A comment under GQ’s Instagram post featuring actor Alexander Skarsgård in a sparkly number from Jonathan Anderson’s latest menswear collection for Dior hit the nail on the head: “Jeans and a going out top.” A common refrain in the world of womenswear, the going-out top is a crucial component of an outfit formula many women know well: When in doubt for a night out, a simple pair of flattering jeans and a dressy, slightly flashy top usually does the trick. Typically, it’s a high-reward combination. Indeed, when Anderson first showed his sequined tanks on the Dior Homme runway back in January, we predicted the guys might start taking a page from the girls.
Given that Skarsgård and his stylist Harry Lambert (whose client roster also includes Harry Styles) have made a much-appreciated habit of playing with gender and sex in his red-carpet wardrobe leading up to the release of the BDSM dom-com Pillion—in which Skarsgård portrays the leader of a gay biker gang—he seemed as good a candidate as any to try the trend head-on. In recent months, he’s rocked red-painted nails to the Governor Awards in November; was spotted walking around New York in a blue hoodie printed with the words “dream girl”; and he showed bare toe in Valentino Rockstud sandals at the Sundance Film Festival .
Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgard attend a Pillion screening in Berlin on March 20.
Tristar Media/Getty Images
But in reality, this particular going-out top proved to be a bit of a gamble. At a special screening of the film in Berlin, Skarsgård’s grape-hued sequined number missed the mark. For one, the vibrant, Belle Époque-inspired going-out top clashed with the bottom half of the outfit: a rather standard pairing of black slim-fit trousers and sleek, square-toed boots. But the sizing was off, too. The tank was not quite the best fit for the Swede’s muscular, six-foot-four frame: the shirt stretched too tightly across his chest, and its sleeves seemed to cut into his armpits.
In the time since Anderson presented his sleazy, borrowed-from-the-girls collection inspired by indie musician Mk.gee and the early-20th-century designs of Paul Poiret at Paris Men’s Fashion Week earlier this year, we’ve seen his looks on a handful of male celebrities—including Styles, who stood out when he wore a sweet, waist-cinching blazer with seafoam-green ballet flats (a silhouette he’s taken to these days) to present at the Grammys last month. Like Skarsgård’s going-out top, it caused a bit of a stir online—which is to be expected with any fashion risk, but especially one that veers out of the gender lane.