At the latest when the festive season approaches, this fabric for men is once again up for discussion: velvet. "Should I – or shouldn’t I?" is then always the question. This year, however, there is hardly a pardon or more arguments for it, because the matt shimmering fabric is currently worn by almost all stars on the red carpet in a fashionable way. All the more reason to now personally invest in such a modern classic.
Anything but dusty
Dressed in velvet and silk used to be seen mainly kings and other privileged people. The aristocratic flair still resonates today, which is why velvet is often worn for special occasions and in the form of a tuxedo – with satin lapels, with bow ties, shirts and patent leather shoes. But not only!
That you don’t necessarily have to wear a velvet suit with a shirt is proven, for example, by actor Jake Gyllenhaal and Paris Beckett Brosnan: both recently wore a white T-shirt with it, the Hollywood actor with a dark blue-green suit, Pierce Brosnan’s son with a brown model with necklaces and sneakers.
Tom Ford: the "Godfather" of modern velvet suits
For a long time, the noble fabric seemed a bit dusty. But worn falling as wrinkle-free as possible, it can definitely radiate a pinch of eroticism. This is primarily thanks to the designer Tom Ford, virtually the "Godfather" of modern velvet jackets and suits: As creative director for many years, he not only made the once ailing Florentine luxury brand Gucci attractive again from 1994 to 2004, but also the Parisian brand Yves Saint Laurent as creative director of the Rive Gauche collection from 2000 to 2003. For both houses, he relied on the shimmering velvet suit as a seductive-glamorous evening wear for men. With effect: Even today, the velvet suit is one of the iconic Gucci pieces.
Intuitively, many men reach for the classic in black. But these six examples show that colored velvet can also look extremely stylish:
1. Emerald green
Who would have thought Prince William would make fashion headlines? Until now, his fashion image has been rather classic and discreet. But at the Green Carpet Awards in October, the Duke of Cambridge really caused a stir: with an emerald green velvet blazer.
The prince wore the jacket not for the first time, but already in 2019 at an event with the dress code "urban glamour". The combination is also particularly exciting in terms of fashion: with the model of the British brand Reiss, Prince William wore dark fabric trousers and a black turtleneck sweater. This looks less stiff and modern, as for example the young Tiktok star Blake Gray recently proved with a moss-green double-breasted suit with an anthracite turtleneck.
2. Fuchsia Pink
A dark pink velvet double-breasted suit – what a strong fashion statement! Daniel Craig, the sixth James Bond, wore a classic evening outfit from a traditional Savile Row tailor to the premiere of "No Time to Die" at London’s Royal Albert Hall, but in an exciting color. The velvet from fabric manufacturer Scabal contrasted unusually with the red carpet and was all the more surprising because it was not worn by some androgynous youth but by the archetype of a robust man in his prime.
The proximity to "queer" pink – or the pink triangle that homosexuals had to wear during the Nazi era – is probably no coincidence, but should be interpreted as a calculated PR move and signal in gender-sensitive times. But the details are also interesting: the covered buttons in the same velvet and the wide lapels of the jacket, incidentally a trademark of the tailors at Anderson& Sheppard.
3. Golden yellow and turquoise
A true joker among the gentlemen on the red carpet is – in keeping with the role of the same name in the film "Suicide Squad" – the 49-year-old US American. Jared Leto’s style is rather flamboyant, so it’s not surprising that he is a close friend of Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele. Whose designs the Hollywood star wears often, and they look gorgeous on him.