The 2023 Grammy Awards broadcast opened on the Puerto Rican celebrity Bad Bunny, who led a procession of colorful-skirted bomba y plena dancers whereas carrying an exceedingly common outfit: a plain white T-shirt tucked (no belt) right into a pair of light-wash, hip-bone-high-rise denims, with white tennis footwear and a backwards snapback hat. Right here he was, the most-streamed artist on the planet onstage on Music’s Largest Night time™, and viewers at dwelling on Twitter have been reveling in how he seems similar to me fr, besides, nicely, sexier.
Afterward within the night, Dangerous Bunny became a stunning swimsuit to simply accept his Greatest Música Urbana Album trophy—however he stored his curls tucked beneath a darkish inexperienced Los Angeles Dodgers fitted cap, which he additionally wore backwards, Fred Durst-style. (The unique brown snapback, for these curious, was a bit of unique merch from a live performance he placed on in PR again in 2021.) And Benito’s wasn’t even the one Dodgers New Period hat to grace the stage final night time: Greatest Rap Album winner Kendrick Lamar repped his hometown crew in a customized cap coated with silver brooches, which he paired with a breezy Martine Rose shell jacket, grey slacks, and Nike x Martine Rose Nike Shox.
Certain, Steve Lacy, in a switchblade-sharp Saint Laurent swimsuit and pointed heels, might have been the singular best-dressed man of the night, however the staunchly regular menswear set the tone—which tells us that not a big-ticket awards present just like the Grammys is immune from the truth that nice, normal clothes have become the biggest thing in menswear. Even Album of the 12 months winner Harry Types, who hit the crimson carpet in a plunging, harlequin-print jumpsuit (a zany, if sexless, staple of his recent tour wardrobe), became a comparatively relaxed cropped Gucci tux jacket and tan trousers mid-show. For a second there, I assumed (hoped?) that shock presenter Billy Crystal, maybe in homage to Harry Burns, had paired his velvet swimsuit jacket with dark-wash denims. (They have been slacks.)
Some went the “quiet luxurious” route: Greatest New Artist nominee Omar Apollo hit in carpet in a leather-based blazer worn open over an unbuttoned striped shirt and a white tee, with blue jeans and hefty black shoes—a luxe outfit provided that you understand that it’s head-to-toe Bottega Veneta, and the tee and denims are literally product of printed leather-based. The four-piece Baltimore hardcore band Turnstile, even whereas flexing some critical designer manufacturers, made the revolutionary transfer of wanting like they wore no matter they needed to; their collective Grammys outfits included a pair of Bottega culottes, Mind Lifeless picket clogs, an Our Legacy vest, and a classic Dangerous Brains tee.
In the meantime, GloRilla collaborator Hitkidd took issues a step additional in near-cosplay normcore: blue denims, tan jacket, crimson striped tie, and a “Hitkidd for President” trucker cap. (Seems, the producer wore a similar outfit to the BET Hip Hop Awards again in September.)
Whilst superstar menswear has develop into a no-rules recreation, carrying normal-seeming garments to a high-profile occasion nonetheless makes a press release—doubly so when that occasion is the Grammys, an awards present typically hilariously out-of-step with the tradition of pop music. There’s one thing about carrying denims and a white tee that, in addition to wanting cool and informal, speaks to the concept that if you’re doing “Bad Bunny numbers,” there are profession achievements extra attention-grabbing than racking up trophies.
