The Gentlemen’s Choice: Brooches Elevate Men’s Looks at the Oscars

According to the gentlemen at the Oscars, boring is out and brooches are in. From Oscar winner Cillian Murphy’s custom gem brooch by Sauvereign, to basketball star Dwyane Wade’s Cartier brooch, take notes from the gentlemen redefining award show glam. 

There was once a time – a time not so long ago, in fact – when the menswear on the Oscars red carpet was, to put it bluntly, a bit of a snooze. Sure, there was the odd exception: Leonardo DiCaprio’s tie-free tux at his first ceremony in 1995, for example, or Pharrell’s controversial choice of shorts at the 2014 awards. But by and large, the men of Hollywood have stuck to a familiar script: a classic tuxedo, maybe a white jacket if they’re feeling adventurous and possibly even a watch (especially if they’re on the hunt for a lucrative sponsorship deal).

Read more: Oscars 2024 Red Carpet

Over the past few years, however, there’s been a noticeable sea change – and on the red carpet, menswear has, well, loosened up. Just take the 2024 Oscars. Gone are the days when it felt obligatory to wear a tie, as proven by Ryan Gosling in his silver-trimmed Gucci suit, and Robert Downey Jr’s killer flared Saint Laurent suit, which featured a tie-up neckline. Others experimented with bolder colours and maximalist embellishments: look to Colman Domingo in his fabulously more-is-more Western-inflected Louis Vuitton suit, or Taylor Zakhar Perez’s slim-fit baby blue Prada number.

But the most popular way to jazz up a suit this year? That would be the humble brooch – although these aren’t the kind of brooches your granny used to wear. Nor, indeed, are they all that humble. Courtesy of jewellery houses like Cartier, Tiffany & Co. and Chaumet, these are pieces lavished with eye-popping precious stones, and accompanied by price tags that can stretch into the millions. Best actor winner Cillian Murphy added a dash of glitz to his louche Versace tuxedo and cummerbund with a custom gem brooch by Sauvereign, while Past Lives star Teo Yoo’s Louis Vuitton suit was paired with a charming tortoise brooch from the Cartier’s archives, featuring a giant blue cabochon as its “shell” and studded with emeralds for eyes.

The best thing about a brooch, though, is that you don’t need to splash out thousands to give the look a try yourself – it works just as well with costume jewellery as it does with a collector’s item from the vaults of a storied Parisian jeweller. So if you’re seeking inspiration for your own brooch-forward look, below, find all the best-dressed men in brooches who dazzled at the 2024 Oscars on Sunday night.

This article was originally published on British Vogue.

Liam Hess

Author

Liam Hess is a London-based living editor at American Vogue. Prior to this role, he was the features editor at Buffalo Zine and held editorial positions at several publications including Dazed and i-D. His work has been published in The Guardian, The Times, BBC Culture, US Vogue, British Vogue, Wallpaper*, Vice, and more. He holds a Bachelor's degree from University College London where he studied art history.

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