Look of the Week: Alton Mason is shirtmaxxing
By Leah Dolan, CNN
(CNN) — At the Cannes Film Festival, a historic annual celebration of cinema, American supermodel Alton Mason has been demonstrating a different type of artistic mastery: The art of the open shirt.
It’s a delicate craft with many varied and intricate elements. For example, how many buttons should be left undone? How much chest should be exposed? Do you dangle a pendant necklace in between the clavicles or leave the sternum bare? Outside the 5-star establishment Hotel Martinez on Wednesday, Mason — who has modeled for Gucci, Diesel, Rick Owens and Louis Vuitton and was celebrated by GQ in 2023 for having “transcended mannequin status” into a certified fashion darling — seemed to answer a few of those key questions: As many buttons as possible, as much chest as possible, and would you hang a Christmas ornament on the Mona Lisa? Leave it bare!
Not since the days of Fabio Lanzoni have we seen such pristine male cleavage, which stood out even more in the context of a festival synonymous with fussy gowns and pageantry so grand it often causes step-and-repeat traffic jams. Earlier that week, the lithe 28-year-old walked the film festival’s storied red carpet wearing a custom Vivienne Westwood tuxedo and, of course, a shirt unbuttoned almost to the navel. Most of the shirts Mason wears follow a visual script that is different from your standardized button-downs. They have tall French collars that give stature to the silhouette, long cuffs (also French style) and are tailored at the waist to give a rounded, almost buxom appearance when worn open.
They fit him so well because, well, they are custom designed for him — by him. Mason told CNN that after struggling to find shirts that fit his proportions (slim fit, long arms) he finally began making his own. He now is looking to extend the favor to the world, with a brand launch on the horizon. His future label Militint, Mason says, will offer custom tailored shirts sometime this fall.
For those who aren’t quite ready to position their pectorals in this way, Mason assures his pieces can be worn buttoned up, too.
The-CNN-Wire
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