The enduring style of a young Al Pacino
Al Pacino's Nineties outfits were a lesson in dressing for guys everywhere, no matter the era
The Nineties belonged to Al Pacino. The two-time Tony Award winner's plethora of outstanding roles, among them Scarface's Tony Montana, Michael Corleone in the Godfather series and Aldo Gucci in the House of Gucci, earned him GOAT status. He was the. big dog, and everybody wanted a bit of the Pacino pie. But it wasn't just big movie appearances and gangster impersonations that got people going. Sure he might be best known for that, but he had an unwavering nerve when it came to getting dressed, which is only adds to the string of reasons as to why we admire him.
Back then the now 83-year old actor, who has just been confirmed as a lead role in director David Midell's exorcism horror film The Ritual, embraced the decade's style which consisted of ginormous suiting, loads of leather and killer shades. He did it all and looked damn good doing so. But he did so without looking like he really cared. It was done with the insouciance and cool that defined the Nineties.
It was with his tailoring that Pacino excelled. In tune with the decade's aforementioned appreciation of nonchalant suiting (see Julia Roberts at the 1990 Golden Globe Awards in Giorgio Armani), his were relaxed, unstructured. His baggier-are-better suits varied from looking like they'd come off the runways of then trailblazing (and now legendary) designer Yohji Yamamoto, or Giorgio Armani. When they weren't sized-up, unstructured and floppy, they were power-shouldered, grey in colour and subtly striped, and of course, paired with powerful ties. Pacino could go from Wall Street money gangster to Soho's coolest rat with ease. And tailoring wasn't just for formal events. Pacino would wear wide-hemmed trousers and pinstriped blazers spezzato mash-ups wherever and whenever. He was regularly spotted at Los Angeles International Airport in two-piece, slim-fitting suits, as if he'd come straight from a boardroom. A big yes from us. A blueprint for styled-out air travel. Or seen leaving the Circle in the Square Theatre, where he'd been starring in play Salome, in an ivory oversized blazer, baggy black slacks and a backwards cap. Most guys would want to switch their stage looks for baggy sweats, but not Pacino.
Then there was the actor's outerwear collection. Massive wool coats that stylishly swamped his 5ft5 frame. Big lapelled overcoats, that were boxy at the shoulders and inherently chic. Black and chocolate brown in colour. Thrown on with the air of nonchalance that Pacino wore his suits. While they were replicated during the decade by equally as stylish actors such as Brad Pitt, Matt LeBlanc and the late Matthew Perry, the coats are reminiscent of the sort of coats that 21st century Hollywood heartthrobs Austin Butler and Jacob Elordi, or even miss Taylor Swift, are opting for with blacked-out shades. Add to that the odd trench coat for a British twist (worn over a suit and mega tie, of course).
And his style is being replicated, even if people aren't doing it intentionally. Pacino is an unlikely low-key style blueprint in 2024. Take a look at Instagram moodboard accounts such as Cabmate, which has near to 50,000 dedicated followers, to see that the big coat, blocky and baggy suit and all black everything aesthetic is still piquing interest. The aforementioned Butler and Elordi have championed a laid-back Pacino style, while the catwalks (Gucci and Ferragamo for example) have been sending models out in oversized coats and just as large sunglasses.
But no one, now or then, did it quite like Pacino.
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