Hints Brad Pitt was ready to slide off a stale middle aged male wardrobe came in mid-July. Specifically, with one cantaloupe coloured linen suit.
The garish, wrinkled two piece, which had short lapels, clunky shell buttons, and a draw string waist, first seemed like a fair-enough way to stay cool and stand out in Paris, during a photocall for his action film ‘Bullet Train’. A Sahara desert style heatwave had hit Europe, and to be honest we all felt a bit out of sorts.
Little did we know we were actually witnessing the debut of Pitt’s high voltage, fashion forward new lease of life at 58: introducing Bohemian Brad.
The following day, he was pictured karate kicking paps on the carpet of the French premiere of his movie, tactfully showing off the monogrammed soles of the new Gucci x Adidas collaboration trainers, in a slouchy navy suit with contrast coral stiches.
And on July 19, the next stop for the ‘Bullet Train’ crew was Berlin, where Pitt went full yoga retreat hippie mode in double dusty pink. Baggy pink trousers were paired with a lighter shade, collarless zip-up jacket that had an off-beat turquoise front zipper and tangerine neckline.
Then came the moment Pitt’s new chapter became undeniable: he stepped out in a deep brown and breezy linen skirt and matching blazer at the German premiere of his film that evening. He paired it with a wrinkled pink linen shirt and burly black combat boots (not to mention a buff pair of tattooed calves), and confirmed we were not watching wardrobe wobbles, but a bare legged new step.
It is not the only time Pitt has been seen in a frock. The October 1999 cover story of Rolling Stone saw the American actor, in his heartthrob Fight Club heyday, slip into strappy sequin and 70s style minis, and stamp a sexy, gender-bending mark on pop culture.
Two decades on from that shoot, and he is also far from the only guy ditching trousers to turn heads. To skim the surface, comedian Pete Davidson wore a black Thom Browne dress to 2021’s Met Gala; Everton footballer Dominic Calvert-Lewin wore a school skirt, shirt and tie on the cover of Homme+ magazine in November last year, and actor Oscar Isaac wore a pleated grey skirt with workman boots and a blazer for a London premiere this March. (Yes, and Harry Styles, with the Vogue cover dress, and the countless flamboyant outfits which have come since.)
It must be said, though, Pitt’s skirt has the greatest potential to squeeze the style into the mainstream for gents – in other words, it’s the most masculine looking, with its kilt-like length and shabby chic blazer finish. It’s worth noting heterosexual stars in skirts has caused controversey amongst some members of the queer community, who have been doing the same for centuries, often recieving abuse rather than the praise A-listers enjoy.
Pitt is a blockbuster name who has taken a plunge to play the young guard – your Timothée Chalamets, Lil Nas Xs, and Jaden Smiths – at using the red carpet as a promo tool, though. Simply rolling out the same stale black bow tie does not cut it in 2022.
“Menswear has moved forward dramatically in the last five years and it’s good to see an icon like Brad Pitt moving with the times,” says Rose Forde, the celebrity stylist behind stars including Jonathan Bailey, Josh O’Connor and Paapa Essiedu’s best looks.
“I have clients that prefer to be more chic and understated and some that have the right energy for more fashion choices,” Forde says. “I think Brad has the right energy.”
“My philosophy is as long as the look does not wear you and you are not doing it if for fashion’s sake, wear what you want,” she continues.
Certainly, as pictures circulated of Pitt launching himself in the air, buzzing with his new boho injection in another forest green tinged suit at the London premiere of his new flick on July 20, and swaggering out in a lime green variety with teal shirt and bright yellow Adidas trainers on August 1 for the Los Angeles premiere, it is more than evident: these clothes do not wear the man.
If this is the trajectory he is set on, there looks to be one lesson to take forward: be more Brad, boys.
