When Jennie started teasing her solo project Less than a LOVER, the images looked as much like a luxury campaign as a music release. A grainy black‑and‑white street, an archway in a sunlit European alley, two silhouettes folded into each other, and a caption that reads: “The summer I chose to pause the love story.” The teaser credits list her not only as performer, but as director, writer, and composer.
For someone long nicknamed the “human Chanel,” this shift into full creative control matters. Jennie’s “Less than a LOVER” era positions her less as a passive muse and more as an auteur building a cinematic universe around herself. For luxury brands planning campaigns in 2024–25, the project doubles as a moodboard and a signal of where casting and storytelling may be heading.
Inside Jennie’s “Less than a LOVER” Era
Before it ever hit streaming, Less than a LOVER lived on festival stages. Jennie performed the track at Governors Ball in New York, then at major European stops like Open’er, Roskilde and Mad Cool. Those appearances made her the first K‑pop artist to headline Open’er and the first Korean soloist to top the bill at Roskilde, framing the song as part of a global headliner set rather than a side project for fans only.
On the visual side, the first official poster arrives like a mini fashion film. It shows a couple under a stone arch in what looks like a quiet European backstreet, shot in monochrome. The tagline about “pausing” a love story sets a tone of almost-finished romance, more wistful than tragic. The video itself was filmed in and around Girona Cathedral in Spain, a monumental staircase and façade already familiar from prestige TV, now repurposed for a modern love story.
Across social media, Jennie leaned into mystery. She posted retro Polaroids with a male figure whose face was hidden by a heart emoji, letting followers speculate before any official reveal. Reports from the Girona shoot point to Taiwanese model Nah Kai, based in Seoul, as the likely male lead, further underlining that the casting is intentional and international rather than incidental.
This all sits under the imprint of Odd Atelier, the label Jennie founded after BLACKPINK’s initial contract era, and follows her first full solo album, Ruby. The consistent credits “Directed / Written / Music by Jennie” make it clear: this is an artist framing her own narrative, not just stepping into one written by a brand or a label.
A Ready-Made Luxury Storyboard
The language of Less than a LOVER overlaps heavily with luxury campaign codes. The European stone, steps and arches echo decades of fragrance and handbag films that use heritage architecture to signal timelessness. Black‑and‑white photography, a summer setting, and a couple caught mid‑moment would feel entirely at home in a jewellery film or a couture pre‑collection spot.
Choosing Girona Cathedral as a backdrop is especially strategic. It is recognisable enough to feel iconic, but not as overused as, say, the Eiffel Tower. For European houses, that kind of location reads as “heritage” without tipping into cliché. For global audiences, it simply looks cinematic, which is often all a campaign needs.
The male lead casting is equally telling. If Nah Kai is indeed the co‑star, the pairing of a Korean superstar and a Taiwanese model in a Spanish cathedral quietly sketches a pan‑Asian, pan‑European world. The man in frame is not a faceless accessory; he is a narrative partner. That aligns with a broader move away from anonymous “boyfriend” extras toward male models who can act, hold close‑ups and carry their share of the story.
The Instagram rollout strengthens the storyboard effect. Instead of dropping a single polished visual, Jennie seeded clues: Polaroids, blurred profiles, then formal posters. It functions like a pre‑campaign chaptered in real time. For luxury brands, this is a proof of concept for how to build a romance arc across social, then pay it off in a main film or editorial.
Jennie’s Luxury Track Record Before This Era
None of this is happening in a vacuum. Jennie has spent nearly a decade embedded in the top tier of fashion. As a global ambassador for Chanel, she has fronted campaigns for Coco Neige and Coco Crush, and in 2025 she became one of the faces of the Chanel 25 handbag. A single campaign post for that bag drew around 9.3 million views and hundreds of thousands of likes on the house’s Instagram, illustrating how much attention her image commands.
Outside Chanel, her collaborations have tested different facets of her persona. A Calvin Klein capsule in 2023 reportedly sold out in a second and generated about 8.6 million dollars in Media Impact Value, placing her among the brand’s top ambassadors by earned reach. With Jacquemus, she fronted the romantic Guirlande campaign and later closed the label’s 15th‑anniversary show, reinforcing her ability to move between commercial image and runway credibility.
Accessories tell a similar story. Gentle Monster eyewear drops featuring Jennie have sold out quickly, and a pair of KOI sneakers she wore on tour picked up the nickname “Jennies” among fans, helping push demand. Her choices on stage and on Instagram easily translate into shopping behaviour, which is exactly what luxury brands look for in casting.
Even brand events have become stages for her own storytelling. At a Chanel Métiers d’Art afterparty in Seoul, Jennie performed a multi‑song set that included unreleased music. A corporate celebration turned into an intimate solo show, complete with couture styling and a captive VIP audience. In hindsight, that night looks like a dress rehearsal for the tighter, self-directed narrative of Less than a LOVER.
What This Signals for 2024–25 Casting and Brand Storytelling
Put together, this era suggests a shift from “muse” to “auteur‑ambassador.” Jennie is not only delivering visuals that fit luxury codes; she is originating them. For brands, that opens the door to collaborations where the ambassador has a real say in mood, locations and narrative beats. Expect more contracts that look closer to creative partnerships than simple endorsement deals, especially with artists who, like Jennie, run their own labels or studios.
Casting will follow that logic. On the primary side, houses are likely to keep favouring talents who come with their own story worlds: musicians with distinctive eras, actors who write or direct, influencers with strong visual signatures. On the secondary side, co‑stars and supporting models will need to do more than look good in stills. They will need on‑camera chemistry, basic acting skills and the ability to cross cultures comfortably, as the Jennie × Nah Kai × Girona triangle suggests.
The couple itself may become a more important casting unit. Where many recent luxury campaigns have focused on a single face, Less than a LOVER hints at a return to relational storytelling: two people circling each other in a city, a love that is on hold rather than over. Fragrance, jewellery and ready‑to‑wear labels that trade on romance can easily adapt that structure, which in turn encourages agencies to build and pitch plausible duos, not only solo portfolios.
For models and aspiring talent, the takeaway is practical. Think in terms of narrative presence, not just appearance. Reels that show you moving through a scene, interacting with a partner or inhabiting a mood will speak more directly to this kind of casting than static test shots alone. And for brands, watching how Jennie’s Less than a LOVER universe unfolds offers a preview of what a fully integrated, music‑driven luxury story can look like over the next few seasons.
