Billy Porter, star of the TV show “Pose” on FX, recently wore a red velvet suit topped off with a black gaucho hat at a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles, a look he described on Instagram as a “Zorro moment.” On other red carpets, he’s worn unexpected ensembles such as a dress or wrap pants.
So on Sunday, when Mr. Porter shows up on the red carpet for the Golden Globes, where he is nominated for an award, “I will be bringing the full-on drama,” he says.
One reason for his unconventional approach: “When you look at most of the men, they’re boring,” said Mr. Porter. “It’s a suit, it’s a tie. Everybody does that. I want to use clothes as another expression of myself.”
More male stars are taking fashion risks on the red carpet after years of routinely being an afterthought as all the attention and “who are you wearing?” questions went to leading ladies.
In 2011, it was seen as radical when Christian Bale wore a black shirt and a black straight tie to the Golden Globes and Oscars, where he won awards for his supporting role in “The Fighter.” This year’s Golden Globes promise a bounty of men who will be departing from traditional black tie, as so many of the nominees— including Christian Bale of “Vice,” Timothée Chalamet of “Beautiful Boy,” Darren Criss of “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” Donald Glover of the TV show “Atlanta,” Spike Lee of “BlacKkKlansman” and Mr. Porter—have become known for convention-breaking red-carpet style.
Male stars and their stylists are stepping up their games as more realize the buzz can boost an actor’s profile, something many female stars aced long ago. Online fashion sites—and not just the male-focused ones like GQ—increasingly recap men’s red-carpet style, with some doing annual and even weekly roundups of best-dressed men on or off the red carpet.
Instagram has helped fuel interest in what male stars are wearing, turning once-schlubby celebrities like Jonah Hill into unlikely style icons. Jeff Goldblum has in recent years become almost as famous to a generation of young men for his fashion sense as his acting career. The embrace of fashion by athletes such as LeBron James has also helped give many men permission to try bolder looks, top stylists say.
Stylist Sam Spector, who put actor Neil Patrick Harris in a trim double-breasted tuxedo instead of the usual single-breasted for the Emmys in September, says he has been experimenting with fabrics, textures and shirt colors to make his male clients stand out.
Also for the Emmys, Mr. Spector and Michael Zegen, who plays Joel Maisel in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, ” collaborated with designer David Hart on a navy velvet tuxedo. “Over time I really get to know the actor and what boundaries they are willing to cross but never try to take too many risks,” Mr. Spector says. He’s wary of the “Fashion Police” moment—a reference to the show Joan Rivers once hosted on E!, where fashion missteps were skewered.
It’s about time men rethink the red carpet, says stylist Ashley Weston, whose clients include actor Chadwick Boseman and Mr. Criss. “For years, women on the red carpet have been pushing, or throwing out, what formal or red carpet means, and this past year I started wondering why it couldn’t be the same for menswear stylists,” she says.
Mr. Criss at the Emmys wore a black custom Emporio Armani shawl-collar suit with a gray woven diamond pattern and gold brocade accents, a look that Ms. Weston saw as cool and fun but still in line with the event’s formality.
Designer brands—notably Calvin Klein, Gucci and Paul Smith—have been expanding what black tie can look like, in the hopes of distinguishing themselves from the competition and gaining new celebrity fans.
This gives male stars more options. “Now every season you have to think about almost like 10 different opportunities for everyone who’s nominated,” says stylist Michael Fisher, whose clients include James Corden, Bryan Cranston and Hugh Jackman.
Mr. Fisher outfitted Ethan Hawke in a red-velvet tuxedo jacket by Lanvin for the Governors Awards in Los Angeles in November to evoke “blood red” and religion, as the actor played a reverend in “First Reformed.”
But the stars and stylists now often have to balance how far is too far to go.
“It’s a matter of not too many bells and whistles,” says Ilaria Urbinati, a stylist who has asked designer brands to make tuxedos for several nominees this year including Bradley Cooper, Rami Malek, Donald Glover and Sacha Baron Cohen. “If we’re doing a new cut, maybe keep the color or fabric more classic.”
Ms. Urbinati likes non-black velvet as an alternative to wool, but warns it can easily look overdone. At the 2017 Golden Globes, for instance, Mr. Glover wore a brown velvet suit by Gucci rather than a velvet tux that would have shiny contrast lapels.
Actor Riz Ahmed, who is of Pakistani descent, and stylist Julie Ragolia try to express his personality and his culture in his red-carpet looks, but still fit the “classical leading-man mold,” she says. At the Toronto International Film Festival in September to promote “The Sisters Brothers,” the actor wore a designer-label suit by AMI but with a kurta shirt, a traditional garment by the Indian label Ode to Odd.
Any deviation from the standard should still acknowledge tradition, says stylist Jenny Ricker, whose clients include Zac Efron, Kit Harington and Winston Duke. When her client Topher Grace walked the red carpet in Cannes in May, he wore a navy Ferragamo tuxedo with a subtle print that he saw as memorable but still respectful. For events that are more formal, like the Oscars, she recommends sticking more closely to traditional black tie.
For Christian Bale, his 2011 look has become his red-carpet signature. “He typically likes a darker shirt,” says his stylist Jeanne Yang, whose other clients include Jason Momoa and Robert Downey Jr. “It’s an opportunity to be himself.”
The Elegant Origins of Black Tie
The idea of what today is considered evening black tie for men dates to the Edwardians in the mid-to-late 19th century, according to “True Style,” a 2015 book written by menswear expert G. Bruce Boyer. Back then, there was the black to-the-knee tailcoat, worn for public occasions, and the less formal short black “dinner jacket” for evenings at home. Edward, the Prince of Wales, widely admired for his style, liked the short jacket so much, he had his tailor, Henry Poole, make one for him. Other men of means followed suit.
The jacket, with matching pants, came to be known as a tuxedo in the U.S. after a prominent member of society in Tuxedo Park, New York, saw the prince in a short jacket rather than a tailcoat at a party in England in 1886. When he asked about it, the prince recommended his tailor and the American gentleman got one made and wore it to the Tuxedo Park Club. Just as in England, other men took up the style.
This outfit—short black jacket with contrast-fabric lapels, matching pants with tuxedo stripe at each side, black bow tie, white shirt with pleats and black patent-leather shoes—has been the black-tie standard since, worn to galas, high-society cocktail parties and award shows like the Golden Globes and the Oscars. “The outfit has been historically seen as a completely dignified foil to the more colorful dress worn by women,” according to the book.
Write to Ray A. Smith at ray.smith@wsj.com
