At the Academy Museum Gala, famous guys reached for bigger brooches, baggier trousers, and considerably fewer ties.
Photos: Getty Images; Collage: GQ
The tuxedo is sacred. It's been around since the 19th century, which is a long time to keep wearing roughly the same thing to a nice dinner. It's remained relatively unchanged in all those years: black jacket, white shirt, bow tie. There are consecrated instructions about how much cuff should show and what should go around your waist. And naturally, you can spend quite a lot of cash getting all of this exactly right.
At this weekend's Academy Museum Gala in Hollywood, though, some of the best menswear came from guys who switched things up. The trousers got wider. The necklines got lower. And Alexander Skarsgård apparently decided there wasn't nearly enough shirt.
Let's take a gander at the 9 biggest tux swerves that you can keep in mind for your next big black-tie evening.
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Make the shirt the main character.
Alexander Skarsgård's white Valentino shirt had a stand collar, enormous cuffs, and sleeves that folded into big, stepped pleats. With no dinner jacket to distract, you could see the whole construction; it looked almost like armor, particularly around the neck and wrists. Normally, you're supposed to see a small strip of shirt cuff below your jacket sleeve, and that's it—but Skarsgård's cuffs were a substantial part of the fit, which is quite a change for something usually measured in fractions of an inch. Don't want to wear a jacket? Take his lead and pick a shirt that can play the main character.
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Reconsider the whole shirt-and-tie thing.
Connor Storrie's Saint Laurent look swerved in the opposite direction, nixing the shirt and tie altogether. He replaced the familiar white-and-black combo with soft, scarf-like silk at the neck (scarf ties are big right now), with some bare chest on show underneath. The shine of the fabric kept it dressed up, while also giving the sharply cut jacket something softer to sit up against.
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Let your trousers breathe.
Charles Melton's ERL-made look put the volume below the waist: a cropped-front tailcoat, then very wide trousers with an almost tracksuit-like fabric. The gold embellishments made it considerably dressier than anything you'd wear to the gym. Keeping the jacket shorter also meant you could see where those enormous trousers started, giving the fit some shape around the waist.
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Bring a brooch and a bag.
A$AP Rocky stuck with a more standard tux but added a giant brooch and a small Chanel clutch shaped like a silver cloud, which popped against the plain black fabric. That's a fairly useful argument for keeping the tailoring simple when you've got accessories you actually want people to notice.
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Get the sequins out.
Colman Domingo took things a step further, as he is wont to do, with a black sequined Valentino jacket featuring an open neckline, and flared trousers. The shape mattered as much as the sequins: There was nothing tight or buttoned-up about it. Keeping everything black also meant he could add quite a lot of shine without having to think about another color.
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Keep your coat on.
Drew Starkey wore his Dior tux underneath a long, black-and-white polka-dot, nearly rain jacket-like coat. There was still a formal dinner jacket in the fit; he'd just put something more interesting over it. It's an option worth remembering (especially for wintertime functions) before buying another complete suit for your next black-tie invitation.
Frazer Harrison
Chill out on the bow tie.
Bill Skarsgård's Dolce & Gabbana tux was as close to classic as you can get, with the standard white shirt and black bow tie. But the tie sat in at slight angle, making the otherwise very neat fit into something a little less precise. (And a bit unnerving—fit for a guy who perpetually plays horror villains.) It's a tiny detail, but a useful one if you've spent the whole evening checking that your tie is straight.
Frazer Harrison
Go bigger (even if you're already big).
Jacob Elordi's custom Bottega Veneta tux was long and roomy, making an already very tall guy look even taller. The jacket wasn't overly cropped to compensate for his height, and the trousers had room to move. It's worth looking at if your idea of “good tailoring” still involves getting everything taken all the way in.
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Not black, not navy, but a secret third thing: brown.
Taylor Zakhar Perez changed up the usual color palette altogether. His Amiri suit was chocolate brown, with broad black lapels and flared trousers. The sheeny satin lapels kept the connection to evening wear, while the brown made everything look considerably less stuffy.
A version of this story originally appeared in British GQ.
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Adam Cheung is a writer who specialises in sneakers and streetwear. Over the past few years, he's curated features and guides for everyone from Burberry to Nike. Often travelling between the UK and Hong Kong, don't be too surprised if you find Adam anywhere else around the world taking street ... Read More