Why Boy George is the surprise new face of Dior SS17 fashion campaign

The androgynous star is about to reach a whole new generation

The former Culture Club frontman has long-served as a muse for designers (Getty Images)

From A$AP Rocky to filmmaker-slash-photographer Larry Clark, for Dior Homme, the last few campaigns have offered up a cross-generational cast of faces and, this season is no exception.

For spring summer 2017, New Romantics hero and 80s icon Boy George has been elected as the surprise face of Dior Homme.An unlikely choice, but one that makes sense for creative director Kris Assche.

Having been at the helm of Dior for a decade, Assche has been selecting some of his personal heroes to star in his campaigns for a while now and, as he attempts to define Dior Homme as a name to be reckoned with in menswear, casting a diverse and exiting roster of stars is a game changer.

The androgynous star and former frontman of Culture Club, Boy George is well known for his gender-bending take on fashion but now, his message is about to reach a whole new generation.

“I really tried to translate what I think Dior Homme is right now. It’s about music, it’s about cinema, it’s about fashion…It’s about a certain memory I have of the 80s that remains very much relevant for 2017,” said Van Assche in an interview with WWD.

“Boy George, when I was a kid, was one of the first to have this message about difference being okay; he was such a major influence on my generation. That idea of freedom and being a rebel – which he still is – is really something that has stayed with me.”

In the portfolio – shot by legendary photographer Willy Vanderperre – Boy George stars alongside existing campaign star A$AP Rocky, actor Rami Malek (the star of Mr. Robot) and male model Ernest Klimko.

Wearing his signature tall fedora bedecked with punk Toru Kamei pin badges, the singer dons raw-edged tailoring accessorised with harnesses from the brand’s spring 2017 collection.

For Boy George, this is somewhat of a professional renaissance, specifically in the world of fashion where he has long-served as a muse for avant garde designers.