It’s a rare occurrence that makes us genuinely grateful fashion moves in cycles, but Robert Pattinson dressed like an aughts-era rom-com star is one of them. The look the actor pulled off at Cannes yesterday was straight out of the Y2K heartthrob playbook—think Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You, Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 500 Days of Summer, or Matthew McConaughey in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and you’re on the right track.
At the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival, Pattinson pulled up to a photocall for Die, My Love, an upcoming psychological drama also starring Jennifer Lawrence. And while the movie sounds fittingly scary, the actor’s outfit was adorable as hell.
Karwai Tang
Up top, Pattinson rocked a pair of techno-adjacent wraparound sunglasses from London-by-way-of-Morocco label Port Tanger, which he paired with a pale yellow tee, a light blue button-up, and a chocolate-brown suede jacket. (A subtle masterclass in how to wear color this spring, if we’ve ever seen one.) This specific form of louche, rumpled layering was a go-to move for the leading men of the aughts, who were all-but-contractually obligated to appear on the big screen in a minimum of three shirts at a time.
Down below, Pattinson opted for slouchy slate-gray trousers, anchored by a well-worn pair of all-American Chuck Taylors. Chucks remain as effortlessly cool today as they did when they debuted almost a century ago, especially if you make like Pattinson and grab ’em in a goes-with-everything shade of blue. In aggregate, the outfit represents an easy way to embrace Y2K nostalgia without going full Guy Fieri, though if the vintage trucker cap Pattinson wore recently—to say nothing of his frosted tips—is any indication, going full Guy Fieri isn’t necessarily a bad move.
For reasons we can’t fathom, Robert Pattinson has yet to star in a conventional rom-com. (Twilight doesn’t count.) Hollywood bigwigs, consider this outfit an informal audition—it’s past time to give the people what they want.
This story originally appeared on British GQ.