EXCLUSIVE: Dior Names Japanese Actress Anna Sawai as Brand Ambassador

DIOR‘S NEW LADY: Fresh off her Golden Globe and Emmy award wins for her role in the miniseries “Shōgun,” Japanese actress and singer Anna Sawai has been named as Dior’s latest brand ambassador.

The winner of WWD’s inaugural Fashion Newcomer Style Award, Sawai will represent the women’s collections designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri, joining a roster that also includes Jenna Ortega, Sonam Kapoor, Elisabeth Debicki and Rosamund Pike.

“This unique alliance, rooted in creativity, celebrates the powerful ties between the house and culture in all its forms,” Dior said on Wednesday in a statement shared exclusively with WWD.

Born in New Zealand, Sawai moved to Japan with her family at the age of 10. She landed her first acting role the following year in a stage production of “Annie,” but rose to fame as one of the lead vocalists of the girl group Faky from 2013 to 2018.

Since returning to acting, she has appeared in the Apple TV+ drama series “Pachinko” as well as the Godzilla spinoff series “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.”

For her role as Lady Toda Mariko in “Shōgun,” Sawai won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, becoming the first actress of Asian descent to win the award, and the first Japanese actress to ever win an Emmy.

The star, who works with stylist Karla Welch, teased her relationship with Dior by wearing a white leather bustier top with a long white silk skirt designed by Chiuri on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, where she won the Award for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series — Drama.

“Becoming a Dior ambassador is a dream come true. Dior represents timeless elegance, strength and individuality — qualities I’ve always admired and aspired to embody. I’m so honored to join this iconic house and to celebrate its artistry and vision,” Sawai said.

She was named an ambassador for jeweler Cartier last fall.