How Timothee Chalamet is changing the game in menswear

Over the past few years, Timothee Chalamet has emerged as one of the most exciting new faces in film – and at the same time, he’s proved himself a bona fide style star and has been named the best dressed man in the world by British GQ.

Menswear is so often overlooked; it’s easy to be distracted by bold, colourful and OTT women’s gowns on the red carpet. Yet figures like Chalamet, who – at 23 years old is part of Generation Z – show us that menswear isn’t just plain suiting.

He’s having fun with fashion, taking risks and showing off his personality – and in the process, Chalamet is changing our expectations of what men can wear.

He blurs the line between masculine and feminine

Chalamet isn’t afraid of experimenting with gender fluidity in his fashion choices, which makes him a perfect representative for Gen Z, a generation where gender and sexuality is less rigid than ever before.

Just take his outfit to the Venice Film Festival. He wore a dove grey suit by Haider Ackermann for the premiere of his new film The King – and he certainly looked very regal in the outfit.

This wasn’t any old grey suit. Instead of a shirt, Chalamet wore a silvery cowl neck blouse, and the suit was belted with the trouser legs rolled up. The shirt felt very feminine and the black boots ultra-masculine, which resulted in a strong unisex look that Chalamet pulled off with confidence.

He takes risks

As the heartthrob of choice for Gen Z, it comes as no surprise that Chalamet is the darling of designers – and this means he’s first choice to try out some bold new trends.

To the Golden Globes this year, Chalamet wore an all-black outfit which was given an edge with the addition of a black sparkly bib (which looked a bit like a harness). This isn’t exactly a regular sight on the red carpet, but the Louis Vuitton bib designed by Virgil Abloh soon went viral, and other celebrities like Michael B Jordan also got in on the action.

Even when he’s not in black tie, Chalamet is pushing the boat out sartorially. Before hitting the red carpet for The King in Venice, the actor attended a photocall.

This is normally an opportunity to be a bit more relaxed with what you’re wearing, but Chalamet still wanted to take risks in his Haider Ackermann outfit. A loose, grey, asymmetric jacket and matching trousers were set off with a strip of blue underneath and the Venice essential: a cool pair of sunglasses.

He’s not afraid of patterns

While Chalamet definitely knows how to wear a classic suit on the red carpet, he doesn’t just stick to traditional outfits. Instead, he’s shown us just how much fun you can actually have with menswear while still adhering to the dress code.

Just take this year’s Baftas, where Chalamet again wore Haider Ackermann. This time, the suit had a silver, red and black patterned jacket, a matching shirt in the same shiny material, cropped black trousers with a red pattern up the side and lace-up black boots.

It’s no wonder the actor keeps choosing to wear Ackermann on the red carpet, because the designer knows how to make bold yet polished suits which let Chalamet show off his personality.

Or what about the instantly iconic Alexander McQueen floral suit Chalamet wore to the London premiere of his film Beautiful Boy last year?

The whimsical floral watercolour pattern was made youthful and modern by the suit’s slim fit, black boots and a loose T-shirt instead of a shirt. This really sums up Chalamet’s style: He’s all about challenging expectations, and can rarely be tied down to one thing.