Oh Yeongsu, the new face of Balenciaga x Adidas.
Mok Jungwook/Arena Homme+ Korea
Words by Samantha Pak
Meet the new face of Balenciaga.
Oh Yeongsu, the veteran South Korean actor and one of the stars of Netflix’s Squid Game (2021), is the newest model for the fashion house’s latest Balenciaga x Adidas collaboration.
In a series of six photos, the 78-year-old Golden Globe winner has traded in his signature green tracksuit from the show for a more elevated athletic look—complete with latex gloves and a pair of red heels in one photo. The photos, shot by Mok Jungwook, will be featured in the upcoming November issue of Arena Homme+ Korea.
As fashion and pop culture TikToker @Hannahzook, who has more than 30,000 followers, says, “Oh Yeongsu in this Adidas Balenciaga tracksuit, it’s too good. It wrote itself.”
@hannahzookpop #greenscreen O Yeong-Su is the face of the latest Balenciaga campaign? how do you all feel ab this?? #oyeongsu #squidgamecast #balenciaga #kimbalenciaga #alexademie #balenciagacampaign #celebrityfashion ♬ original sound - Hannahzook
As obvious as it might be for Balenciaga and Adidas to work with someone who was part of a show that made tracksuits cool again, fashion is an industry that favors youth. So it’s refreshing to see a major fashion house go in the other direction by teaming up with Oh Yeongsu (especially after it cut ties with a particularly problematic celebrity spokesperson). Here’s hoping to see more of these celebrations of age!
Because honestly, tracksuits have never looked so good.
Published on October 21, 2022
Words by Samantha Pak
Samantha Pak (she/her) is an award-winning Cambodian American journalist from the Seattle area and assistant editor for JoySauce. She spends more time than she’ll admit shopping for books than actually reading them, and has made it her mission to show others how amazing Southeast Asian people are. Follow her on Twitter at @iam_sammi and on Instagram at @sammi.pak.