Typically, I politely excuse myself from writing about how men dress on red carpets. It’s too much spectacle, too tryhard. I’m too young to sound this old, but the fault is on brands and stylists, not me. No one seems interested in making the richest and most handsome men on Earth look either rich or handsome.
But over the past year, I’ve been surprised to find myself noticing, and enjoying, outfits that famous men are wearing on the red carpet or out in the world on press junkets. A handful of celebrities were doing classic tailoring—suits with roped shoulders and classically proportioned lapels, traditional tuxedos, silk accessories, and simple high-end-looking fabrics—not the capital-F Fashion stuff. They were all actors, and they all looked handsome and rich without trying to go viral on TikTok for a red carpet look.
Not to say I have a fashion eagle eye, but I did notice one thing about this “trend,” if you want to call it that. They’re wearing Dunhill. The only men’s celebrity outfits I’ve taken notice of in the past decade all have a touch of Dunhill. There’s a lesson in that.
The lesson, for me, is that men look incredible when they step off the ledge and take a slight turn toward the classics. Those classic touches I mentioned above—namely, good roped shoulders—work for any man, whether actually rich and famous or just wants to look that way.
To be fair, I’ve been waiting for this. I’ve always loved Dunhill—most years I gift my wife some sort of vintage Dunhill smoking accessory. I have yet to see a collection I don’t love under Simon Holloway’s creative direction. And Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag, which the brand helped costume, was one of my favourite movies of 2025, easily the best tailored movie of the decade. But the brand’s fashion vision—a take on classic tailoring—is a great blueprint to follow.
The Rock is my favourite example. At the Los Angeles premiere of The Smashing Machine, Johnson is wearing a silk jacket straight off Dunhill’s runway, no shirt underneath. It still screams action movie hero, but there’s something classic to the jacket—a waist-tie silk smoking jacket, like something William Powell would wear in The Thin Man—that has an elegance I never associated with him. For the Berlin premiere, The Rock opted for a shirt (no tie) and a shawl-lapel houndstooth jacket that did a lot of the same thing for him.
![dwayne johnson at the los angeles premier of the smashing machine](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/dwayne-johnson-the-smashing-machine-premiere-in-los-angeles-699de673a776e.jpg?resize=980:* "Los Angeles Premiere Of A24's "The Smashing Machine" - Arrivals")
Yes, going shirtless is a lot. But a silk smoking jacket is elegant Old Hollywood in a way that I’ve never seen The Rock tap into.
![dwayne johnson at the berlin premier of the smashing machine](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/dwayne-johnson-the-smashing-machine-premiere-in-berlin-699de69a73e74.jpg?resize=980:* ""The Smashing Machine" Berlin Premiere")
Crucially, though, this custom Dunhill jacket looks absolutely stellar on him.
Beyond The Rock, there’s the slew of men wearing the brand as of late. Speaking of William Powell in The Thin Man, Henry Golding also wore a very Nick Charles–esque silk smoking robe at The Fashion Awards in London. Walton Goggins wore Dunhill during the London portion of the Fallout TV show’s press junket. Pierce Brosnan, my eternal inspiration, is often wearing it. And a handful of actors of different eras wore Dunhill tuxedos to the BAFTA Awards, likely because Britain’s big awards show is a stricter black tie than what we have over here in the states.
And on the press trail for Crime 101, Chris Hemsworth has been wearing a wonderful double-breasted merino coat. Same thing is at work here—great fabrics, strong shoulder. But it proves that what I’m talking about here is not just guys looking cool in black tie or finger-wagging about wearing more traditional suits. There’s an elegance to how Dunhill is being worked into these guys’ wardrobes that you, a civilian, can tap into. Don’t be afraid of a suit in classic proportions and simple grey or navy fabrics. You might have written that off as stuffy, but all it takes is a few small embellishments—a good watch, movie-star sunglasses, or a silk scarf—and you’re the best-looking guy in any room.
As for this little Dunhill trend, I expect to see a lot more of it. Dressing celebrities or working with stylists is one thing, but working on costumes for a Steven Soderbergh film seems like a clearer expression of intent. Dunhill looks like it’s trying to bring elegance back to the silver screen and its stars.
Now of course, my job here at Esquire is to help men shop, so I can’t just say “Find a tailor, and show him these pictures,” or go to the Dunhill website, visit a store, and buy it top to bottom. I imagine few men reading this will be buying Hemsworth’s £4,800 coat that I linked to earlier.
So, what would I suggest you do? Invest in one good off-the-rack suit or coat, paying careful attention to the shoulders. A lot of the elegance is held in those beautifully shaped shoulders. I think Suitsupply is one of the only places to find a good roped shoulder at non-bespoke prices. All my other favourite affordable suit brands mostly do softer shoulders.
Suitsupply’s Milano suits are great for the price that you pay. Not like the Dunhill stuff above, but trying to be. The lapels are classically cut, the shoulders are roped but slope a touch for some nonchalance, there is enough structure there to make you stand out from the average man. (Though I would say be careful about trousers. Suitsupply cuts them quite slim.) Suitsupply also makes a nice double-breasted overcoat. As for silk scarves, I say go for the real deal and pay £158 (fair price, for what it’s worth) from Neapolitan brand E. Marinella.
Will these suits make you look as good as the guys I’m talking about are wearing? No, if you scrolled this far, you’re not rich nor famous enough for Dunhill. What I’m suggesting here will put you leagues above every other guy at your office, the bars you frequent, and the restaurants you go on dates at. That’s what matters.