Why legacy beauty brands are rushing to hire Korean faces

Global luxury beauty brands are celebrating the power of Korean brand ambassadors like never before. Only a few months into 2023, Danielle Marsh, a member of the South Korean girl group NewJeans was named YSL Beauty brand ambassador; Armani Beauty appointed NewJeans dancer Hanni as its new global make-up ambassador and Lancôme tapped Squid Game’s Hoyeon Jung.

Founder Giorgio Armani said at the time of Hanni’s appointment that “she has personality, which for me is the most fascinating trait, always.” Appointing Korean actors and pop stars has been de rigueur in luxury fashion for a while now, from G-Dragon of Big Bang’s work with Chanel back in 2015 when the heritage French brand staged their Resort 2016 collection in Seoul, to more recent appointments such as Hanni at Gucci in 2022.

It is not only K-pop stars who are working as global ambassadors. In fact, celebrities from all over Asia are being noticed by more and more high-end brands. For example, Chinese singer Jackson Yee is the global ambassador for Armani Beauty, while Japanese model Koki models for Estée Lauder. This is a far cry from just five years prior, where Western faces represented luxury brands.

So why are beauty brands now turning to K-ambassadors?  Is it the rise in the popularity of K-pop?
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While it could be a potential factor, it is not the main reason. According to Rocky Chi, a luxury brand expert in London, it is because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Europe’s largest luxury buying demographic is Chinese visitors. Due to travel bans, their largest demographic cannot travel to Europe and visit their brick-and-mortar stores.

Soon, brands had to accept that the biggest proportion of their customers come from Asia.
Marketing expert Charlie Gu agrees. He states that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the audience who made the biggest contributions to luxury brands is Asia, specifically the Greater China region.
Because of that, brands have started to elevate the presence of their Asian ambassadors, making many of them global ambassadors. This is done to drive excitement in the region and hopefully boost sales.

Many of these Asian names are not known in the West, but this is not seen as a problem. After it all, it is the inverse of the situation they had in the past — Hollywood stars were not particularly famous in China, and yet their faces were still plastered on billboards in the country. Of course, the popularity of K-pop did play a role, according to Charlie Gu. The global appeal of K-pop and the rising of Asian talents in Hollywood have helped contribute to the number of Asian global brand ambassadors for luxury brands.

Additionally, Asian celebrities tend to attract a younger audience, which helps bridge the gap of luxury shopping to a younger demographic. The West has also moved away from traditional Caucasian-centric advertising. With the rise of activism against Asian hate, it is crucial now more than ever that brands push for more diversity and inclusivity with their advertising.

​We can expect more K-pop stars to represent global fashion brands as the genre becomes more mainstream. Which K-pop idol do you want to see as a global brand ambassador?