Suga for Valentino, Jimin for Dior… Who’s next?
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Photo: courtesy of Valentino, courtesy of Dior
Ever since BTS announced that they were entering a new chapter as a group — one that saw them pursue more solo endeavors while remaining a team — it seems like ARMY hasn’t had a second to rest. There was J-Hope’s solo album, followed by his Lollapalooza headlining set; Jin’s collaboration with Coldplay, before he signed up for military service; Jung Kook’s official single for the 2022 World Cup; RM’s solo album… That’s not even mentioning all the certified bops they released with other artists in between, plus the Busan World Expo concert that debuted a rendition of “Run BTS” that I haven’t stopped thinking about since.
During that time, the members — RM (Kim Namjoon), Kim Seokjin (Jin), Suga (Min Yoongi), J-Hope (Jung Hoseok), Jimin (Park Jimin), V (Kim Taehyung) and Jung Kook (Jeon Jungkook) — they also deepened their individual relationships with global fashion houses, resulting in the appointment of two of them as official brand ambassadors in January.
On January 16, Dior revealed that it had signed Jimin as a global ambassador. His first project in the role was And W Korean coverreleased a week earlier, featuring Kim Jones.
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Photo: Courtesy of Dior
“This special relationship seals, more than ever, his friendship with the house and Kim Jones, who designed the stagewear for his band BTS in 2019,” the brand said in a statement. “The South Korean artist now embodies the spirit and uniqueness of Dior’s style, modernity with a timeless signature.”
Then, on January 17th – a few days after it was announced Suga would star in the new Essentials campaign for the house in GQ (and wore the head-to-toe look from the sidelines of the trade court at a Lakers game in LA) — Valentino said he signed him on as a brand ambassador, as part of his “quest for [pursuing] authenticity and individuality, to scouts who embody the values of the Maison.”
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Photo: courtesy of Valentin
Suga, the brand explained in a statement, “is contemporary DI.VAs. DI.VAs is a play on words, an acronym that stands for different values. Valentino DI.VAs are multiple character codes, supported by inner values. Empathetic, intelligent and romantic. For Pierpaolo Piccioli , DI.VAs is the essence of authenticity, progressive ideals and diversity that lead to changes and convey the value of the House.”
The multi-hyphenate “has forged his own style as a rapper, songwriter, producer and performer while a member of global pop icons BTS,” it continues. “His unique style and musical world is a way of conveying values that lead to change.”
Suga said of the appointment: “All individuals have different dreams and values. Maison Valentino and creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli support diversity, which I also believe in. I am happy to join as DI.VAs and to collaborate on this amazing campaign with Maison Valentino Essentials .”
As a group, BTS became Louis Vuitton brand ambassadors in 2021, wearing the label on the red carpet and even modeling entire collections. That contract seems to have expired, but the house still has a strong connection with them: It confirmed on Twitter that J-Hope will attend the Fall 2023 menswear show in Paris on January 19. Meanwhile, V was a guest of Celine at the Paris Fashion Week show in July and has continued to wear the brand fairly consistently.
It’s no surprise that these luxury labels are clamoring to sign these highly influential artists and trendsetters individually. It just makes you (me) wonder who’s next: RM for Prada or Loewe, maybe? (Does my bias show?)
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