Dressing Keanu: Sprezzatura and fashioning ageing masculinity on the red carpet

Film premieres, festivals and award ceremonies function as key sites of labour within the creative industries, creating a synergy between film, fashion and star-celebrity culture. Despite the pivotal role that fashion plays in film promotion strategies, ageing masculinities and menswear on the red carpet remains an under-examined area of critical analysis. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach drawing upon critical work in fashion, film and cultural studies, this article examines the sartorial representation of Keanu Reeves during the promotion of John Wick: Chapter 4. Through the visual analysis of his look at the London premiere in March 2023, I argue that Reeves’s adoption of sprezzatura deliberately disrupts sartorial expectations of red carpet masculinities, maximizing his brand value as a celebrity-commodity. In negotiating the fashioning of ageing masculinity, Reeves’s star-celebrity styling evokes both the aesthetic of the Gen Z dark academia viral trend and nostalgia for his youthful eroticized self to perpetuate his enduring cross-generational appeal.