IN A SEA OF BLACK TUXEDOS, THESE LOOKS WERE OUTSTANDING AT LAST NIGHT’S OSCARS

Ok…I’ll be honest…I was a little bit disappointed in last night’s red carpet for the Oscars! I get it: we’re not Cannes and this isn’t the Met Gala, but I found that sea of black tuxedos to be…tasteful? Check. Elegant? Check. Boring? Two checks. Predictable? Well, no!

After everything we’ve been seeing in formal wear and on other red carpets, I really thought the menswear segment of the evening would be more risqué. As Michael Macko said in our January 2023 fashion story, if men’s fashion is a meter, with George Clooney at one end and Billy Porter at the other, “all the interest lies in the middle.” Apply that metric to last night’s wardrobe and it seemed like that mode (bear with me – it’s been a long time since my college statistics class) would lie in a single-button, peak lapel, black tuxedo worn with a white shirt and a bow tie.

GQ contributing editor Jake Woolf had a different take on the situation on TikTok, praising Andrew Garfield and Austin Butler for taking real fashion risks, the former wearing a DB tuxedo rather than SB (woohoo!) and the latter’s exaggerated shoulder pads (so risky). His number one pick for the evening was Paul Mescal’s white jacket and black pants combo with an admittedly trendier, more voluminous fit.

This is not to say that I did not have my favorites. Samuel Jackson was the epitome of elegance in a champagne-hued dinner jacket, as was Idris Elba in midnight blue jacquard and Brendan Gleeson in a coppery version of the same. Harry Shum pushed the style envelope with an asymmetrical white jacket with black detailing and a black sash standing in for a cummerbund.  Riz Ahmed’s 1970s-style winged collar was…yeah, no. That was pushing things the wrong way. That part of the ’70s, I’m not ready for.

Lenny Kravitz was where Woolf and I finally agree. His draped, low-cut blouse, paired simply with a pair of black trousers was at once feminine and uber-masculine, the epitome of rock star style. (By the way, I’m 58, too, but you will not be seeing me wear that to the MR Awards dinner next summer. There are just not enough bench presses or sit-ups to do between now and then.)

So this Oscar season, I’m giving my little statuettes for red carpet excellence to:

Seth Rogan

A gorgeous statement in an ivory jacket worn with steel gray trousers that had just a hint of sheen.

Dwayne Johnson and Barry Keoghan

If you saw the ceremony, did you see the way that pink jacket fit Johnson’s lats? The Rock’s still got it. For Keoghan, I can live without the daisy buttons, but that lilac color is a refreshing palate cleanser, perfect for spring.

Kelvin Harrison, Jr.

Edgy, clean, elegant, and modern (in Dior, of course), this outfit has architectural appeal.

Alton Mason

The envelope, please: Leopard never looked so good. The cinched silhouette is the perfect fit, the muted, matte, coppery fabric glows, and the all-over look — even mimicked in the tortoise glasses — looks sleek and balanced. This look is truly star worthy.