Jonah Hill teaches you how not to wear a tuxedo
We look to recent red carpets for the perfect formalwear formula
Words: Gentleman's Journal
Imagine, for a second, that you’re on a red carpet. In front of you are hundreds of flashing bulbs, a mob of jostling paparazzi and shouts from behind the cameras as the lenses tilt your way. Photos are being captured at a pace of tens per second, and one may even end up in a glossy magazine or on the front of tomorrow’s newspaper. There’s no time for flattering filters, or opportunity for photoshop. You can only hope that you’ve been snapped at your best angle.
Well this – undoubtedly terrifying – experience is commonplace for many celebrities. Thrust firmly into the public eye, they are exposed to an onslaught of opinions and critique. But, even though it would make sense to invest in refining your style, occasionally some of the industry’s most celebrated actors disregard the sartorial decrees when they step out onto the red carpet.
Last week, Oscar-nominee Jonah Hill attended Hollywood’s Governors Awards – and he did so in very questionable attire. If we work our way down, his look had a very promising start: the star of recent true-story comedy War Dogs had styled his hair into a slick side parting, the go-to coiffure for formal events.
But, south of his hairline, things took a turn for the worse. And, even though his facial hair looked a little like a half-hearted Movember attempt, Hill’s most notable sartorial misstep was the cut of his tuxedo. The suit bagged and sagged in all the wrong places, looking decidedly ill-fitting for such a formal event.
And this is a common problem. All too often do people sacrifice fitted formalwear to make a statement, or attempt to adopt a style that simply doesn’t suit their body shape. A tuxedo, in striking black, is meant to be clean cut. With a crisp dark colour, it may technically be monotonous, but the sharp lines and tailored outline should give you the look of a silhouette – accentuating your figure and flattering your form. Hill’s tux, unfortunately, fell short of the mark – and left him looking like a slightly dishevelled maître d’.
That’s not to say that male celebrities should exclusively hit the red carpet in black tie. There is room for fashionable flair and, in a sea of black tuxes, it is often important to find a way to stand out from the crowd. But cut should never be tampered with. Tailoring is the cornerstone of a good tuxedo, so get that right and experiment with design later. Perhaps Hill should have followed the example of these young thespians below, who managed to master the smart, streamlined silhouette – but also gave it their own unique twist.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson experimented with his hair and beard with an edgy side shave at the premiere of Nocturnal Animals. His tux? Classic black – and well-fitting.
At the same premiere, Taylor-Johnson’s co-star Jake Gyllenhaal turned heads in a double breasted tux jacket – maintaining his sharp silhouette but adding some interest within the lines.
Miles Teller took a similar approach at the recent premiere for boxing epic Bleed For This. His dark speckled Givenchy suit is classically cut, but the subtle pattern and pairing with a darker shirt adds interest.
Eddie Redmayne stood out in checked grey tailoring at the opening night of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The sharp outline is lost a little with a lighter suit, but Redmayne knows what he’s doing – and replicated the stark contrast with his crisp white shirt and knitted black tie.
Benedict Cumberbatch worked classic lines at a launch party for Marvel’s latest, Doctor Strange, but did so in blue velvet to play with the winning formalwear formula.
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