What Karina Told ELLE Korea: Lollapalooza, Nerves and Being Called Strong

Karina of aespa is on the cover of the September issue of the fashion magazine ELLE. The photoshoot, which ELLE Korea put online on 14 August 2026, was shot with Prada and comes in four covers. In the interview that ran with it, Karina spoke about aespa’s first Lollapalooza Chicago set on 2 August, nerves on stage, the world tour that follows, and being called strong. What follows is what ELLE printed.

Four covers, shot with Prada

According to ELLE Korea, the photoshoot’s concept was Karina transforming on either side of a wardrobe. Her relationship with Prada goes back to 2024. SM Entertainment’s newsroom reported on 29 August 2024 that Prada had announced Karina as its new brand ambassador on its official social media the day before. Karina said at the time: “Prada was already a brand I liked and reached for, so I am glad to be joining it as an ambassador. I will be showing many different good sides of myself with Prada, so please look forward to it.”

Asia News Agency reported that the four-cover photoshoot and interview can be seen in ELLE’s September issue and on its website, and that a fashion film and YouTube content would follow on ELLE’s official social media and YouTube channel.

Lollapalooza: “a performance we prepared for with a lot of dedication”

The interview’s first subject was the 2026 Lollapalooza Chicago festival in the United States. Of aespa’s first appearance on that stage, Karina said: “It was a performance we prepared for with a lot of dedication. Since it had been a while since we performed at a festival, all the members practiced late into the night to do their best in their respective roles. We also wanted to create an exciting performance by putting together a set list centered around songs we haven’t performed often before.”

aespa’s official YouTube channel posted a thank-you video for Lollapalooza on 3 August, the day after the set. Herald Muse carried the same interview on 14 August and reproduced this passage as ELLE printed it.

Nervousness as a precious emotion

According to ELLE, Karina said she gets more nervous on stage than people might expect. This is what she said about that nervousness: “Nervousness is also one of the precious emotions that humans can experience. When I’m nervous, I actually make fewer mistakes. It comes from thoughts like, ‘What if I make a mistake?’ or ‘What if I don’t live up to expectations?’ So I don’t think there’s necessarily anything bad about going on stage while feeling nervous.”

Soompi carried this passage in English on 18 August, reporting that Karina had said she actually makes fewer mistakes when she is nervous.

A tour is a journey, and the word ‘strong’

Asked what she looks forward to as the world tour 2026-27 aespa LIVE TOUR - SYNK : COMPLæXITY continues, Karina answered: “I usually like to leave the hotel and experience the city where the tour is being held for myself. Just as the word ‘tour’ also means ‘travel,’ I always look forward to visiting places I might never have gone to and experiencing things I might never have experienced if I weren’t doing this work.”

ELLE also asked what being strong means. Karina’s answer: “I think it’s similar to having strong convictions. Having strong convictions means that your standards or values aren’t easily shaken. It means clearly knowing yourself and having a strong sense of self. That’s why I like being called strong.” Herald Muse made that answer its headline.

Key takeaways

• Karina’s ELLE September photoshoot was shot with Prada and comes in four covers. The concept was Karina transforming on either side of a wardrobe.
• Of the Lollapalooza Chicago set, Karina said it was “a performance we prepared for with a lot of dedication”, and that the set list was built around songs the group had not performed often.
• Karina called nervousness “one of the precious emotions that humans can experience”.
• On being called strong, Karina said it is similar to having strong convictions, which is why she likes the word.
• Prada announced Karina as its brand ambassador on 28 August 2024.