We’re obsessed with Brad Pitt’s linen skirt

Today, as a heatwave gripped Europe sending temperatures soaring to record highs, Brad Pitt touched down in Berlin for the latest stop in the promotional trail for Bullet Train, his latest action blockbuster. While attending the film’s premiere at the city’s Zoo Palast theater tonight, Pitt wore the only logical outfit to withstand the blistering heat: a loose linen jacket, a dusty pink linen shirt unbuttoned just-so, and a pair of Stylmartin motorcycle boots. But the real masterstroke wasn’t just the head-to-toe linen on a baking hot day, but Pitt’s loose-fitting, brown linen skirt.

While meteorologists have determined no direct link between Pitt’s look and Europe’s soaring temperatures (yet), the ensemble continues the run of smart but summer-ready looks Pitt’s been wearing to promote Bullet Train. Attending a photocall earlier this morning, Pitt paired his shades and white plimsolls with a loose-fitting zip-up jacket and trousers in a matching shade of powdery pink. (Both cut from an airy linen, naturally.) At another photocall in Paris on Saturday, meanwhile, Pitt’s sharp eye for laid-back suiting was on display courtesy of a cantaloupe-orange roomy blazer and matching drawstring trousers, worn over a dusty maroon henley top.

Read more : A new Telugu brand is introducing South India’s indigenous craft of Lambani embroidery to clothing

It’s enough to prompt a deeper dive into Pitt’s sartorial reinvention over the past few years. For while it’s a truth universally acknowledged that Brad Pitt is one of the world’s most stylish men, his breezy, seemingly effortless approach to fashion can sometimes see him fly under the radar. Revisiting his breakout period in the 1990s, there are plenty of perennial fashion delights to be found, from the black leather jackets he favored while dating Gwyneth Paltrow, to the boxy tailoring that became his preference for red carpet events, to the buttery-soft tees and Maharishi cargo pants he favored during the Jennifer Aniston era.

But in recent years, he’s moved into more experimental territory, embracing brands as wide-ranging as Comme des Garçons, Rick Owens, and The Elder Statesmen, while also collaborating on a capsule collection with the Italian tailoring house Brioni titled BP Signature, filled with plenty of Pitt favorites, including cashmere polo sweaters and sports jackets. (He also recently became a silent partner in the shirt brand God’s True Cashmere, selling—you guessed it!—cashmere button-downs.) As the years have passed, Pitt’s tastes have leaned increasingly towards the artisanal. He reportedly loves Paul Harnden, dubbed “fashion’s most reclusive designer” by GQ, and his loyalty to the Venice Beach hatmaker Nick Fouquet is also well known.

It makes sense, then, that Pitt would be ready to step out of his comfort zone (or indeed, step into an even greater sense of comfort) by embracing the red carpet skirt. It’s a trend that seems to be gaining momentum, with Pitt following in the steps of Oscar Isaac’s Thom Browne number at the Moon Knight premiere earlier this year, Pete Davidson’s recent Met Gala look, or Lil Nas X’s Virgil Abloh-designed Louis Vuitton tartan skirt on Jimmy Fallon last year. (The sheer number of men embracing skirts on the red carpet in recent months is almost too numerous to count.)

Because listen, despite what conservative talking heads like Candace Owens might have you think, the notion of men wearing dresses and skirts is hardly new. From Ancient Greek himations to Scottish kilts to Japanese hakama, pretty much every culture from across history has had its own variation on the piece. It’s not even the first time Pitt himself has worn a dress, either. In 1999, his Rolling Stone cover story—photographed by Mark Seliger at the height of Pitt’s shredded, hypermasculine Fight Club era—saw him slip into a series of glitzy mini dresses.

It’s safe to say, then, that we’re fully paid-up fans of Pitt’s riff on the trend, especially for the way he’s effortlessly folded into his own, distinctive style lexicon. It feels informal in the very best way—effortless, dashing, and yes, a little like he may have just stepped off the set of Braveheart. As temperatures continue to rise this summer, keep it easy and breezy like Brad.