HYUNJIN FROM STRAY KIDS BECOMES NEW GLOBAL AMBASSADOR OF GUESS

K-pop’s relationship with fashion has moved far beyond the stage. Over the past decade, its artists have become some of the industry’s most powerful image-makers, sitting front row at fashion weeks, fronting global campaigns and helping luxury and mainstream brands alike speak to an increasingly international generation. What was once treated as a distinctly South Korean phenomenon now operates as a global cultural force and fashion has been quick to follow.

That connection feels particularly relevant for GUESS. A brand whose visual identity has always been closely tied to pop culture, celebrity and the construction of iconic faces, GUESS is now looking East to reinterpret its distinctly American heritage. The dialogue between K-pop’s highly considered approach to image and the label’s sensual, rebellious Americana creates an interesting cultural crossover: California mythology seen through the lens of a new generation of global stars.

For Fall 2026, GUESS returns to where it all began. The brand looks back to its Californian roots with a new campaign starring Stray Kids member Hyunjin, who steps into the season as GUESS’ global brand ambassador. Shot against a distinctly West Coast backdrop, the campaign unfolds somewhere between the open road and an imagined slice of Americana: a classic gas station, vintage cars and sun-drenched landscapes set the scene. As daylight gradually slips into night, the imagery moves with it, shifting from warm, cinematic exteriors to darker scenes that bring a sharper edge to the collection.

At the centre of it all is Hyunjin. Known for an image that moves easily between polished elegance and a more expressive, experimental approach to fashion, the South Korean artist brings his own sensibility to the familiar GUESS codes. Rather than simply inhabiting the brand’s Americana fantasy, he gives it a different context; one shaped by the increasingly fluid relationship between K-pop, fashion and global youth culture.

“This campaign captures the free-spirited energy of California, where GUESS was born, and the denim heritage that is at the heart of the brand,” says Paul Marciano, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of GUESS, LLC. “Hyunjin’s distinctive style and artistic sensibility bring a fresh dimension to the modern American attitude that GUESS continues to define.”

Ultimately, Hyunjin’s appointment feels less like a simple celebrity partnership and more like a reflection of where fashion’s cultural centre is moving. GUESS may have been born in California, but the audience interpreting its denim, Americana and pop imagery today is increasingly global. If GUESS has spent more than four decades turning denim into an attitude, Fall 2026 proves that attitude no longer needs to belong to one place. Hyunjin simply takes it somewhere new.

Words by @alraco43