Only Stellan Skarsgård Is Pulling Off the Bare-Chested Suit

For a fashion-minded man, baring one’s chest is a balancing act. On the one hand, a peek of cleavage could be subtly sensual and inviting; on the other, any degree of intentionally showcased torso has the potential to emanate extreme douchiness à la a sleazy Miami club promoter. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t attempt it-it’s just all about intention. For example, when you throw on a plunging V-neck tee or leave a few shirt buttons undone, consider the message you’re trying to convey. Is your exposed scruff somehow supposed to relay your undeniable irresistibility? Are you attempting to charmingly disarm by way of cheeky clavicle slip? Or are you simply trying to break up the tension of a formal look like Stellan Skarsgård, who has, in recent weeks, consistently served up a slice of chest in his red-carpet appearances? This past Sunday, when the 74-year-old Swede accepted the Golden Globe for best supporting actor for his role in Sentimental Value , he did so in a Zegna suit comprising a velvet blazer, a satin cummerbund, and a clean white shirt left slightly unbuttoned-just enough to allow his jugular notch to peek through. “The contrast makes it so nice,” the actor’s stylist, Emine Sander, tells GQ . “The not-so-formal, no-tie look works well for him.” (We enjoyed this punctuative glimpse so much, we placed the look at number two on our best-dressed list .) Helping matters, Skarsgård has also taken to wearing wide-leg, high-rise trousers-a garment that skews trendy on someone of a lesser age, but suits the six-foot-three actor’s proportions quite sleekly. “He wants to show off the length of his legs and emphasize his waist,” Sander explains. Later in the evening, Skarsgård posed in the press room in an aloof contrapposto stance, with one hand in his pocket and the other holding his Golden Globe as cavalierly as one would a bottle of beer-impressive given that several of the night’s winners made comments on the trophy’s unexpected heft. Sander, who has worked as Skarsgård’s stylist for the past two years, says the idea for his no-tie red-carpet look emerged midway through a fitting with Dior, before the brand’s representatives completed an ensemble with a necktie. Before the tie, “it looked smart and effortless, which is what we wanted,” Sander recalls. Indeed, just weeks into awards season, Skarsgård has heeded a chest-forward approach several times already this month. In early January, the actor (who is, lest we forget, the patriarch of a Swedish acting dynasty that includes one of my personal favorite style superfreaks, Alexander ) attended the Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards in elegant yet unpretentious black suit from Hermès, which he accessorized with a casually lopsided silk scarf and a whiff of exposed sternum. The next night, at the Critics Choice Awards, the actor ended up in another Dior suit-a debonair double-breasted number also sans tie, his shirt unbuttoned. (Later, he made headlines not for his incredible suiting or acting nomination, but rather for his critique...

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