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And the Winner Is…
The guy with a taste for loafers and fine luggage: Tyler, The Creator! GQ's readers, voting on Instagram, pushed Tyler over the top in a battle with A$AP Rocky—nobody's idea of a pushover in a fit battle. But that's just the kind of year Tyler had. He dropped a great new album—and then rocked an impossible-to-find Cartier Crash in one of his videos. Hell, he went ahead and put together a crazy collection of Cartier watches while no one was looking! But he also made room for the right $15 T-shirt, and displayed the sort of know-thyself personal style that we love. And then he capped the year off by dropping all manner of grown-up heat at his Golf le Fleur pop-up. All of which is to say: the guy had an insanely stylish year. We'd be hard-pressed to think of a more deserving winner. We'll see you in 2022.
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The Finals, 12/16
Now there's the upset we were looking for! Despite rampaging through the first three rounds—and despite having proven his ability to make it to the finish line, with a second-place finish last year—Timothée Chalamet's run has come to an end. The guy on the other end of the contest? Tyler, The Creator, fresh off a wildly cool rejuvenation of his Golf le Fleur brand complete with a Spongebob-meets-Flintstones-meets-Jetsons house in Malibu. Don't get us wrong, though—this wasn't a blowout. Far from it: Tyler squeaked by with just over 100 votes to spare. On the other side of the bracket, A$AP Rocky triumphed over the seemingly unconquerable Lil Nas X—another upset, really, now that we think of it.
Not that there's a universe in which Tyler, The Creator and A$AP Rocky are style underdogs. These are two dudes operating at the peak of their powers. And now, they'll face off head to head, with one taking the crown as GQ's Most Stylish Man of 2021. Vote now on GQ's Instagram to decide the winner, and check back tomorrow for the results.
The Semifinals, 12/15
And just like that, to quote some pals, we're halfway home. And it was quite the busy quarterfinal round. Chalamet just keeps gaining steam, speeding past seven-time F1 champ (and now literal knight!) Lewis Hamilton. Tyler, the Creator, presumably on the strength of ambitious headwear and old-timey luggage, brought Oscar Issac's knitwear-driven Cinderella run to an end, while, in something of an upset, A$AP Rocky dethroned multi-time Most Stylish Man winner (and Balenciaga superfan) Ye. In the final matchup, Lil Nas X continued his joyful romp through the contest by dispatching no less than James Bond.
All of which sets us up for the semis. Chalamet will go up against Tyler, in a matchup of two guys who made it to last year's semifinals. And on the other side of the bracket, A$AP Rocky will see if his multicolored quilt is enough to knock off Lil Nas X. Go vote on GQ's Instagram and check back here tomorrow for the results.
The Quarterfinals, 12/14
Round One is complete—and, not unlike March Madness, the favorites largely triumphed. It might have seemed like Timothée Chalamet vs. Evan Mock was a battle of young up-and-comers—but in this game, Chalamet's an old hand, and ran away with the win. (Mock's got a bright future in this line of work, though.) Justin Bieber nudged out Professor Isaac, while Tyler, the Creator strolled in his short shorts and loafers past Pete Davidson, and A$AP Rocky showed NBA rookie Jalen Green how this whole Most Stylish thing is done. Even while wearing a series of curious masks, Ye knocked out pal Kid Cudi, while in the Suited Dads matchup, Daniel Craig slipped past Steve Harvey. Lil Nas X, meanwhile, continued his wild-dressing year with a win over Channing Tatum. And fresh off a thrilling race that saw him finish second in the F1 championship, Lewis Hamilton managed to taste victory in his matchup against Jonah Hill.
And that's where things stand as we head into a positively stacked quarterfinal round. Hamilton will try to upset Chalamet, who at this point (and after his second-place finish last year) seems the odds-on favorite. Bieber will tangle with Tyler while Rocky wrestles with Ye and Daniel Craig and Lil Nas X stage a generational battle. Voting is now open on GQ's Instagram, where it will continue for the next 24 hours. Go cast your vote, and then check back here tomorrow to see how things shake out.
Round One, 12/13
With all but a few red carpet events in the books—the year’s awards won, and its movies premiered, and its courtside seats filled—it’s time to step back and take stock. That’s right: it’s time for GQ’s readers to vote for their most stylish man of the year.
And what a year it was! After a year in which many people didn’t care to wear much beyond sweatpants, personal style was back in a big way in 2021. If the Biggest Fits of the Year didn’t make it clear enough, the parties and events and shindigs at which serious dressing thrives returned—and so did the outfits. But there can only be one Most Stylish Man of the Year. So let’s get to it.
We’ve assembled 16 of the planet’s flyest dressers, all of whom reminded us of the joys of dressing well over the past 12 months. (Harry Styles, last year’s winner, gets the year off.) Together, they exemplify that grand spectrum that menswear has become. But only one of them can be the Most Stylish Man of the Year, as selected by you. You can read more about each of them below.
Voting kicks off today at noon, Eastern time, on GQ’s Instagram; round one runs for 24 hours. Which means we’ll have our winner on Friday. Head to IG to put in your votes, and make sure to check back each day to find out who’s won and who’s been eliminated. May the most stylish man win.
Timothée Chalamet
Chalamet was busy this year, spending a good chunk of it on the road promoting Dune and Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch. And last year’s second-place Most Stylish finisher was busy showing that he’d upped his game, with a run of next-level tailoring that dominated red carpets. He’s a contender to be reckoned with.
Evan Mock
A genuine rookie! Mock has long simmered on the fringes of fashiondom, with his head of pink hair popping up at plenty of industry events. But he really burst onto the mainstream scene this year with his role on the Gossip Girl reboot, and made the rounds in the way that only the cool new kid on the scene can. He’ll be one to watch—and we’d be shocked if this was his last appearance in this competition.
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill is well-established as a style legend. Wearing a Phoenix Suns jersey as formalwear will just about guarantee that. But Hill, especially on our GQ Style cover and then while promoting Don’t Look Up, seems to be undergoing a second style icon metamorphosis. He’s wearing exactly what he wants, and nothing else—and it’s working.
Lewis Hamilton
If you, like millions of other brand-new Formula 1 fans, were surprised to find yourself tuning into this weekend’s rip-roaring, championship-deciding race, then you know the global impact the sport has—and the intense love fans have for their favorite drivers. It’d be easy enough to root for Hamilton on the merits: he is, hands down, one of the greatest race car drivers of all time. That he’s come into his own, style-wise, is merely a bonus. But it’s a pretty good bonus.
Justin Bieber
Good rule of thumb for 2021: if Balenciaga creative director Demna wants to dress you, you’re having a good year. And this year, in addition to mononymic mega-celebs like Ye and Kim, the Biebs fell hard into Balenciagaworld. It worked, but maybe only because Bieber knows how he wants to dress these days: comfort first, with the odd splash of high-end streetwear and designer to take things into the stratosphere. Kid’s growing up before our eyes.
Oscar Isaac
Technically speaking, we don’t grant entry onto this list for sartorial achievement on film or television. If you played a character who dressed excellently, that’s awesome—but it’s also not you. We’re willing to give dispensation to Oscar Isaac, whose knitwear-forward Hot Prof looks on Scenes from a Marriage certifiably lit the internet aflame, especially after costume designer Miyako Bellizzi put behind-the-scenes images online. Professor Isaac gets an A+.
Tyler, the Creator
Tyler reminds us that uniform dressing need not be monotonous. It’s all about finding your pieces—and in Tyler’s case, that means shorts (or short pants), white T-shirts, leopard vests, loafers, and (increasingly) a serious watch. You know what you’re getting with Tyler, but that doesn’t make it any less dope.
Pete Davidson
The king of Staten Island always seems to be having fun with what he wears. And while that usually tilts toward logo-heavy streetwear (most often paired with sweats and sneakers),he reminded us this year that he’s capable of the odd curveball: remember the Thom Browne dress he wore to the Met Gala? And the secret to a good offspeed pitch, of course, is knowing when to break it out. (For the record: the Met Gala is the right time.)
A$AP Rocky
A decade since bursting onto the scene, Pretty Flacko remains awfully pretty. And he’s still, easily and constantly, one of the best dressed guys we’ve got. He’s always been as willing and experimental a dresser as walks this earth, and this year provided us with plenty more evidence of that fact: you try wearing a giant quilt to the Met Gala. (Maybe...don’t.)
Jalen Green
If “NBA Style” has calcified into a series of legible and replicable gestures—graphic streetwear, rare sneakers, small bags worn by large men—Jalen Green is here to shake things up. The Rockets rookie, along with a few other young hoopers, has a whole new Gen Z idea of what constitutes sick tunnel style. It starts with the aggressively flared suit he wore to the draft, and continues to find expression in the excellently short shorts he breaks out before games. He’s in the running for NBA rookie of the year—and a solid bet for most stylish rook, too.
Ye
This wouldn’t be a Most Stylish list without multi-time winner Ye. But after a few years off in Wyoming (and turning Yeezy into a genuine blockbuster sneaker brand), he’s back in the public eye, and in serious fashion—it’s rare that you’ll see him not wearing a look from Demna’s Balenciaga. This year’s been a good reminder that there are few fashion fans more passionate than the artist formerly known as Kanye West, and the whole industry is better for that fact.
Kid Cudi
Cudi’s already on the shortlist for Achievements in Dress-Wearing in 2021: after rocking a Kurt Cobain-inspired floral piece on SNL, he went with a full custom ERL wedding dress at the CFDA fashion awards. All this, of course, in addition to his regularly top-of-class dressing. Cudi’s as committed as anyone else to pushing the boundaries of what men can wear, and how.
Daniel Craig
Craig’s turn as 007 came to an end with No Time to Die, and the guy went out with a sartorial bang. What else would you call a cranberry velvet double-breasted blazer? Or a baby-blue DB suit? As Craig said goodbye to Bond, he also helped the rest of us say hello to Daniel Craig—not a globe-trotting super spy, but just a dude with killer style.
Steve Harvey
Hot pink. Blue leather. Animal prints galore. Nobody had a glow-up quite like Steve Harvey’s in 2021 (you can read all about it here), and nobody seemed to be having more fun—giving more Can you believe I’m wearing THIS? looks—than Harvey. The King of Comedy is looking for another crown.
Lil Nas X
It would be easy to call Lil Nas X’s chart-exploding musical adventure his biggest achievement of the year. But to do that would be to ignore the contributions he made in the field of Advanced Personal Style. Nobody goes harder on red carpets; nobody is more intentional about expanding notions of gender and style. Most importantly: nobody seems to be having quite as much fun.
Channing Tatum
A blast from the past! It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Tatum, but then all of a sudden he turned up in photos with Zoe Kravitz dressed like the King of Bushwick: baggy Dickies, a BMX bike, and a grin that suggests he’s having a great time getting dressed every day. Here’s to second acts.