Let the Timothée Chalamet pile-on continue. While the Oscar nominee recovers from missing out on a golden statuette for his performance in Marty Supreme, along with his ill-timed comments about the cultural relevance of opera and ballet, Chalamet is now drawing fire for relinquishing his services to menswear.
Given the amount of attention given to the feathered Chanel creations worn by Nicole Kidman and Teyana Taylor, it’s easy to forget that men also appear on the Oscars red carpet. For his missed moment in the sun, Chalamet chose a white suit from Givenchy, looking ready to break out into a cover version of Boyz II Men’s I’ll Make Love To You, or any mid-’90s R&B ballad.
It sounds better than it looked, which was less than supreme.
Chalamet is not alone in generating yawns for menswear observers and letting Rose Byrne steal the style spotlight in a breathtaking black Dior draped crepe strapless dress embroidered with flowers.
This year, menswear stylists were more intent on securing watch sponsorship deals for their clients than pushing the fashion envelope beyond the safe style postcode of classic black tie. Robert Pattinson ditching his Dior bow tie, Chris Evans adding sunglasses to his Armani penguin suit and Joe Alwyn pinning a tiny brooch to his lapel will hardly have the teams at Temu pulling an all-nighter to get their looks online by tomorrow.
It looks as though an era of experimentation, challenging tradition and gender boundaries, is coming to a close as the red carpet takes a MAGA approach to menswear, Making Actors Generic Again.
In 2022, Chalamet was willing to visit the womenswear section of the Louis Vuitton maison and wear a black lace jacket, no shirt and clinging pants on the red carpet. He looked like a magician, which is far better than this year’s cruise ship entertainment host attire.
It was thrilling, eye-catching and, most importantly, fashionable.
That same year, Australian actor Kodi Smit-McPhee wore a powder-blue tux from Bottega Veneta. This year, we had to make do with Jesse Plemons’ powder-blue shirt with a Lardini dinner suit.
In 2019, Billy Porter wore a custom Christian Siriano tuxedo gown, and it seemed that men were not only willing to come to the Oscars party, they were finally willing to dress for it. “Billy Porter has changed our perceptions by changing fashion,” producer Ryan Murphy said at the 2023 Golden Globes. “He’s the one who ushered in this new movement by wearing a black velvet tuxedo gown on the Oscars red carpet.”
Now the movement is in trouble, when the most flamboyant look worn by Zendaya’s stylist Law Roach, consists of a vintage Alexander McQueen frock coat resembling the flocked wallpaper at a ’70s dinner theatre – white shirt and black tie. Roach’s Kris Jenner pixie cut is interesting but he looks ready to join Chalamet on the cruise ship… in the piano bar… at the piano.
At the Oscars women have once again been relegated to the role of eye candy, where Anne Hathaway can wear opera gloves, a gigantic belt, chandelier earrings and a Buglari necklace with a 8.02-carat pear-cut fancy vivid yellow diamond while best supporting actor nominee Benicio Del Toro takes it easy in all-black Armani attire accessorised with machismo.
There were some exceptions to the rule. Oscar-winner Michael B. Jordan’s military-inspired Louis Vuitton suit had a futuristic feel, and a clean-shaven Pedro Pascal’s white flower detail on his Chanel shirt was refreshing rather than revolutionary.
What makes this missed menswear moment frustrating is that we know these actors can shake things up. Chalamet was happy to impersonate a highlighter pen in an orange Chrome Hearts suit for a Marty Supreme premiere alongside a matching Kylie Jenner in December.
Like a private men’s club, or an overreaching engagement party, the Oscars is putting men back in a black tie box. Moments later, it’s a box they’re happy to escape.
Heated Rivalry actor Hudson Williams changed from an all-black Balenciaga suit at the Oscars into a sheer Balenciaga blouse for the Vanity Fair party. Lewis Pullman went from a seven in an interesting striped shirt with a tie at the Oscars to a 10 in clashing prints that would have former Masterchef judge Matt Preston eating his ascot.
Australian singer Troye Sivan shirtless in a Tom Ford suit with asymmetric trousers offering a glimpse of belly button fluff at the Vanity Fair party, was a shining, sexy-adjacent example of what his SNL impersonator Chalamet could have achieved at the Oscars.
Men should once again be given permission to be forces in fashion on the Oscars red carpet or else we might as well give the best dressed award to Sean Penn, who stayed home rather than accept his Academy Award in person. Tracksuit pants on the sofa, accessorised with a packet of crisps? Groundbreaking.
