Why Shia LaBeouf Is Unleashing His Inner Suit God

As everybody knows, if you cut open the brain of any man between the ages of 23 and 40, you will find tens of thousands of paparazzi photos of Shia LaBeouf. I exaggerate, but for the menswear literate, and even the menswear curious, LaBeouf’s street style has become legendary: a template for the man who loves fashion, and maybe even self-expression, but doesn’t subscribe to the Big European Label Lifestyle. Here is a man who’s usually wearing jeans or shorts and a T-shirt or sweatshirt, but the proportions are pristine, the fabrics look ludicrously soft, and the feet are often clad in Uggs. He has inspired the Instagram account @shiasoutfits, which is updated with more tender diligence than an influencer’s fitspo journey, and the Twitter obsession #ShiaFitWatch, whose length and fervor approach a Victorian romance. Kanye West once stole all of his clothing. There’s something kind of, well, sludgy about LaBeouf’s look, with its repetition of denim, terry cloth, and canvas, but it never seems like he doesn’t care. This isn’t Balenciaga nonchalance, but a down-in-the-trenches, post-Helmut Lang use of workwear as the highest expression of industriousness—and perhaps even his inner attitudes. His id is his stylist. Read more at GQ.