By turning up to the 2022 Oscars sans-shirt, Timothée Chalamet gave the red carpet its biggest fashion moment. Not since Jennifer Lopez wore that Versace dress to the Grammys has bare décolletage warranted so much discussion.
The look attracted everything from breathless devotion to derision and (accurate) comparisons to the L Word character Shane McCutcheon. However, it cannot be chalked up as a win for menswear, since the actor’s cropped jacket, overlaid with shiny lace, was from Louis Vuitton’s 2022 spring womenswear collection.
kristen stewart and timothee competing for Best Shane McCutcheon
— rachel handler (@rachel_handler) March 27, 2022
The similarity between Chalamet and best actress nominee Kristen Stewart – who wore a shirt, but barely – was also difficult to miss.
Chalamet’s chest was not entirely bare – he did have a large, diamond-encrusted panther head dangling against it.
In this respect, his look shared something with the far more tightly buttoned, powder blue outfit worn by Australian best supporting actor nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee, who wore a diamond-encrusted choker in place of a tie.
I kind of don’t hate it. It doesn’t hurt that Kodi Smit-McPhee is built like an armature and has the vibe of a gentle alien who came to earth to go to art school. pic.twitter.com/5wjF3TxtrP
— Quinn Cummings (@quinncy) March 27, 2022
All three outfits, alongside Wesley Snipes’ almost-medieval satin shorts, reflected a broader turn towards gender-neutral red carpet fashion.
But all it really takes to make a suit stand out is to pick one in a colour other than black, which is exactly what Simu Liu, Diane Warren and Scott Evans did.
The alternative – going all black including the shirt – may have been popular among attendees but did not seem quite as daring to observers.
Meanwhile, the white shirt’s greatest defender wore hers with a sparkling skirt.
