Dazed's visual director on San:
Five years ago, when I first met San, I told him, "You really look like a fashion person."
Back then, 22 year old San, who had come up from Namhae, was much thinner and more innocent and unassuming than he is now. He worked incredibly hard more than anyone else to train his lean physique, gradually turning it into a strength of his own. Even then, just like now, he was someone who put a lot of effort into whatever he did.
After that, I saw San from time to time. With each new album, he changed little by little, and at some point, I became more accustomed to seeing the face of a man than that of a boy. His physique, his expressions, and even the way he presented himself onstage had changed.
Along the way, he met Dolce & Gabbana. The response was enthusiastic from the very first show he attended. Honestly, it wasn't all that surprising. Just as I'd said when I first met him, San was someone with a distinct character of his own whenever he put on clothes. What I didn't know back then was that he would make it so completely his own, the way he has now.
And then, in 2026, I saw ATEEZ's 'BAD'. Suddenly, I thought of the San I'd first met. He looked quite different back then, and yet somehow, there were parts of him that hadn't changed at all. I also got to be part of San's first cover with Dolce & Gabbana, something I obviously could never have known would happen five years ago.
San, Dolce & Gabbana, Dazed Fall Edition.
For this cover, rather than focusing on San of ATEEZ, I wanted to get a little closer to Choi San, the person born in 1999.
Rather than creating yet another intense face for the stage, I wanted to see the face that has already taken shape in the person he is today.
I remember the San I first met, and now I'm looking at the San he is today.
People are always changing, and San will take on yet another face in the years ahead. When we meet again a few years from now, he may be a completely different person from who he is today.
So this time, I wanted to preserve the San of this moment. So that even when I open this page again long after it has passed, I can recall what kind of person Choi San was in 2026.
