There are certain signifiers that make a textbook Timothée Chalamet red carpet look: svelte jackets, slim-legged trousers, fashion-It-Boy archival pulls, combat boots or Chelsea boots (preferably designed by his buddy Haider Ackermann). But body-baring suits—from the sequined, shirt-free Louis Vuitton jacket he wore to the 2022 Oscars to the blood-red Ackermann halter top that brought the house down months later at the Venice Film Festival—have become something of a Chalamet signature, which kicked off a broader “no-shirt suit” trend that had every famous dude showing off their chests under their blazers last year.
On his Wonka press tour, Timmy and his stylist, Ryan Hastings, have been trying out some maniacal new style moves: latex trench coats, waxy Prada suits, heady Junya Watanabe leather. But the actor returned to form at a Wonka press event in rainy London this week, where he went conspicuously shirtless under a pinstriped Alexander McQueen tailcoat, his chest bare but for a Cartier Juste un Clou necklace. (As some may recall, Chalamet is an ambassador for the brand.) He tucked the matching suit trousers into lug-soled McQueen combat boots, threw on some shades, and voilà: a classic Chalamet red carpet fit.
Timmy even doubled down the next day at the film’s official London premiere, going bare-chested under a velvet Tom Ford suit the same magenta hue as raspberry sorbet—which he accessorized with chocolate-brown Tom Ford boots and an emerald-flecked Cartier collar. (For his next trick, the actor attended another press event wearing a sheer gold Tom Ford blouse from the label’s spring 2024 womenswear collection, which is like the daytime version of a shirtless suit.)
According to stylist Calyann Barnett, who put Dwyane Wade in a no-shirt suit when he hosted the ESPYs in 2019, the peaked lapel—which both of Timmy’s jackets have here—is the way to go if you’re attempting this risky style maneuver. “A peak lapel feels way more dressed and formal,” Barnett told GQ last year, “so it’s that juxtaposition of having this more formal, tailored suit and then you have bare skin.”
She added: “Your body needs to be like artwork.”