How Jonathan Bailey Became The Sexiest Man On The Red Carpet

Jonathan Bailey is a good-looking man who can wear something objectively bad and make it look erotic. Like the so-called slutty spectacles he wore in Jurassic Park Rebirth. Frames that, on anyone less conventionally attractive, would be an anti-aphrodisiac. Or the flip-flops he wore while promoting the film, which would be stomach-turning on someone less blessed. What I’m getting at is that Bailey doesn’t really need to do anything to be perceived as desirable, which, for some people, is the entire point of getting dressed in the morning.

And yet, since being named the sexiest example of cis-gendered masculinity by People, he seems to be leaning further into the role. At the Wicked: For Good premiere in Paris, Bailey wore a Balenciaga knit so thin his chest hair looked felted into the fabric, a broadening leather jacket and what I’d call a GQ trouser (high-waisted, naturally). That look might have felt a little self-consciously styled. Wasn’t it Alexa Chung who said on this week’s edition of Bella Freud’s Fashion Forensics podcast: “It’s a fine line, isn’t it? When dudes are too trendy, it’s almost a bit vain or something. I don’t really like the idea of them shopping – it seems undignified or something.” I, for one, think Bailey’s turn as Richard II was proof enough that everyone reaches the height of their erotic potential in a well-cut T-shirt and jeans.

Anyway, here’s a look back at the year Jonathan Bailey went from a sort of handsome Stuart Little figure to the sexiest man walking the red carpet.