Stylish Jay-Z rings in 2011 in a Tom Ford tuxedo
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The Cosmopolitan, the latest hotel and casino to bow on the Las Vegas Strip, had Jay-Z and Coldplay on hand to help usher in 2011. In the process it ended up with an extra helping of star power -- in the form of unbilled performances by Beyonce and Kanye West (the latter appearance was apparently an unplanned one, Jay-Z told the audience) and the addition of some serious guitar licks courtesy of a John Mayer cameo.
And, as one might expect from a concert with black-tie dress code, there was also some serious style both on and off the stage. According to the staff of Stitched, a new menswear store on the property which made sure the outfits were steamed to stage-readiness (we’ll tell you more about that shop at a later date), Beyonce rang in the New Year while wearing an Alexander McQueen dress, while her husband wore a sharp-looking Tom Ford tuxedo. The folks at Tom Ford International promised to forward all the specifics Tuesday, but from our vantage point on the floor (partially obscured, as it was, by a particularly tanked troika of young ladies in sparkly mini-dresses) we thought we could make out a bold herringbone pattern jacket with a peak lapel, the left one of which sported a floral tie pin similar to this one from Lanvin.
*[Updated 1/3/2010 at 4:53 p.m. The Oliver Peoples people saw an earlier version of this post and e-mailed to point out that the ‘sunnys’ Jay-Z wore throughout the performance are a pair of their Daddy B style sunglasses.]
*[Updated 1/4/2010 at 9:00 a.m. The promised details of Jay-Z’s outfit: It was a silk jacquard, peak lapel regency tuxedo with a pique front shirt and and satin bowtie, all by Tom Ford.]
Oddly enough, Kanye, who can play dress up with the best of them (he and his entourage have been turning up at events kitted out in Dior Homme suit-and-tie ensembles), dressed down for the occasion, in an outfit that included a faded jean jacket and a blue bandanna.
With all the luxury retail at his disposal, it’s hard to imagine West had really just rolled into Sin City at the last minute and couldn’t find suitable threads. Whatever the reason, in the context of the evening’s over-the-top performances, his ‘Kanye Casual’ dress code hardly registered.
In fact, to crib the Cosmopolitan’s own tag line, we’d probably call it just about ‘the right amount of wrong.’
-- Adam Tschorn
Top photos: At top, Jay-Z, left, Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Kanye West at the New Year’s Eve grand-opening bash at the new Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas.