Leonardo Wilhelm (yup) DiCaprio is the undisputed king of Hollywood. With more than 60 movies under his belt, including five with Martin Scorsese, Titanic (the one which arguably made his name on the global stage) and, of course, The Revenant (for which he finally won the Best Actor Oscar at the 88th Academy Awards in 2016), DiCaprio, who is also a climate change activist and one of the highest paid actors in the world, has achieved much in his 46 years.
What’s more, today is his birthday, which is why we thought this would be a good moment to ask the man who has dressed DiCaprio for red-carpet appearances since the early 1990s to explain just why the Los Angeles native is as much an icon of style as he is one of screen.
Giorgio Armani has made his name dressing the world’s most famous men in beautifully simple suits which speak of both masculinity and elegance, whispering style rather than screaming it, all the while exuding a sotto voce confidence without making an overblown statement. A sartorial embodiment, in short, of DiCaprio’s own approach to his life and work.
“I have seen Leonardo grow, as a man and as an actor,” Giorgio Armani told GQ exclusively on the day of DiCaprio’s birthday. “I know him and I have long appreciated his great qualities and over the years we have built a mutual relationship of great esteem.
“Working together is always an experience that enriches me, from a professional and human point of view,” Armani continued. “He is an extremely talented actor, capable of playing very different roles with a surprising intensity. I think Leo is one of the most talented actors of his generation.”
On the subject of the kind of clothes Armani most likes to dress DiCaprio in, he is characteristically effusive. “I have dressed him on many occasions, on the red carpet but also on set. I like the relaxed and natural way in which he wears my clothes, his nonchalant style: he has a spontaneous and masculine allure, on set or off, whether he is wearing formalwear or a T-shirt with jeans,” Armani explained. “He is a perfect example of an inconspicuous elegance that can always be appreciated, everywhere.”
Here, as selected by Armani himself, are the most important times DiCaprio has worn his eponymous brand.
Keeping it classic for his first ever Academy Award win, following some six prior nominations, DiCaprio looked every bit Hollywood royalty in his simple black wool tux, finished with flattering peak lapel (which adds width to the shoulders, not that he needs it).
A rare outing in velvet and Mr Armani’s favoured ton-sur-ton-with-pleated-trousers vibe. In fact, with that fresh face and excellently coiffured crop of hair, Leo looks a bit like an Armani model himself.
Giorgio Armani was famously involved in providing Leonardo DiCaprio with his capacious Wall Street-style grey and greige suits for his role in Martin Scorsese’s financial caper, The Wolf Of Wall Street.
Stern in high-lustre navy at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002, the only one outdoing DiCaprio in the tonal style stakes is Mr Armani himself, which we guess shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Scorsese’s looking pretty slick too.
We were very taken with this cadet-blue take on a classic tux which DiCaprio wore for the 2016 Baftas then and we’re still taken with it now. An incredibly chic moment of proof that you don’t need to wear black to be taken seriously on the red carpet.
A fresh-faced Leonardo DiCaprio accompanied by a fresh-faced Mr Armani in the cinematic surrounds of the Armani Teatro in Milan. Leo looked every bit the young Hollywood bad boy in oversized pin stripes and a carefree open-neck shirt. Bellissimo.
Leonardo DiCaprio was a 1990s style icon
A celebration of Leonardo DiCaprio’s excellent watch in The Wolf Of Wall Street
