Who is the first male K-Pop idol to be the brand ambassador of Chanel?

BIGBANG’s G-Dragon was the first male K-pop idol to become a Chanel brand ambassador.

His relationship with Chanel developed through repeated appearances at the French fashion house’s shows and his friendship with then-creative director Karl Lagerfeld. G-Dragon’s highly distinctive, gender-fluid style made him a natural fit for Chanel’s traditionally boundary-pushing image. In 2016, he became Chanel’s first Asian male global ambassador, a milestone often shortened in Korean entertainment coverage to “the first male K-pop Chanel ambassador.”

The wording can cause confusion because Chanel has also worked with other Korean and K-pop-linked figures. BLACKPINK’s Jennie later became a Chanel global ambassador, while Kang Daniel became associated with Chanel Fine Jewelry. Those later appointments do not change G-Dragon’s earlier distinction. The answer refers to G-Dragon as an individual, not to BIGBANG as a group, and “brand ambassador” is the commonly used description even when sources use terms such as global ambassador, house ambassador, or muse.