In his 57 years, Mads Mikkelsen has shown time and time again that he is a man of many, many talents. From his professional dancing career that lasted well over a decade (he switched from gymnastics to ballet with ease, because sure), to a cabinet creaking with awards, the Danish icon just so happens to be a fashion guy proper—and he has all the hacks.
Taking a break from his usual big, black supervillain coats, Mikkelsen dove right into his capsule wardrobe to bring out some menswear staples instead. In a fit that's more 2014's The Salvation than 2006's Casino Royale, he arrived at the San Sebastián International Film Festival this week in a pair of neatly-pressed brown trousers, some laid-back brown aviators, and a knit polo shirt from Italian fashion house Zegna, which—as you might have already guessed—was also in brown.
Every famous man who's even remotely into menswear has been fixated on the knitted polo for some time. Michael B. Jordan is routinely spotted in one. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is very partial to one when he's out and about. And Mikkelsen wears it the way it's meant to be worn: never over-accessorized, never try-hard, and never overdone.
Better yet, a knit polo is the new “muscle fit” without the choking material of the nearest red flag on Tinder. (An elevated muscle fit, if you will.) Ribbed cuffs accentuate hard-won biceps, while it's a little more forgiving on the body. Plus, the style dates back to the 1950s, a time when most (if not all) menswear classics were first canonized.
To finish off the fit, Mikkelsen went for Zegna's signature Triple Stitch Sneaker underfoot. Which, again, was brown—and also spoke to the actor's long-standing relationship with the Italian marquee. The shoe (as also seen on fellow Zegna ambassador, Succession star Kieran Culkin) is the Milanese go-to for Milanese tycoons. And since that's such a look, it's a go-to for everyone else, too.
So what happens when you combine a fave man with a fave brand and a fave wardrobe staple? A fast-track to a big fit win, that's what.