Blackpink Star Jisoo and French Sportswear Brand Salomon Unveil Highly Anticipated In The Open Campaign

The intersection of high fashion, global K-pop influence, and technical outdoor gear has reached a new milestone as French mountain sports brand Salomon officially unveils its first major campaign starring Blackpink member Jisoo. Titled "In The Open," the campaign arrives following months of intense anticipation from both the fashion industry and the global fandom, succeeding the surprising announcement made in May regarding Jisoo’s appointment as a global brand ambassador.

Set against the dynamic and multifaceted backdrop of South Korea, the newly launched campaign seeks to visually articulate the fluid boundary between urban existence and the untouched natural world. By grounding the narrative in environments that reflect Jisoo’s personal preferences—ranging from bustling metropolitan parks and hiking trails to the quiet, introspective pockets of Seoul—Salomon aims to demonstrate how modern consumers transition effortlessly between contrasting landscapes. The global capsule collection showcased in the campaign is scheduled to become available worldwide on Salomon.com starting October 7, offering consumers a blend of utilitarian performance and contemporary street style.

A Visionary Narrative Bridging the City and the Wild

Heikki Salonen, who assumed the role of creative director at Salomon in January, emphasized the strategic intent behind the creative direction of "In The Open." According to Salonen, the core objective was to visualize how winter apparel and footwear perform across the diverse environments that individuals navigate on a daily basis.

"That’s something Salomon has always excelled at, creating products that perform across changing conditions without compromising on design," Salonen stated. He further noted that Seoul served as an ideal, meaningful canvas to bring this narrative to life, anchoring the collection in settings that naturally resonate with Jisoo’s lifestyle while showcasing the effortless fluidity with which she navigates these varied terrains.

For Jisoo, stepping into her inaugural global campaign for the brand was a seamless experience rooted in her personal appreciation for functional comfort. "It was a pleasure to experience and explore the winter season collection through my first global campaign with Salomon," the Blackpink star remarked. "I naturally prefer light and comfortable movement in my everyday life, so I feel that Salomon is a great fit for me because it provides comfort regardless of the weather or environment. I love how versatile Salomon footwear is, making it suitable for both everyday wear and outdoor activities."

Detailed Breakdown of the Fall/Winter 2026 Footwear Lineup

Throughout the visual assets of the "In The Open" campaign, Jisoo is prominently outfitted in key footwear styles drawn directly from Salomon’s fall/winter 2026 collection. The featured silhouettes—namely the XT-6 Protective, the XT-Whisper Gore-Tex, and the XT-4 OG Gore-Tex—highlight the brand’s ongoing evolution from niche alpine equipment manufacturer into a dominant force in global lifestyle footwear.

The XT-6 Protective takes the brand’s familiar, highly coveted trail-running silhouette and infuses it with a more rugged aesthetic. This is achieved through a heavy-duty ripstop construction paired with textured TPU detailing designed to withstand harsher elements. Meanwhile, the XT-Whisper Gore-Tex represents a significant technical milestone, introducing Gore-Tex weatherproofing to the XT-Whisper line for the very first time and endowing one of Salomon’s most celebrated profiles with all-weather utility. Rounding out the highlighted trio is the XT-4 OG Gore-Tex, which pays homage to the label’s rich archival heritage by marrying classic trail-running DNA with modern waterproof performance membranes.

The Strategic Evolution of the Partnership: Chronology and Impact

The launch of the "In The Open" campaign marks the culmination of a strategic partnership that officially began in May, when Salomon announced Jisoo as its newest global ambassador. At the time of the initial announcement, executives at the French brand emphasized that the partnership was designed to be a long-term collaboration, promising subsequent creative projects and product capsules to be unveiled over time.

The commercial efficacy of aligning with a global cultural titan like Jisoo was immediate and measurable. According to metrics published by Launchmetrics shortly after the initial ambassador announcement in May, the news generated an extraordinary $2.2 million in Media Impact Value (MIV) within the span of just one week. Furthermore, Launchmetrics reported that the announcement catalyzed a nearly sevenfold surge in Salomon’s overall digital performance metrics on the exact day the partnership was made public, underscoring the immense commercial pulling power held by members of Blackpink within the contemporary luxury and lifestyle sectors.

Jisoo’s Broader Brand Portfolio and Transition to Salomon

Before formalizing her alliance with Salomon, Jisoo cultivated a robust portfolio of high-profile fashion and wellness partnerships. Most notably, her high-profile association with fitness and wellness brand Alo constituted a major chapter in her commercial career. In October—just seven months prior to her transition to Salomon—the K-pop superstar collaborated with Alo on an exclusive iteration of the brand’s Sunset sneaker, rendered in her signature "Bloom Pink" colorway.

Jisoo’s relationship with Alo initially commenced at the beginning of 2024, when she was named the official face of the brand’s spring 2024 collection, appearing across multiple marketing channels in core apparel lines and seasonal colorways. A subsequent campaign followed her through a weekend wellness retreat in Los Angeles, capturing her engaging in restorative rituals such as meditation, matcha consumption, and athletic workouts.

Beyond her recent ventures in athletic and outdoor footwear, Jisoo maintains elite global ambassadorial roles with several of the world’s most prestigious luxury houses, including French fashion powerhouse Dior, fine jewelry icon Cartier, heritage American label Tommy Hilfiger, and contemporary contemporary brand Self-Portrait, cementing her status as a premier figure in global fashion commerce.

Broader Market Implications and Future Outlook

The partnership between Salomon and Jisoo illustrates a broader, enduring industry shift wherein technical outdoor and athletic brands increasingly lean into high-fashion aesthetics and celebrity-driven marketing to capture younger, style-conscious demographics. By bridging the gap between technical trail utility and urban streetwear, brands like Salomon are successfully capitalizing on the gorpcore and utilitarian fashion trends that have dominated global retail markets over recent years.

As the fall/winter 2026 capsule collection prepares for its global release on Salomon.com on October 7, industry analysts will closely monitor whether the commercial success mirrored in the initial MIV data translates into sustained sell-out momentum for the featured footwear lines. With additional creative projects slated for the remainder of their long-term agreement, the collaboration between Salomon and Jisoo sets a high benchmark for how heritage sports brands can successfully integrate pop culture royalty into their core brand identities without compromising their technical heritage.