Nowadays, there’s a lot of pressure heaped on leading men to mix things up on the Oscars red carpet. It’s hard to go viral wearing a classic black tux, especially when Timothée Chalamet is over there with his shirt off.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to elevate the look. For a few years now, we’ve seen more and more actors – from Leonardo DiCaprio to Brad Pitt to Joaquin Phoenix – team their tailoring with a pair of sunglasses, and 2022’s red carpet is no different. Just look at Rami Malek, Benedict Cumberbatch and Travis Barker (in an Armani double-breasted suit), who've managed to bring some suave, Seventies-style cool to proceedings, all without breaking a sweat.
They're channelling Jack Nicholson, of course, whether they know it or not. We'd say that the outfit he wore when he picked up 'Best Actor' for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1976 – a penguin suit with blacked-out aviator sunglasses – is up there with the most iconic Oscars looks of all-time. Very cool, very Hollywood, and very easy to pull off.
It's heartening to see the great man's vibe being channeled on the red carpet. So what for next year? Should the leading men of Hollywood kick things up a notch and throw a black beret into the mix, just like Jack Nicholson did at the 1975 ceremony?
We'll have to get back to you on that one.
Check out the best-dressed men at the Academy Awards 2022 here.
