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Jonathan Bailey is the new face behind I Will, the scent bringing Giorgio Armani back to men’s fragrance for the first time in over two decades. The scent debuts in the US on August 15, then moves to European counters in September.
The British actor, who starred in Wicked: For Good and Jurassic World: Rebirth this year, fronts a campaign directed by Todd Field. It marks the first men’s fragrance from Armani since Armani Code and the first major beauty launch under the label since Giorgio Armani’s death earlier this year.
I Will arrives as L’Oréal’s licensing arrangement with Armani Beauty continues to expand across categories, with the same team recently naming Vittoria Ceretti as global makeup ambassador for the house.
Emporio Armani, the brand’s younger diffusion line, runs its own separate fragrance ambassadorship with Kendall Jenner and has continued launching on its own schedule throughout the same period, including the men’s franchise Stronger With You in 2017 and, more recently, the women’s scent Power of You, which Jenner fronts.
Richard Pinabel, who leads Armani Beauty as global brand president under licensee L’Oréal, called the extended gap between men’s fragrances a matter of choice. The house wanted a distinct point of view before it introduced anything new, and I Will is being positioned as that statement.
Pinabel has framed Bailey’s casting as an obvious choice given his existing ties to the label. The actor appeared in Emporio Armani’s eyewear campaign for autumn 2024, a connection Pinabel pointed to when explaining why Bailey felt like a natural fit for the wider Giorgio Armani world.
Armani Beauty has held a long-standing partnership with the Venice Film Festival, and Pinabel noted that anchoring the new fragrance’s narrative of determination required someone whose own career embodied it. “It’s a very strong link with cinema, Mr Armani and the brand,” Pinabel said. “We also wanted to anchor this story of determination in this territory.” Bailey’s history across theatre, television and film mattered too, according to Pinabel.
Bailey described feeling that loss directly once Giorgio Armani died, saying he had considered himself part of the wider Armani circle for several years already. The designer, according to Bailey, had a direct hand in shaping the fragrance’s concept and the story behind the campaign in the time before he passed.
I Will was developed over four years by perfumers Alberto Morillas and Nathalie Lorson, who ran more than 2,800 trials before settling on a final composition. The eau de parfum opens with bergamot and cardamom, moves into a heart built from lavender and violet leaf, then settles into a base of Madagascan bourbon vanilla, woody accords and a leather note designed to carry the scent from daytime wear into evening. Armani Beauty has described the fragrance’s positioning as understated by design, set against the louder, more intense scents that currently dominate the men’s category.
Pricing sits at 147 euros for the 100ml eau de parfum, 105 euros for the 60ml size, with a 30ml option at 30 euros for those testing the waters before committing. Armani Beauty is aiming for I Will to break into the top ten men’s fragrances globally, a target that would put it among long-running franchises from Dior, YSL and Armani’s own Acqua di Giò.
Todd Field’s campaign follows Bailey through the preparation that precedes a stage appearance, the quiet repetition and nerves that rarely make it into a finished performance. Bailey called the concept a commitment to a future version of yourself, adding that the idea of intentional growth resonated with where he currently sits in his career and personal life. He added that the idea felt especially relevant at a moment when he believes many people are searching for the same sense of focus and confidence in their own lives.
Bailey has also linked the fragrance to how he approaches acting more broadly. He has said every character he plays carries a distinct scent in his own preparation, a way of understanding who that person is beyond the page. “You think about what you’re communicating to the world,” he said. Bailey spoke about the campaign from Munich, where filming for the project took place under Field’s direction.
Bailey has said Giorgio Armani’s personal involvement made the decision an easy one for him. “There was no way I was not going to accept this,” he said.
Pinabel returned to that reasoning when asked about the timing of the launch itself. “We always take the time to launch, to do it when it’s right,” he said. I Will reaches counters in the US this month, with the European rollout following in September, closing out the wait that began after Armani Code.
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