If fashion, and by extension Hollywood, is in the midst of a ’90s revival, Austin Butler may be its most convincing leading man.
The Caught Stealing star feels tailor-made for a decade that prized effortless cool, a sensibility shared by Breitling’s Chronomat collection, which, despite being introduced in 1983 by Ernest Schneider, gained renown years later. “My dad watched Seinfeld every night and Chronomats were the watch that Jerry wore,” Butler tells ELLE from Breitling’s Madison Avenue flagship.
On Thursday evening, the actor celebrated the watch’s return at the brand’s Madison Avenue boutique, where an intimate crowd gathered to toast its enduring legacy. Arriving in a vintage yellow taxicab and walking a matching yellow carpet lined with retro pay phones, Butler fully embraced the evening’s nostalgic spirit.
“I grew up being a big Bruce Willis fan and [he’d] wear the Chronomat,” the actor says. (Other notable wearers over the years have included Courteney Cox on Friends, Slash, and Samuel L. Jackson.) “I have a lot of nostalgia for that time. I also resonate with that period of style as well.”
“Looking at pictures of Bruce Willis from that time period, he had such an effortlessness about him, didn’t he?” Butler notes. “There’s so many pictures of just him in a white T-shirt, just fully effortless.” The actor, clad in a white tank top, a workwear jacket, and a steel Chronomat, with his sun-kissed blond hair artfully tousled, looked every bit the embodiment of the effortless ’90s cool he so admires.
The new Chronomat collection reimagines the sports watch—developed originally in collaboration with the Italian Air Force—with sleeker proportions, enhanced wearability, and modern mechanics.
On screen, Butler’s appeal transcends decades. Filming for Enemies, an A24 spy thriller with Jeremy Allen White, has wrapped, and the actor is juggling a slate of ambitious projects: a Lance Armstrong biopic, the time-travel epic The Barrier, and a new Miami Vice film alongside Michael B. Jordan.
“I feel very grateful to be a part of that because of the people involved,” he says of the film, which is slated for a 2027 release. From F1 director Joseph Kosinski, the adaptation marks Butler’s latest turn in a blockbuster with serious cultural cachet.
“Michael is such a talented actor and great human being,” he adds. “Joe is a visionary and I’ve been such a fan of his movies. Every time I come out of a Joe Kosinski movie, it reminds me why I love going to the movies.”
Shop Breitling’s Chronomat Collection
Breitling Chronomat Automatic 36
Breitling Super Chronomat Automatic 38
Breitling Super Chronomat Automatic 38
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.elle.com ’
