Hollywood heart-throb Keanu Reeves, famous for his blockbuster roles in Bill & Ted, Speed and the John Wick franchise, has been unveiled as the new face of luxury French fashion house Saint Laurent's Fall Winter 19 collection. The action hero was clad head toe in the label's signature rock 'n' roll aesthetic of motorcycle jacket, black jeans, pinstripe suit, polka dot shirt and sunglasses for a series of black and white campaign shots by acclaimed photographer David Sims:
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| Keanu Reeves for Saint Laurent Fall Winter 19 by David Sims via LinkedIn |
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| Keanu Reeves for Saint Laurent Fall Winter 19 by David Sims via LinkedIn |
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| Keanu Reeves for Saint Laurent Fall Winter 19 by David Sims via LinkedIn |
The unexpected casting came as a sweet social media surprise with Saint Laurent's Instagram uploads of the artsy images garnering three figure likes amongst a sea of praise, heart and kiss emojis. Twitter was just as amorous with a number of fainting GIFs and the man himself trending. It is fair to say that The Matrix star almost broke the internet...
The raucous reaction may have something to do with the fact that Reeves is ravishing but has always kept somewhat of a low profile, famously being papped looking dishevelled and downcast on a park bench in 2010, leading to internet memes and the nickname 'Sad Keanu'. The rugged actor has made a comeback recently in John Wick: Chapter 3 and appeared on the cover of May's
GQ to talk about the movie and his love of motorcycles. This edgy aloofness may be behind Anthony Vaccarello's decision to cast Keanu for his cool brand...
Saint Laurent have never been one's to do things by halves, particularly when Hedi Slimane was at the reigns. Hailed for injecting a modern and youthful vibe to a traditional label, his unisex creations made him a purveyor of gender fluidity and his controversial castings from Marilyn Manson through to Courtney Love sent him and his SL label skyrocketing.
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| Marilyn Manson for Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane via Dazed |
Born in Beirut to an English Mother and an American Father, Keanu Reeves spent much of his childhood in Toronto playing ice hockey and getting expelled from school. His various roles have earned him critical acclaim and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His mysterious, reclusive and slightly rolled out of bed look makes him the prefect poster boy for Saint Laurent and the Belgian fashion designer's clever casting is certainly living up to the buzz set by his predecessor...
