This year's Oscars had barely begun when the actor LaKeith Stanfield in his 70's inspired custom Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello black jumpsuit. With many praising not only how fashion forward it was, but how it adapted perfectly to the that was "aiming for a fusion of Inspirational and Aspirational". The jumpsuit was also gender fluid in style, deriving its shape from women's fashion.
The outfit was arguably the most talked about fashion moment at this year's Oscars, eclipsing perhaps some of the female fashion - which as always was stunning - but we have come to expect that.
What we don't see as much, and something I would like to see more of, is men making more of an effort when it comes to dressing up.
Stanfield's fashion moment comes in the footsteps of a few fashion standouts from the past. Let's not forget the late Chadwick Boseman at the 2018 Oscars.
Boseman followed up this look with a Givenchy Fall Haute Couture customised outfit at the 2019 Oscars.
2019 was also the year Billy Porter wore a velvet tuxedo gown and Spike Lee wore a purple suit in honour of his late friend the musical superstar Prince.
Much of these fashion forward moments are due to the fact that the Oscars has been focussing on increasing the diversity of its members. In previous years had been trending because of the lack of diversity in the films and actors being nominated for the awards.
The increasing scrutiny about the level of diversity represented, led to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , that will come in to effect by 2024, which will require films to meet two of four diversity standards to be eligible for a best-picture nomination.
Meanwhile, the increasing diversity of the nominees means we get to see some Black fashion excellence being represented at the Oscars.
Aside from Stanfield, this year's stand-out male fashion forward looks, have included Colman Domingo. The Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom star wore a hot pink Atelier Versace suit with gold buttons and 4,500 Swarovski crystals and sequins, which took 150 hours to embroider.
There was also Leslie Odom Jr., who is not only nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of singer Sam Cooke in One Night in Miami, but also for Best Original Song, who wore a double-breasted, Brioni suit dipped in 24-karat gold.
The increasing diversity that has lead to these male fashion moments has been noted by people on social media.
"We're not remotely surprised by this, but it is STUNNING how much the fashion game gets elevated at the when you nominate Black people and POC," authors Tom and Lorenzo .
While others praised the diversity of the menswear.
It's going to take a lot for male fashion to overshadow the women, because let's face it, the ladies at the Oscars deliver some incredible looks. But what is nice to see is how fashion for men is changing.
As Rachel Tashjian : "For decades, “red carpet style” meant a very specific, heavily constrained kind of white-guy gentlemanly machismo."
Seeing men from different backgrounds changing up the stringent suit and bow-tie memo that had previously dominated the red carpet, is not just a feast for the eyes but also a potent reminder that the Oscars, too, is changing. Hopefully, gone are the days where white male stories dominated the awards list, and instead the stories being told and awarded not only today but in years to come, are a true representation of all our experiences.
