If there is one male star the fashion industry is collectively obsessed with right now, it is Jacob Elordi.
The 28-year-old actor is also enjoying a remarkable rise in Hollywood, balancing critically acclaimed performances with a growing reputation as one of menswear’s most effortlessly stylish figures.
His sense of dressing can best be described as insouciantly cool.
The overall effect is laid-back and never overly styled – something many male stars miss in their pursuit of virality.
Brands are quickly taking notice of his unique fashion clout, eager to align themselves with his understated yet influential sense of style.
Unfortunately for them, Bottega Veneta has first dibs on Elordi. The Italian fashion house named him as ambassador in 2024, though he had already been spotted carrying its leather bags two years prior.
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Now, at great heights of his fashion stardom, he has even brought Bottega Veneta into the Euphoria universe, the HBO drama series in which he stars in.
Fans of both Elordi and the show have been quick to notice his character, Nate Jacobs, appearing in the current season dressed head-to-toe in Bottega Veneta.
In an interview with GQ, costume designer Natasha Newman-Thomas described the approach as “performative workwear”.
She explained that, in the show’s third season, Jacobs lives the life of a high-flying real-estate developer who is secretly drowning in debt.
Elordi’s character is even seen wearing a Bottega Veneta Spring/Summer 2023 leather shirt designed to resemble plaid flannel – priced at a whopping US$6,800 (approximately RM26,900) at the time of release, a piece made iconic when supermodel Kate Moss wore it on the runway.
Newman-Thomas’ use of the term “performative” also quietly taps into the broader idea of performative masculinity in menswear, where dressing becomes projection rather than practicality.
On social media, “performative males” are often criticised for obsessively curating their style as a form of aesthetic signalling rather than genuine expression.
Ironically, Elordi’s off- duty style – often grounded in relaxed sweaters and baseball caps – would likely be read by social media as “performative male”, despite its otherwise under- stated sensibility.
Perhaps his unfussy approach to dressing, from carrying oversized man bags to wearing colours such as pink with ease, tends to unsettle those with a more rigid idea of what “real” men should look like.
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Not to mention, despite his penchant for simple essentials like a plain white T-shirt, brands continue to see his aesthetic as the very image of modern luxury they want to be associated with.
While working on creative content for Cartier released last year, renowned film- maker Sofia Coppola noted: “It was great to see Jacob and shoot him in an easy, casual way.”
This perfectly encapsulates Elordi’s fashion aura – one defined less by overt styling, and more by an instinctive ease that reads as both unstudied and highly deliberate.
Hardly performative at all, despite the discourse around it.
