By 
THE OSCARS RED CARPET sent out a strong message: following years of experimentalism, in which skirts, colourful tuxedos and personality shoes crept onto red carpets, all men want to wear is a black suit. Scrolling through images of the Oscars, it was difficult to find a famous guy who wasnât wearing black. Sure, Matthew McConaughey wore a chocolate brown blazer, and The Rock went for a silky silver number, but when the Texan and former WWE star are the most experimental dressers at Hollywoodâs premier awards ceremony, you know thereâs something up.
And that something is the black suit. Robert Downey Jr. in Saint Laurent. Cillian Murphy in Versace. Colman Domingo in Louis Vuitton. Simu Liu in Fendi. Christopher Nolan in Dior. The list goes on. And on. And on. Even Ryan Gosling traded his campy Kenergy (on the red carpetâthere was a Barbie pink moment for his rendition of âIâm Just Kenâ during the ceremony) for an all black Gucci suit. It was a feast of monochrome that marked the return of grown-up sophistication. No one looked silly, and itâs highly unlikely that one look will lodge itself in the cultural subconscious for years to come, a la Princeâs velvet purple jacket and white pants combo in 2009.
Instead, everyone just looked really⊠nice.
Thereâs a reason the black suit is such a perennial favourite. In my opinion, itâs the one article of clothing capable of glowing up the roughest of gems, no matter your size, age, height or hang-ups. Its relevance has barely faltered since the beginning of the 1800s, when an English trendsetter named Beau Brummell decided that simple jackets and full-length trousers were cool, and it’s remained the fit of choice for powerful to ordinary men since then. And why would we seek to sabotage it? The suit allows us to wear the same thing over and over again; to blend in when we donât feel like standing out and to look as sharp as possible with fairly minimal effort. Â
Of course, the clothes we wear tend to reflect the economic times weâre in. When the global economy is good and our pockets are full, history shows we tend to dress more flamboyantly. When living becomes more costly, as it is right now, weâll retreat to subtler, more practical looks, like we did in the great depression and again in 2008. And thereâs nothing more subtle, nor more practical, than the classic black suit.
Recent menâs fashion months have also indicated the suit will be one of next seasonâs dominant looks, so it’s no surprise weâve seen that mood filter through to the red carpet. One of the most articulate expressions of this new black suit occurred at the menâs winter 2024 Saint Laurent show, where creative director Anthony Vaccarello unveiled a predominantly black collection that began with an offering of sublime black suits and a couple of dark tuxedos.Â
âThe classic, double-breasted suit associated with 1980s power dressing informs the opening looks,â said the creative director in a statement. Vaccarello also noted that this collection âbuilds on elements introduced in prior seasons, while changing their tone and content.â He wasnât the only designer whose collection featured classic tailoring that formed a continuation, rather than a reinvention, of what came before itâSilvia Venturini Fendi and Giorgio Armani also spoke about consistency and classicism over novelty, which really struck a chord.
At the Oscars, this desire for consistency and classicism felt real. At the end of the day, famous guys are just like us. They want to look good while feeling comfortable. They donât want to draw attention to themselves; they want the focus to be on their achievements (even Bradley Cooper wore black). And while Iâm all for high-risk fashionâwhich this yearâs Oscars certainly lackedâIâm not about to pick a bone with the black suit. Itâs the blueprint for a reason.
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