- Champion has named V of BTS global ambassador for its "True Champion" fall campaign, launching worldwide August 10, 2026.
- V joins a cross-cultural cast: Romeo Beckham, Sofi Tukker, Kyle Kuzma, Danna Paola, Megan Keller, Bella Sims, and Jaalen Best.
- Champion, founded in 1919, was bought by Authentic Brands Group from Hanesbrands for $1.2 billion in 2025.
Champion has named V of BTS the newest face of its global “True Champion” fall campaign. The 30-year-old singer, born Kim Taehyung, joins a cross-cultural cast that includes Romeo Beckham, Sofi Tukker, Kyle Kuzma, Danna Paola, Megan Keller, Bella Sims, and Jaalen Best.
Stefani Fleurant, executive vice president of marketing, sport and lifestyle at Authentic Brands Group, Champion’s parent company, said the campaign marks a new chapter for the brand, pointing to V’s creative vision and worldwide reach as a fit.
Champion, founded in 1919, was bought by Authentic Brands Group from Hanesbrands for $1.2 billion in 2025.
The brand has repeatedly paired athletes with entertainers: Kyle Kuzma fronted Champion’s Spring/Summer 2026 “Champions for Champion” campaign alongside fiancée Winnie Harlow, Jaxson Dart, Caroline Marks, Bella Campos, and Beckham, building on a mid-2025 lineup that included Tom Aspinall and Katie Taylor.
For V, the Champion deal caps a packed year of brand activity. He was named JINRO’s first global ambassador this summer, fronting the soju brand’s debut “My Favorite JINRO” campaign in July, and has also served as the face of Celine, Cartier, TirTir, and Coca-Cola in 2026.
The news lands amid a busy year for BTS as a group, too. In May, BTS partnered with Nike on customizable merch tied to their record-breaking ARIRANG World Tour, the band’s sixth tour and first since completing mandatory military service. Their Arirang album, released in March, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Beyond BTS, V released his solo album “Layover” in 2023, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and teamed up with Bing Crosby for a duet version of “White Christmas” in 2024. He has more than 76 million followers on Instagram.
Takeaways
V’s Champion deal is another data point in what’s shaping up to be his biggest brand year yet, following JINRO, Celine, Cartier, TirTir, and Coca-Cola. Brands aren’t just booking him for a single shoot; they’re building entire campaign narratives around his personal style and appeal.
For Champion, pairing a K-pop superstar with returning faces like Kuzma and Beckham signals a deliberate strategy: mix athletes, musicians, and models to stretch its reach across fan bases that rarely overlap.
The timing also matters. With BTS mid-tour on ARIRANG and fresh off a Nike collaboration, the group’s commercial pull looks stronger than ever post-hiatus, and Champion is capitalizing on that momentum directly through V.
Does V’s involvement make Champion feel more like a fashion label than a classic sportswear brand? Which co-star pairing in the “True Champion” cast (athlete, musician, model, dancer) do you think draws the most attention?
