THE SECRETS OF SUNAK’S STYLE
The Chancellor is carefully building his fashion credentials, says Stephen Doig
When the Chancellor of the Exchequer revealed this week that Britain is to face its deepest recession in more than 300 years, he used his wardrobe to galvanise himself for the task in hand.
Ahead of his spending review, the Government released images of Rishi Sunak, furrowed of brow, crunching the numbers with the red box beside him, in a polished shirt and tie.
Nothing unremarkable there – except for the fact he had slung a hoodie over the top. It made for a smart-casual mix that pointed to the onerous professionalism of his job, but at the same time indicated he’s down with the Gen-zers.
The 40-year-old is clearly happiest in a hoodie, a once-maligned garment that’s come into its own during our working-from-home lockdowns. Sunak has previously been photographed at work in similar grey sportswear iterations, sipping from his smart mug as others on the front bench in suit and tie let the pressure show.
Boris Johnson has been criticised for his dishevelled appearances throughout the crisis, his hair a fright mop, and Dominic Cummings has exited stage left in his curious, haphazard get-up from the wardrobe department of Last of the Summer Wine. But throughout, Sunak has cut an impressive figure, despite his diminutive 5ft 6in height. His style and grooming has been pinsharp and controlled.
Let’s take those darkhued suits, for instance. His wife Akshata Murthy, daughter of one of India’s richest men, runs a fashion label, so it stands to reason that she knows about proportions and fit; on a shorter, slighter frame, this is crucial. His suits have been intelligently tailored to elongate his frame.
Note the length of the narrow lapel and how the top button on his jacket is low on the torso; this is a visual trick to lengthen it. The nipped-in waist and super-slender trousers also serve to add height; baggy proportions emphasise a short frame. Sunak knows exactly what he’s doing, and gets bonus points for ties in rich, jewel and pastel tones, as opposed to Tory blue.
Sunak is also no stranger to the world of bespoke, which for those with larger or smaller frames is a wise choice. He has his shirts made by Italian shirting brand The Travelling Artisan (thetravellingartisan.co.uk), crafted by aged seamstresses in Veneto. Its founder Tullio Innocenti describes Sunak as a “perfectionist” who opted for slim, contemporary cuts
to complement his build, having no fewer than three fittings to perfect his shirts, which start from £160.
And while there’s nothing especially remarkable about his off-duty style, in a sense that’s an intelligent move, too. “Prime ministers on holiday” is a curious subcategory in the men’s style annals, and one in which David Cameron continually featured. Johnson, on his summer break in Scotland, looked as
if he’d crawled out of a tumble dryer. On the other hand, Sunak’s minimalist, pristine white T-shirts and jeans do nothing to earn him style credentials, but don’t raise eyebrows either, and show off his lean muscular frame in doing so.
His forecasts might point to a weak economy, but Sunak’s wardrobe choices paint him as a strong contender for a future leader.