Justin Timberlake, wearing Tom Ford, has ‘20/20’ vision for style
Although the ladies stole most of the fashion focus at Sunday night’s SAG Awards (and understandably so), there was at least one sartorial standout on the guys’ side that merits mention: Justin Timberlake, who arrived at the Shrine Auditorium impeccably turned out in Tom Ford.
The head-to-toe TF ensemble consisted of a notch-lapel silk/linen hopsack suit (a slim-cut silhouette called the O’Connor) in a black, brown and gray check pattern, paired with a pastel brown gingham shirt, gray knit tie -- a glint of gold collar bar holding the knot firmly in place -- and a pair of black leather loafers. The finishing touch was a flourish of brown-and-white silk pocket square peeking from the left breast pocket.
Timberlake’s been on our best-dressed radar for a few years now, but he’s taken things up a couple of serious notches as of late -- and those of us who cover fashion for a living aren’t the only ones who’ve noticed. (A colleague on The Times’ copy desk alerted us about Timberlake’s ramped-up style quotient after working on a recent Pop & Hiss post about the video accompanying JT’s new single, “Suit & Tie.”)
The video (which isn’t embedded in this post since it contains cuss words, can be watched here) is full of so much high fashion it might as well be a luxury look book; at one point Timberlake flashes the label of a Tom Ford necktie, at another point Jay-Z (featured on the track) manages to name-check both Ford and designer Alexander Wang.
It turns out there’s more to the relationship than borrowing a couple of tuxedos for a music video; Monday we got word that the singer and the designer have collaborated extensively to shape the style of Timberlake’s upcoming album, “The 20/20 Experience.”
According to the announcement, “Ford worked closely with Timberlake and his team to provide made-to-measure tailoring, including eveningwear, suiting, shirting, ties, shoes and accessories that will be a focal point of the ‘The 20/20 Experience.’”
What that exactly means will become clearer when the album drops on March 19, but so far it includes things like the artwork that accompanies the “Suit & Tie” single -- a Tom Ford tuxedo with satin peak lapels, pique-front shirt and oversize satin bow tie -- and some of the the threads and accessories Timberlake wears in the video; among them a black, three-piece, peak-lapel suit and a black, two-piece, peak-lapel tuxedo, gold tie bar and black onyx and white gold cuff links.
Judging by the results so far, it’s a collaboration that suits both men just fine.
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