It’s rare to see this kind of evolution across and within brands. He’s worn a series of unconventional suits, not just these. He seems intent on breaking out of suit norms, not wanting to look too corporate or formal. I do think experimentation is important. Even established suit makers seem to struggle when departing from norms: see the D&G (2nd slide) or Ozwald Boateng on Burna Boy at 2025 Met Gala. This could just show they need to try more often.

Oscars suit with Nehru jacket

This suit rises to the occasion of Jordan's first Oscar. It has arrived: a unique suit that fits him well. It’s unconventional for the US. Much like the Dolce & Gabbana he wore in London, which may have inspired it.

Much better fitting than the D&G, though this is because it uses a more reliable existing design. Nothing is too tight unlike either of the other suits, even when he’s in the same pose with hands together. Nothing is too loose, unlike the Critics Choice suit at the hips. It’s very deliberate tailoring. The fabric itself shines along with subtly contrasting texture of the details, like the pockets and darts (the vertical lines). The mandarin collar (a style originating from China). It fits well, instead of pulling at the neck like the D&G. The glossy black buttons stand out against the smooth front. Look how flat it stays even when he holds up his Oscar (slide 5).  The buttons wouldn’t look as good if the fabric didn’t stay flat to highlight details. Very subtle, very well put together. I like how the pants fabric has a little more sheen than the jacket.

For a while the best all black suit look was Kendrick’s at the 2022 Super Bowl. It’s one of his defining looks, LV designed by Virgil Abloh. The brooches on his chest evoked military medals; with his glove, there was a black militant vibe. The black fabric was a good backdrop to highlight Tiffany jewelry. I think this contrast influenced how Pharrell plays with shiny buttons (below.) He’d probably see it as a challenge. 

With Jordan's Oscar suit, someone finally made an all black suit on Virgil’s level. It matched the occasion. This and the D&G seem intended to appeal to Asian markets in a way Western suits don’t. They're also fresh for the Western market when suits are less popular. The collar brings to mind an Adidas 'Chinese style' jacket that went viral in China.

Jordan’s suits in Sinners actually fit better than the next two (slide 8.)

Dolce & Gabbana (4/2025) is a crazy experiment, like a fusion between Western and Nehru suit jacket. 

Visually, there's no shirt, tie, watch, or jewelry to do any lifting. The design is the accessory.

It’s double breasted, one side wrapping over the other, but no folding back for a lapel. The collar stays flipped up almost like a mandarin collar but it doesn’t form a circle perpendicular to the neck. Both lead to fabric bunching on the shoulders. The fabric is wrapped tighter in a less forgiving way than either a Western or single breasted Nehru jacket. There’s less slack for the fabric to fall, magnified by the pinstripes. Maybe some shoulder construction also fights with the cut. I don’t think it’s bad, because it’s an interesting, risky experiment. It feels armor like, the way he’s fully wrapped in uninterrupted wool from the neck down. Everything is too tight, chest, arms, shoulders. It would be better if it were looser like the pants, which are better than the Critics Choice LV. 

Red Critics Choice (1/2026) LV suit

Too tight arms, not matching the looseness of the rest. For some reason the jacket seems to flare at the hips; pants are also wide at the hips, yet taper at legs to exaggerate this width. The double breasted look does the same. Maybe he wanted a more 'athletic' cut but the tapering and tightening defeats the design that I assume is like Pharrell’s earlier 2025 Met Gala suits. None of them had this issue, whatever the perspective. The one interesting thing is in some shots you can see the fabric is actually red. It’s so dark I couldn’t tell at first. The making of this and the Oscars suit could’ve overlapped at LV.

The main problem with the two earlier suits feels like tailoring that Michael might have asked for to flex his arms.

Shiny buttons are like Pharrell’s trademark

Both his LV suits also evolve the pearly buttons Pharrell was playing with since at least last year's Met Gala (last 2 slides). Those suits mostly had pearl effect encased with copper, a few weren’t. Contrasting light buttons on a dark suit are uncommon. The Critics Choice suit doesn’t have the copper, and the plain light buttons just look very noticeably plastic. But it’s an imperfection that implies experimentation. The dark gloss buttons in the Oscar suit works better than if he went light.