Not even Pedro Pascal could've foreseen the hot spring of Pedro Pascal – even at the Met Gala 2023. On the back of The Last of Us, the apocalpysodrama that likely saw a massive downturn in orders of mushroom risotto, the 48-year-old has seen a new level of meme-fuelled fame. And he's dressing for the occasion: vintage Lakers T-shirts, professorcore knits and Margiela vests are but three moves that've seen fashionheads take note. This isn't typical actor ‘let the craft do the talking’ fare.
But it gets better. At the Met Gala 2023, Pascal went for a Valentino fit that broken even more rules. Shorts; lace-up military boots; a structured overcoat of dreams. There's schoolboy socks. There's a power stache. There's a slickback. There's a lot. And the result is part-time anime villain, full-time Internet string-puller. It was always going to get Twitter hot under the collar.
Pascal's home run continues. Better yet, we've come to expect the unexpected. While there's been much conversation about the actor's newfound hero status, it hasn't come about in the most traditional way. Pascal's style doesn't stick to the map. There's oddity, and by token of an innate IDGAFness, the actor has accrued a following that applauds the left-field moves that aren't really for anyone else but Pascal. Who else, enjoying a career high on the run up to 50, approaches menswear with a grin and a sense of adventure? Very few. And confidence is perhaps the most appealing thing of all when the celebrity industrial complex tightly controls and curates almost every single part of a VIP's public image. There's stylists, and sign-offs, and a No Man's Land of social media that is almost always ready to pounce.
And not only does Pascal remain unscathed, he moves higher still. Yes, big red overcoats from one of the world's most favourable luxury brands will do that. But it was one of the riskier moves of the evening, and it paid off. In February this year, Forbes argued that “we've hit peak Pedro Pascal”. We're not even close.
