Before becoming big in the fashion industry, Kim Jong-in first became a frequent frontrow guest in Gucci shows. All the time, he would be dressed head to toe in Gucci, and would often grace various fashion magazine covers wearing his luxury ensembles. Back then, he was the South Korean brand ambassador.
It intensified more when it was revealed that his stage name, Kai, was being used within the company to refer to their VIP customers, showing just how much the superstar influenced the public to patronise Gucci.
But now, Kai —the dancing powerhouse and center of K-pop Supergroup EXO— is ready to take the luxury brand into new heights after being appointed as Gucci's new Global Ambassador.
This is also a monumental moment as he is the first South Korean to ever become a global face of the company.
Global Eyewear Campaign
On September 16, 2019, Gucci's official account revealed the ambassadorship in Weibo, a Chinese social media network similar to Twitter. From the post translations, it said that Kai made his debut in a Gucci advertisement, particularly the Fall/Winter 2019 Eyewear global campaign, where he worked alongside Chinese actress and Gucci Eyewear spokesperson Ni Ni.
The campaign photos showed Kai up close, looking stylish in Gucci's red wool beret with a GG patch, and sporting two of Gucci's latest eyewear models for men.
The campaign making use of portrait photography was directed by award-winning Film maker Harmony Korine.
Korine is also known for previously working with other Gucci campaigns, such as the Pre-Fall 2019 Lookbook and the men's tailoring campaign featuring Harry Styles.
Why he's the perfect fit
In a brief statement, Alessandro Michele, Gucci's creative director and the designer of the featured eyeglasses, said that a person's facial expression "has the fascinating power to elicit a variety of imaginary reactions, giving off the message of a belief in your individual power".
With this in mind, many people agreed that Kai is indeed the perfect ambassador.
Firstly, he has outstanding visuals that are perfect for endorsement deals that involve face products and accessories. Even Rihanna's Fenty Beauty makeup brand wanted to score a collaboration with him back in 2018. The hashtag #FENTYxKAI trended worldwide with much media interest as the public raved about the possible collaboration.
He is also widely famous and looked up to even by other celebrities in the K-pop industry for his unrivaled way of performing, his prowess in dancing, and most importantly, the unmatched charisma he exudes. When it's time to perform on stage, it's as though there's a switch that makes the global star go from 0 to 100 in an instant.
A solid proof of this was caught on camera by fansite Morpheus, when EXO performed their hit song Lotto in the 2017 Dream Concert. In the first few seconds of the video, the "Nini to Kai transformation" —as fans call it— was clearly seen. Nini is Kim Jong-in's nickname offstage and relates to his softer and bear-loving self. He went from smiling sweetly, to suddenly being the ravishing Kai when the beat started.
More on Kai-pop
EXO is currently touring in Southeast Asia with their EXO PLANET #5 – EXplOration concert. In every show, Kai performs his new solo r&b/hiphop stage titled "Confession", which also became a favourite among the fans. Aside from his striking dancing, his beautiful vocal colour shined as well—making fans hope more each day that he'd be given a chance to release a solo song, or better yet, a solo album soon.
Aside from his activities with Gucci and EXO, Kim Jong-in is also set to debut in October in another K-pop group called "Super M", dubbed as the "Avengers of Kpop". A partnership between Capitol Music Group and S.M. Entertainment, the group will be consisting of 7 already established stars under SM and will be heavily promoting in the US.
From time to time, Kai's updates about his fashion shoots and his K-pop endeavors could also be found through his Instagram account, zkdlin.
