Maggie Gyllenhaal Inspires an Evening of Tailored Style at Eton New York

“People generally have a good time around models,” Swedish artist Anna Ting Möller said to me. To celebrate the men’s wear brand’s new brand ambassador Maggie Gyllenhaal, I had gathered some thirty guests to guide them in shirting. Möller’s take: good-looking people raise the mood. My addition: …and anyone can look good. Looking good is taking an interest in how things are made, what they feel like, and how they reflect the current environment—being stylish is a vibe. I believe style doesn’t just come from within; it is something that one develops over time, with help from others. So, I invited stylist Chardonnay Taylor to present—she works both with editorial and personal styling and balances an extremely developed eye with an approach that instills confidence. Starmaker Machine’s ethos, celebrating individuality, seemed like a good fit for this unique event. When Taylor came up with the brilliant idea of styling a male and female model in Eton wares to help guests, regardless of their sex, use Eton’s elevated essentials to find their own iconic look, the boundaries between men’s and women’s wear really blurred.

Androgyny, characterized by a mix of masculine and feminine, like personal style, doesn’t look the same for everyone. “I think anyone can wear whatever they want and always have,” actor-turned-director Gyllenhaal wrote in conjunction with the announcement of her brand ambassadorship. At first glance, Gyllenhaal might sound like an odd fit for the Swedish men’s wear brand that since 1928 has focused on shirting, since 2010 has had a flagship store in New York, and that over the past couple of years has expanded into layers—knits, blazers, vests, jackets, and accessories. Gyllenhaal’s striking photoshoot by Gray Sorrenti, in which she wears a shirt, dispels the idea of a shirt being male. The photos are non-performative, effortless, and powerfully chic. Brava. Sorrenti said about the project: “Shooting with Maggie was special because she radiates this strength and focus that I admire.” To further reinforce the theme of women in film and personal style as narrative, we tapped the Nordic International Film Festival as our co-host; in the male-dominated sphere of film, NIFF has worked hard to showcase female directors and diverse narratives to break through our mind’s glass ceilings.

When I started working with Eton, I thought—OMG, what am I doing? I never wear shirts. I don’t know how to wear shirts. I don’t even wear pants—then, when I tried my first Eton shirt on, memories came back. I’d been wearing shirts and ties since the age of four (primarily as part of my school uniforms, but also in other contexts). I realized that the question I should be asking is not if, but how: How should I wear my shirt to work for me? With their new Gyllenhaal campaign, Eton urges us to look beyond how we think a shirt should fit, to find our fit. Gyllenhaal’s is relaxed, “I like my shirt oversized,” she explains. Same, I felt free when I put on my first relaxed-fit Eton shirt. The material isn’t a second skin; there is space between skin and fabric, room for experimentation, breath, and play. After seeing Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez layer shirts for Loewe at Paris Fashion Week earlier this fall, I did it too. And, after years without one, I just had to wear a tie after seeing it on Jonathan Anderson’s Dior runway—with one side over the collar, á la Basquiat. And, I can’t wait to do it again.

Guests who enjoyed popcorn and prosecco looked great and interpreted the theme flawlessly: The Dress Shirt, a Symbol of Self-Expression. Esther Thiane, a stylist and model, had added grommets to her blue shirt and run baby pink ribbons through them. Journalist James Taylor brought out classic stripes, and our Danish server Anna Sofie Jespersen, who is a painter by day, paired her Eton Signature Twill Shirt with an Eton Silk Pocket Square that she transformed into a choker by folding and tying it around her neck. Ryan McMillan wore his shirt buttoned all the way up, Eric Cassmer Ling-Vannerus had done the same with his Eton Green Canvas Shirt Jacket, while Starmaker’s own Milan Lazovski wore the first few buttons of his Eton Signature Twill shirt casually unbuttoned with a t-shirt underneath. Taylor brought the whole event together during her presentation; three essentials are needed to build a foundational, sleek, and androgynous look: a shirt, a knit, and a blazer. Eton has them all. Then, she explained, you can work on tailoring, fits, and details to build out the look. Her choice: sunglasses, inside, but not rudely. That’s hard to pull, and she did it perfectly. During the Q&A, Taylor answered questions if French tucks are in or out (“If you feel good in it, do it”) and whether or not they are a millennial phenomenon (“probably”) and assured guests that they all looked good. Phew. But that a couple key pieces from Eton could make them look better. Thank you. You’re welcome.