With the 2024 Met Gala well underway, Ed Sheeran has arrived on the red carpet in a cinema-inspired look that, quite frankly, misses the mark.
While there’s no denying that the man can write a catchy, chart-topping tune, Ed Sheeran’s fashion sense has always been a little lacking. While his beaten-up hoodie and baggy jeans look usually serves to give him a down-to-earth, man-of-the-people charisma, this red carpet look has the designer sticking out like a sore thumb.
In stark contrast to Jeff Goldblum who pulled off a menswear masterclass that anyone of advancing years should learn from, Tom Ford proved that colour can be thrown in without derailing a classic look. Sheeran, however, has seemingly drawn inspiration from the Jim Carrey classic Dumb & Dumber by rolling up in a baby blue tuxedo and, in doing so, missed the mark by a sizable margin.
Ed Sheeran poses for photos at the #MetGala. https://t.co/FR0OcMyxBQ pic.twitter.com/mMeuF5C8yI
— Variety (@Variety) May 7, 2024
While the jewel-encrusted bow tie slung around his neck and oversized solver lapels do add a playful element that is so often missing from the menswear looks that make their way down the red carpet, often overshadowed by the larger-than-life womenswear looks, we think there are a couple of things majorly wrong with this look.
First and foremost, it’s a colours problem. Ed Sheeran isn’t just pale, he’s ginger too, in case you hadn’t noticed (for the record, this writer is both pale and ginger too, so what comes next is by no means a personal attack).
When you’re that pale by nature, the last thing you should be doing is washing yourself out with a light monochrome, pastel colour like this. This only becomes truer when you look at the way the outfit does little to work with Sheeran’s silhouette; he’s not the tallest fellas going, so a darker suit that shoes off the length of his limbs and clings. a little tighter to his body would do a lot for the record-breaking singer.
Even worse is the decision to pair this with black dress shoes. Not only does this add another unwelcome shade to the less-than-ideal colour pallet, but when you compare it to the incredible array of footwear on display at the event, it makes Sheeran look somewhat like a schoolchild who’s forgotten to bring a change of shoes for sports class.
The final sting in the tail is that, so far as we’re concerned, this look does a disservice to the iconic look worn by Jeff Daniels in the 1994 classic Dumb & Dumber, which Carrey mirrors in a vibrant orange. Maybe that’s a look that the carrot-topped Sheeran should have played with.
It would’ve been out there, but at least it wouldn’t have washed him out…