Celebrities in Valentino for the 2025 GQ Men of the Year Awards
While most men arrived at the 2025 GQ Men of the Year Awards in the usual sea of tuxedos, Alessandro Michele had other plans.
The Polka Dot Effect
The last time we saw Archie Madekwe in Valentino—at the Academy Museum Gala—the colour story alone had me buzzing, and that same sense of contrast carries through here. This time though, the tone is different. There’s a clear ’70s undercurrent: the elongated silhouette, the creamy double-breasted jacket, the emerald shirt dotted with playful spots. Archie has so much charisma that this doesn’t feel a nostalgic cosplay. If you are wondering why he didn’t follow Jonathan Anderson to Dior. He didn’t need to. Valentino feels like home for him—if this relationship isn’t official yet, it absolutely should be.
Styled by Harry Lambert.
Saturday Night Throwback
Sombr’s look, also custom Valentino, leans fully into retro fantasy. The glossy white suit gave me a double take—I genuinely thought it was leather for a second—but it’s more likely a coated cotton or a lustrous technical fabric designed to catch the flashbulbs. And once again we have polka dots. Michele seems determined to bring them back into menswear, and on Sombr, I can’t deny the charm. The real question is, are the trousers too long? For almost anyone else, I’d say yes, but Michele is famously meticulous, so the length is clearly part of the intention—a nod to the slouchy glamour of ’70s nightlife dressing I would guess. Jimmy Choo Wilder boots completed his look.
So tell me: where are you landing on the Polka Dot Boys? Retro revival done right, or are you over the dots already?
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