The F1 movie world premiere was a highlight of the season for many Formula 1 fans who have been watching as Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, and several other high-profile actors filmed during race weekends across the globe. With the cameras rolling during real Grands Prix, the drivers are just as much of a part as the actors. But when they arrived on the red carpet in New York’s Times Square to celebrate the movie, one thing stood out: their fashion sense.
The film has received near endless positive reviews ahead of its official release later this month, but the fashion choices of several drivers weren’t so lucky. Renowned menswear critic Derek Guy had his say on X.
“People keep asking me to do a thread breaking down why these suits don’t look great,” he started. “I gather that these are famous, very well accomplished F1 drivers (I don’t know these people). Since I only talk about famous people, I will do a thread.”
He added that he doesn’t want to “diminish the men in these clothes,” admitting it’s the “people who dressed them that failed them”.
Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson came under Guy’s critique.
“A pinstripe suit with a white business shirt cries out for tie,” he said of the driver’s outfit. “If you don’t want to wear a tie, then you need a more casual shirt or a more casual suit. Additionally, the shoes are too chunky for this outfit.
“But the biggest issue is that there’s something wrong with the tailoring. It’s very easy to spot this on a patterned fabric because the vertical lines should run “true,” which is to say straight up and down. See how these lines are swinging away from his body.
Lewis Hamilton at the World Premiere of F1 The Movie
Photo by: Getty Images
“A properly tailored jacket should hang like a balanced scale from the shoulders. See how the front hem on these jackets don’t swing forward. In the second photo, you can see how the lines run ‘true.’ The grey pinstripe suit simply doesn’t fit and should not be worn.”
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda came under the knife next.
“I commend this person for trying to be adventurous but I just don’t think it’s working on him. The outfit is just too large. The proportions on the jacket are also strange (too truncated at the bottom). But cool that he tried something different.”
Pierre Gasly was commended, being named the “best of the group”. But even he wasn’t safe.
“The best of the group but the jacket is too short and the pants are too slim, causing them to catch on his legs. I think he would look better in a longer jacket and slightly fuller pants, as well as shirt collar points that reach his lapels.
“Shoulders strike me as too wide and trousers are too long. This can be a style (1980s Armani-esque). I just don’t feel it’s working here. I think this would look better with narrower shoulders, slightly trimmer pants, and less break.”
Isack Hadjar also came under fire, especially for his lack of dress shoes, and Gabriel Bortoleto’s Zegna shoes likely didn’t make the impression he wanted them to.
“Some people will say I’m old fashioned,” Guy admitted. “But I think these three guys [Brad Pitt, Lewis Hamilton, and Damson Idris] at the premiere looked great. And look: their outfits follow basic tailoring principles: jackets bisect halfway from collar to floor; jacket silhouette flows into trousers. Outfits don’t look old fashioned.”
While this thread from Guy was seen over 2.4 million times, it’s the movie that stole centre stage yesterday in New York. With direction from Joseph Kosinski and input from Hamilton, amongst a number of other talented individuals, it’s set to be the summer blockbuster of the year when it’s released globally on 25 June and in the US two days later.
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