion, hairstyles, and beauty, effectively broadening her style. Yet, her innate love for all things chic is what makes Bessie someone to look forward to in the industry. As she continues her journey with LAPILLUS, the world can anticipate more of Bessie’s rise as both an artist and fashionista.
LAPILLUS’ Get Ready With Me Playlist
Bessie’s Picks
Home with you – Madison Beer
You Broke Me First – Conor Maynard
Interested in more EnVi-exclusive content? Read everything about LAPILLUS’ Seowon and her style affinities here.
