Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek named regional ambassador for Dior Men

The Zay El Shams star will be the first Middle Eastern male representative for the French luxury house

Ahmed Malek embodies the 'spirit and singularity of Dior style', says menswear artistic director Kim Jones. Photo: Dior Men

Ahmed Malek has been named by the French house of Dior as its first male ambassador from the Middle East, for both fashion and fragrance.

In a statement, the brand's menswear artistic director Kim Jones says the Egyptian actor embodies the “spirit and singularity of Dior style”, and will now represent the brand‘s “audacity and creativity” in the Middle East.

The news coincides with a series of images starring Malek wearing Dior Men. In June, Malek attended the spring / summer 2024 menswear fashion show in Paris, wearing pieces from the collection – a pale suit jacket matched with tracksuit trousers.

The naming of Malek as its first regional men's ambassador is Dior's latest link with Egypt. In December 2022, Jones chose to deliver his pre-fall 2023 collection at the foot of the Pyramids of Giza.

Malek joins the storied ranks of international talent signed to Dior. In August, it signed K-pop band TXT, while in January it enlisted BTS star Jimin. In 2013, Twilight and Batman star Robert Pattinson became the face of Dior Homme fragrance, and in 2015 actor Johnny Depp was named the face of Dior Sauvage scent. In 2008, meanwhile, British actor Jude Law was announced as the brand ambassador and held the position until 2012.

This latest appointment comes hot on the heels of Malek being named by French jewellery house Cartier as one of its regional ambassadors. In June, he appeared in a campaign for Cartier alongside fellow Egyptian, actress Tara Emad, as well as Tunisian-Egyptian actress Hend Sabry and Tunisian actor Dhafer L’Abidine.

Malek, who is from Cairo, is enjoying a burgeoning career in Egypt and internationally, having recently appeared in Netflix's The Swimmers, a film based on the true story of Yusra and Sarah Mardini – two teenage sisters who escaped war in Syria for Europe in the hope of making it to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

In Egypt, he is well known for his role in the series Zay Al Shams and Outsider Bloodline. Selected as one of Toronto International Film Festival’s Rising Stars in 2018, Malek has also acted in The Furnace (2020), his first English role.

Malek, who will next appear in BBC series Boiling Point, is now widely considered one of the new generation of actors from the region who are having a global impact.