Lanvin, in order to tap into a younger market, has recruited Rafael Nadal, the 22 year old Spanish tennis star, for their L’Homme Sport fragrance campaign.
Though Nadal’s not the first tennis pro to star in a fragrance ad – think Agassi, Williams sisters, Roddick, and Sharapova – he is the first to do one for a French fashion house, which is nice.
But our first thought?
What will Anna think / do? She’s a notorious Federer supporter, even skipping some of Fashion Week to attend the US Open – we hear she even sets up his haircut appointments for him – and we’re pretty sure Nadal’s existence has been all but ignored by Vogue thus far. Could this mean a new male tennis star favorite for Vogue since the Lanvin fragrance might be impossible to ignore editorially? Or will it just be relegated to Men’s Vogue?
But more pressing: Should Alber make Nadal wear a big bow tie in the ad? Because that would sell.
–ALEXANDRA BEN-GURION