(CNN) — This week, many of us have had to deal with the record temperatures that afflict Europe and part of the United States. Although the eerie heat makes you want to lower the blinds, turn on the fan and stay as still as possible, there are jobs to be done and wages to be earned, and this is also the reality of Brad Pitt.
On Tuesday, the star was in Berlin for the premiere of his new action film, “High-speed train”, while the city recorded maximum temperatures of around 32.2°. Pitt kept it cool in a head-to-toe linen look with a maroon skirt, matching jacket and half-open salmon-colored button-up shirt.
Brad Pitt and the ‘Bullet Train’ actor. Credit: Ben Kriemann/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images for Sony Pictures
Fans and critics took to the internet to weigh in on Pitt’s knee-length skirt, but the jury was out on whether the outfit was “absolutely awesome” or should have come “with an upgrade. on guard,” as some Twitter users put it. The skirt even earned Pitt a trending hashtag on Twitter.
The linen outfit caused astonishment in the network. Credit: Tristar Media/WireImage/WireImage
But those shocked by Pitt’s skirt suit may be too young to remember that this isn’t the first time he’s done it. In 1999, to promote “Fight Club,” a film that ultimately investigates the dangers of traditional masculinity and the obsession with achieving alpha status, Pitt appeared in the Cover of Rolling Stone magazine not with one, but with five mini-dresses. Taken by famed photographer Mark Seliger, Pitt’s photo shoot became a cultural landmark that strongly advocated gender-neutral dress codes. And for those who doubted it, her status as an international sex symbol remained intact, even when she wore a tight pink sequined dress.
Yet men in skirts are still making headlines more than half a century later, whether Harry Styles on the cover of Vogue or the tuxedo Billy Porter at the 2019 Oscars. The trailers are slow-moving, but as it goes on they become less impactful. Many gender-defying fashion statements seem to be reserved for high-profile cultural events, but seem to slip into more low-key events and everyday life. And why not? Sometimes, as was perhaps the case with Pitt, a man in a dress may not be a subversive fashion statement at all, but simply a practical decision. If you can’t stand the heat, wear this linen skirt.