Timothée Chalamet’s silly little hat is hot-off-the runway, actually

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There are several ways to wear a beanie: Cuffed, uncuffed, doubled cuffed, or far back from the hairline, delicately balanced on the crown of your head, as was the preference of British footballer David Beckham circa 2013. But few have sported the style debuted by Timothée Chalamet on Monday, which came complete with a surprising tuft of hair protruding from the top of his knitted hat.

His unconventional accessory has already proved divisive online, having been compared to a bonnet, an embroidered coffee filter and one of the petal crowns worn by illustrator Cicely Mary Barker’s ethereal flower fairies. Some have condemned the hat as deeply “unserious” and “weird,” while others have taken more kindly. “I want to pet that floofy little poof of hair that sticks out of the top,” wrote one social media user.

Naysayers will have to take up their disdain with Kim Jones, creative director of Dior since 2018. Chalamet’s hat debuted at Dior’s Spring-Summer 2024 menswear show last month, along with an array of similarly silly headpieces. As models rose up through trap doors in the floor, many were wearing fluorescent-colored knitted pieces that were half-beanie, half-floral fascinators. Each hat was cut at the top, like a small volcano that — at least in Chalamet’s case — could allow for an eruption of chocolate curls.

The beanies were created by milliner Stephen Jones and couture knitter Cecile Feilchenfeldt. Jones and Feilchenfeldt took inspiration from 1980s New Wave fashion and the club kids of New York, infusing the punk hats with a more romantic sensibility by adorning them with flowers using an ancient Chinese technique called “ronghua.”

While the wider world might not be ready for Chalamet’s look, there could be a method to his madness. The daring outfit comes just two weeks after the official release of the “Wonka” trailer, in which Chalamet plays a young Willy Wonka looking to establish himself as a master chocolate maker. Many came to question his casting in the Roald Dahl prequel, citing specifically his lack of silliness when embodying what is a notoriously quirky character. Now, Chalamet could be using his street style and silly hat to prove a point — or dip his toe into some method acting.

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