The Black Turtleneck Is Still Undefeated

Jamie McCarthy

Black wasn’t the only kind of turtleneck to land on the necks of celebrities at New York Fashion Week, but it was the most common choice. Here’s why you should pick one up.

We've been harping on the awesome powers of the black knit turtleneck for a few seasons now, if not forever, but seeing a man wearing one in the wild isn't exactly common. For many guys, rolling up to, say, a Friday night poker game or the movies wearing a black turtleneck is a challenging style move. But if there's one tribe that embraces being overdressed, and one context where going all out is wholly encouraged, it's the front-row set at Fashion Week. The black turtleneck is essentially the flannel shirt of the menswear shows: a no-brainer move that you can count on to always look good. And man, it looked good this week.

Black wasn't the only color of turtleneck to land on the necks of celebrities in New York this season, but it was the most common choice—and the slickest, too. Armie Hammer wore his under a slim navy suit at the Hugo Boss show and looked like a billionaire. At Tom Ford's big menswear show, Pusha T and Lucas Hedges used black turtlenecks to help their statement tuxedo jackets stand out a bit more. At Raf Simons, Kyle MacLachlan's black turtleneck was embroidered with 205W39NYC, a shout-out to Simons's side hustle at Calvin Klein, which gave MacLachlan's blazer and jeans a streetwear spin. Actor Eric West was the most dressed-down—and also the loudest—guy to embrace the black turtleneck at Fashion Week. He wore his rock 'n' roll–style, with black-and-white striped pants and sunglasses at the Todd Snyder show.

Armie Hammer

Pusha T

Kyle MacLachlan

Eric West

Will these Fashion Week fits make it any easier for a regular dude to pull off a black turtleneck at, for example, dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with immediate family? Maybe! Remember, there was a time not too long ago when slim-cut jeans made you a "metrosexual" and "dress sneakers" only came in brown and had rubber treads on the bottom. If we can move past those style obstacles, surely the black turtleneck can catch on. Maybe not at poker night, but at least on, say, Valentine's Day. We give it a year. (You, savvy GQ reader, can start now.)