Trendsetting celebrities like Beyoncé and Daniel Craig find themselves cheek by jowl with viral hippo Moo Deng, mascot Ellie the Elephant, and the river Seine.
When we think of style, models, fashion designers, A-listers walking the red carpet are the first to come to mind. No surprise here as style has long been synonymous with fashion.
Style, however, goes beyond what’s fashionable. It is personal and subjective, and the rules governing it highly arbitrary. These are the points the The New York Times aims to highlight when it released its 2024 Most Stylish List—a list which has a few entries that raised some eyebrows.
A hodgepodge of personalities—and non-humans
Most of the 63 entries still fit neatly into the canonical meaning of “stylish,” which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as “conforming to current fashion.” You have names such as Beyoncé, Daniel Craig, Adele, Demi Moore, Zendaya, Colman Domingo, Ayo Edebiri, and the wicked duo of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo who made every stop of their Wicked media tour a fashion extravaganza.
Related story: The wickedest looks served by Ariana and Cynthia on the ‘Wicked’ press tour
Related story: REVIEW: ‘Wicked 1’ hits all the right notes
Photos from agencies
There are breakout celebrities that have redefined fashion this year, with Chappel Roan, Tyla, and Charli XCX. Joining them are Hollywood’s young blood led by Apple Martin, a fashion-forward nepo baby courtesy of DNA from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and actress Gwyneth Paltrow. Also making it to the list are Nicola Coughlan of Netflix’s Bridgerton, Myha’la of HBO’s Industry, Anora’s Mark Eydelshteyn, who is called the Russian Timothée Chalamet, and model-influencer Gabbriette.
But there are also those who shot to fashion fame not through the more traditional routes of performing or modeling. There’s the very demure, very mindful social media star Jools Lebron and podcaster Alex Cooper. Lebron (not to confused with the NBA legend who’s also on the list, more on than in a bit) has become such a sensation that the word “demure” made it to Word of the Year lists, and was even Dictionary.com’s top pick.
We also have socialite newlyweds Anant Ambani (scion of Asia’s richest man) and Radhika Merchant (daughter of very wealthy parents herself), who got the whole world talking with their lavish pre-wedding events and nuptials. No wedding was much more talked about this 2024 than this—imagine having so much money to have Rihanna perform in one of the several pre-wedding events.
Elite athletes have also time and again shown they can be stylish, too. You’ve got the likes of David Beckham, Maria Sharapova, and Lewis Hamilton, for instance. This year, this crop of fashionistas is represented by Shohei Ohtani, the Japanese baseball sensation who is currently the biggest name in the sport. The Iwate-born superstar two-way player was instrumental in helping the Los Angeles Dodgers secure a World Series title this year, while also taking home his third MVP award.
Related story: ‘Demure,’ ‘manifest,’ ‘brat’: Internet-famous words make it to Word of the Year lists
Related story: Our favorite red-carpet looks from the 81st Venice Film Festival
Related story: A big, fat Indian wedding: Asia’s richest man throws seven-month-long wedding for youngest son
The father-son tandem of Lebron and Bronny James (screams nepotism, too, and what’s with that Filipino-coded name) also makes it to the list. The statuesque WNBA rookie Angel Reese likewise secured a spot.
However, there were also sporting figures that made it to NYT’s Most Stylish List this year which were quite unexpected. There’s Korean sharpshooter Kim Ye-ji, who made waves with her über-cool visuals during the 2024 Paris Olympics. The silver medalist is on a roll: she landed a Louis Vuitton campaign and scored her first acting gig as an assassin (no surprise there!).
Then there’s bespectacled Stephen “Pommel Horse Guy” Nedoroscik, who won hearts during the Olympics as he helped steer the US men’s gymnastics team to its first podium finish after 16 years. Paralympian Christie Raleigh Crossley also made the list. The American swimmer with neurological impairments took home a haul of five medals, two of them gold.
Related story: Team USA’s pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik is the internet’s latest darling
Related story: Carlos Yulo, coachless and adrift months before the Olympics, wins gold in Paris
Politics and style don’t always mix, but when they do, they make for some interesting conversations. The POST featured how Kamala Harris has redefined the concept of power dressing, for instance. Throughout her campaign, the current US Vice President exuded an aura of authority that is approachable and relatable.
She didn’t make it to the NYT list though, but Liz Cheney did (ah yes, another familiar surname). The elder daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney and who is a former representative from Wyoming caught people’s attention with her efforts to convince fellow Republicans to put country over party. Though she failed to generate enough votes for Harris in the presidential election, Cheney has been viewed by many as a symbol of patriotism.
Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas also secured a slot on the list. The freshman congresswoman is known for her impassioned speeches as much as she is for her love of statement jewelry.
Then there’s Jack Schlossberg, another nepo baby by way of being a member of the closest thing the Americans have to royalty—the Kennedy family. The only grandson of John F. Kennedy burst onto the political (and social media) scene, through a combination of his grandfather’s dashing looks and likable personality. He was also named Vogue’s political correspondent last July.
Related story: Kamala Harris’ campaign trail style is redefining power dressing
Related story: Women on top: Why female leadership matters
Lists such as this one inevitably spark conversations—at times heated—on who should be on it or who should have been left out. But what many people found bizarre about NYT’s 2024 Most Stylish People list is that it included three entries that are not exactly of the homo sapiens kind.
There’s the super adorable baby pygmy hippo Moo Deng who has captured hearts around the world for her bouncy antics (her name literally translates to “bouncy pork”), toddler tantrums, and perpetually moisturized hide. She deserves a spot and I’ll die on that hill. Another non-human which took a spot is Ellie the Elephant, the mascot of the WNBA team New York Liberty, who also took home a Glamour Woman of the Year award.
Completing the troika of “stylish” non-humans is the river Seine. The New York Times cited its 1.5 billion-euro glow-up for the Olympics as the primary reason for its inclusion. Despite being polluted and even without the billion-euro facelift, we can’t deny that Paris’ main waterway will never not be stylish.
Related story: Cute culture 101: A look into the science and benefits of obsessing over all things cute
Related story: Still cute at 50: Three lifelong fans reflect on Hello Kitty’s timeless appeal
Related story: Five of the most breathtaking competition venues in the 2024 Paris Olympics
“Style is, we see it more broadly than the way people dress,” Anthony Rotunno, NYT’s fashion editor says in a video accompanying the list. “Your mannerisms, the way you conduct yourself, the way you move through the world. Being a character.”
He continues: “The best thing this list could do is to start [a] conversation about what style is and how other people encounter it, think of it, interpret it, and manifest it in their everyday life.”
You can view the complete list here.
