Jimin vs. Suga: BTS Members Face Off In Luxury Brand Showdown

BTS members Jimin and Suga face off with their latest brand ambassadorships, becoming the newest faces of luxury fashion houses Dior and Valentino, respectively.

Last June, South Korea's biggest pop boy group went on a hiatus to pursue individual projects. Since then, the seven-member group, including Jimin, Suga, RM, Jin, Jungkook, J-Hope, and V, focused on releasing solo music and venturing into the world of fashion.

French fashion house Dior announced Monday that Jimin, 27, has become the brand's newest global ambassador via Twitter along with photos of the singer "embodying" the latest creations of Dior's menswear designer, Kim Jones.

"The House is thrilled to unveil our new global ambassador, JIMIN from @BTS_BigHit! Pictured here in a colorful look from #DiorSummer23, the singer is now lending his image to creations from [the] Artistic Director of Dior men's collections, Kim Jones," Dior wrote in the caption.

According to the brand, the appointment "solidifies" the singer's friendship with the House, which dates back to 2019, when Jones designed the stage outfits for BTS for their "Love Yourself: Speak Yourself" world tour.

"In his role as [the] new global ambassador, JIMIN exemplifies the timeless spirit and singularity of Dior as he continues a bond created in 2019 with Kim Jones, who designed @BTS_BigHit stage looks, and solidifies his friendship with the House," the French label wrote in another tweet following the announcement.

Jimin, born Park Ji-Min, now joins the roster of Dior's Korean ambassadors, who have been appointed over the years, alongside Blackpink's Jisoo, EXO's Sehun and "Start-Up" star Nam Joo-Hyuk, who is one of the faces of Dior Beauty Korea, according to CNN.

Meanwhile, fellow BTS member Suga, 29, was chosen to be part of Italian fashion house Valentino's brand ambassadors, often referred to as "Di. Vas," a pun that means "Different Values," Soompi reported. The multi-talented artist would be fronting the brand's Maison Valentino Essentials campaign.

Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli praised the rapper and music producer for being "a multifaceted artist" who "is an interpreter and uses his talent and his work to express himself with energy and authenticity," according to the outlet.

"He perfectly embodies everything that DI.VA.s testimonials stand for diversity, inclusivity, creativity, and passion," he added.

As for Suga, he believed that the campaign supports the "kind of diversity" he also supports, so he was "delighted" to be part of the Maison Valentino Essentials campaign.

Before Valentino's announcement, the lead rapper did a special campaign with the brand and GQ Magazine for the release of the newest campaign. He was also spotted wearing a full Maison Valentino Essentials ensemble, sporting an all-black outfit during the Lakers vs. Maverick match in Los Angeles last week.

Aside from going on a hiatus, BTS announced that they would be enlisting in South Korea's mandatory military service soon.

Jin, the oldest member of the group, entered the country's military last month and is expected to complete his service in 18 months. The six other members have yet to release details about their enlistment, but they are expected to make a comeback as a group in 2025.

Jimin would be the next member to release a solo album, according to Soompi, following RM's "Indigo," Jin's "The Astronaut" and J-Hope's "Jack In The Box," all released last year.

An unnamed source from BTS' agency BigHit Music told the outlet that a schedule would be released once "finalized." The outlet noted that the target release date would be in February.