As awards season gets going, we’re (as usual) preparing ourselves for a red carpet marathon of inoffensive-at-best menswear. There’s only so much you can do with a suit, right?
Not according to Timothée Chalamet and his newfound fashion formula: the patterned suit. The Beautiful Boy star has been nailing his appearances, displaying a sartorial elegance that’s pretty much unheard of for a 23-year-old, let alone a seasoned expert.
Exhibit A, at the San Sebastian Film Festival. We’re able to overlook his whiskery “mustache” solely because of this powder blue, floral-embroidered Alexander McQueen number. The collarless white button-down and sneakers are a special touch. (By that, we mean, we don’t think anyone else could pull off this look.)
At the London Film Festival premiere of Beautiful Boy, he paired a slim, hand-painted suit (also by Alexander McQueen, obv) with a black V-neck T-shirt and classic Chelsea boots.
And most recently, Chalamet sold us on his outfit formula when he wore yet another hand-painted Alexander McQueen suit to this year’s Critics’ Choice Awards (with a subtle gold chain and trendy hoof-sneakers for effect).
Unconventional menswear is a tricky thing to pull off, but Timmy has clearly mastered the “bold suit” look. On another actor, these pieces would probably look—how do we say this?—bad. But by pairing unusual suits with casual staples like T-shirts and sneakers, he pulls it off. (And who else could convince us that a sparkling Louis Vuitton “bib” is a wise red carpet choice?)
We haven’t forgotten the bowl cut, though.