Kendrick Lamar becomes new Chanel ambassador
Kendrick Lamar has been announced as Chanel’s new brand ambassador. The news was revealed on April 21st, stating the Compton rapper would be the face of the luxury brand’s eyewear division.
After partnering with Chanel, Kendrick said, “I visited the Chanel ateliers and saw the process of how something goes from design to execution. Seeing the people who work hard and bring these visions to life resonates with me.”
He continued to Business of Fashion, “Chanel has a timeless legacy and that is always something I can get behind. Since they don’t make clothes for men, I knew it would have to be glasses.”
Earlier this month, Kendrick released the music video for his SZA collaboration, ‘Luther‘, from last year’s GNX album. In the video, he can be seen wearing Chanel shades. He joins actor Timothée Chalamet and K-Pop star G-Dragon as male ambassadors for the brand.
As part of the Kendrick collaboration, Chanel fashion president Bruno Pavlovsky added, “We strongly believe in eyewear and its potential. More than a simple fashion accessory, eyewear is part of the Chanel allure and is regularly seen on the runway. Its versatile style, playing with the house codes, brings a finishing touch to the silhouette.
“Through the ‘Chanel & moi’ program, we developed various services for this category, in order to offer a perfect fit and the best experience to our clients.”
Kendrick previously wore a custom Chanel bomber jacket to the Met Gala in 2023. Then, in 2024, the rapper and longtime collaborator Dave Free created a short film for Chanel’s spring/summer show.
“We wanted to frame how couture in its artful sense brings about the magic of Chanel, and how it can be passed down, and how we could frame the concept of transmission, from past times to current times, in a magical, fun, energetic way,” Free said.
“We were thinking about Chanel, the timelessness, its classic spirit, and how to tie that in, and seeing it sort of from the outside in, putting the focus on the artisanal quality of the house, the absolute attention to craft and to details, and how that can drive a person to embrace also the idea of imperfection.”