You should steal Austin Butler’s spring style hack: layered knits

POLLEN IS IN THE AIR. The grass is fresher. Seasonal depression is over. With spring finally upon us, it also means it’s lightweight layering season. We wrote at the start of autumn about how layering for winter is an exact science – there’s an elegance to piling on your knits, coats, and scarves. And the same goes for spring, except this time, light layers are key to surviving four seasons in a day. These trans-seasonal months are also when we stylistically coincide with folks in the northern hemisphere. As their summer draws to a close and ours begins, we’re more or less wearing the same things.

Case in point, attending the Paris premiere of his upcoming Darren Aronofsky film, Caught Stealing, Austin Butler pulled out a trans-seasonal style hack you’d want to steal for spring. In what would be the focal point of his chocolate-brown leather pants, the 34-year-old tucked in two pieces of knitwear. The top layer is a matching brown knit polo, with its top three buttons undone to reveal a beige-sage V-neck cardigan underneath. Schematically, it’s the Dubai chocolate of outfits: dark chocolate on top with nutty pistachio underneath.

How to layer knitwear in spring, according to Austin Butler

The viral chocolate isn’t a bad outfit inspo to work off, either. Butler could’ve stopped it at the dark chocolate, embracing monochrome much like every other It boy, but the lighter shade creates intriguing depth. Opting for appropriate autumnal colours in the French capital, the Dune actor has stuck to the same earthy palette throughout the Caught Stealing press run. He wore a brown vintage workwear cardigan in London; a vintage mohair cardigan from the ’50s to Jimmy Fallon.

Given his acumen for vintage, Butler isn’t one to shy away from a straight-off-the-runway look, this being from Hermès’ spring/summer 2026 collection.

That said, texture and fit are the two things to consider when layering two knits. You’d want to reserve your thick lambswool and intarsia knits here, by instead choosing a thin merino wool to make both layers sit comfortably over each other. Knit polos and cardigans on the market also come in cotton for the natural fibre’s moisture-wicking properties to suit the warmer months. The effect isn’t overly chunky, leaving enough room to breathe and move with two knits on.

Using the V-neck cardigan as an undershirt is also an advanced move to show off some chest. Similar to what Butler’s been doing with his Henley shirt, it’s about choosing what you want to show off without going completely sheer. Also note how the cardigan is pushed up his forearm – it isn’t the skivvy look we’re going for here.