As Brad Pitt wears skirt, male and non-binary celebs who have challenged mainstream style conventions

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Brad Pitt attends the Bullet Train screening in Berlin
Brad Pitt wears a skirt to the Bullet Train screening in Berlin on 19 July 2022. (Getty Images)

Brad Pitt's been toeing the line between casual and formal while promoting his latest film, Bullet Train. But while his tees, tracksuits and crumpled, linen suits have been a big talking point in the fashion community, it's his latest look - a loose-fitting linen skirt - that has made global headlines.

After all, despite it being 2022, the world still isn't used to seeing man - particularly a heterosexual heartthrob like Pitt - in a garment traditionally associated with females.

Paired with a matching brown jacket, a salmon pink shirt and chunky boots, the 59-year-old actor looked comfortable, cool and arguably quite progressive.

Pitt's by no means the first male superstar to challenge mainstream style conventions.

Stars in the ‘70s and ‘80s led the way in terms of embracing what might have previously been seen as “feminine” attire with the likes of glam rock legend David Bowie regularly pushing boundaries with dresses, skirts and sequins.

But it wasn’t just glam rock paving the way. Rock’n’roll stars started to cotton on to the skirt trend too. Guns’N’Roses front man Axl Rose was seen wearing a leather pleated skirt during a Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 1992, and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain was known for pushing the boat out on stage and in photoshoots with floral dresses and knitted skirts.

Elsewhere, the Noughties have seen a new wave of rappers and hip hop stars taking on the mantle of the skirt, with Kanye West, A$AP Rocky and Kid Cudi all opting to bare their legs on stage and the red carpet.

As Brad Pitt is the latest celebrity to embrace the 'breeze-between-the-knees', these are the men and non-binary stars who have championed wearing a skirt long before him.

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt wearing a skirt on the red carpet
Brad Pitt wore a linen skirt on the Bullet Train red carpet at the film's premiere in Berlin. (Getty Images)

Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images)
Vin Diesel at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2003. (Getty Images)

Oscar Isaac

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 02: Oscar Isaac attends The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating
Oscar Isaac at the 2022 Met Gala. (Getty Images)

Billy Porter

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 24: Billy Porter attends the 91st Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on February 24, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Billy Porter attends the 91st Annual Academy Awards in 2019. (Getty Images)

Jonathan Van Ness

Jonathan Van Ness wearing a Maison Margiela sheer top and sequinned skirt on the 2018 Emmy Awards red carpet
Reality TV star Jonathan Van Ness wore a Maison Margiela sheer top and sequinned skirt to the 2018 Emmy Awards. (Getty Images)

Kid Cudi

Kid Cudi on the 2021 Met Gala red carpet
Kid Cudi wore a vibrant neon skirt to match his new hair colour on the 2021 Met Gala red carpet. (Getty Images)

Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X on 'The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon' in 2021
Singer and rapper Lil Nas X wore a plaid red skirt on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in 2021. (Getty Images)

Pete Davidson

 Pete Davidson on the 2021 Met Gala red carpet
A pre-Kim Kardashian era Pete Davidson attended the 2021 Met Gala in a Thom Browne skirt and jacket. (Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton at F1 Grand Prix of Turkey at Intercity Istanbul Park on October 07, 2021
Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton chose a monochrome blue outfit complete with checked over skirt at the F1 Turkish Grand Prix in 2021. (Getty Images)

A$AP Rocky

ASAP Rocky performs live on stage at Lollapalooza Brazil
Singer, rapper, and Rihanna's beau A$AP Rocky chose a traditional kilt-style skirt to perform at Lollapalooza Brazil in 2022. (Getty Images)

Kanye West

Kanye West on stage at
Musician Kanye West slipped a leather Givenchy pleated skirt over his leather trousers during the Watch The Throne tour with Jay-Z in 2011. (Getty Images)

Dan Levy

Dan Levy at the digital 2020 emmy awards
Schitt's Creek star Dan Levy took a leaf out of his character's book with a skirt suit for the 2020 digital Emmy Awards. (Getty Images)

Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs at jennifer hudson's Debut Album launch 2008
Designer Marc Jacobs has been flying the flag for wearing skirts for decades, seen here at an event in 2008 in New York City. (Getty Images)

David Bowie

Musical guest David Bowie performs on Saturday Night Live December 15, 1979
David Bowie was of course the king of genderless fashion during his time, seen here in a skirt suit on the set of Saturday Night Live in December 1979. (Getty Images)

Axl Rose

Axl Rose of Guns'N'Roses on stage during a Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 1992.
Axl Rose, Guns'N'Roses front man, in a leather pleated skirt during a Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 1992. (Getty Images)