The cardigan giving the ugly Christmas jumper some stylish competition

The coastal grandma trend, epitomised by Diane Keaton in white turtlenecks, cream pants and sandy bucket hats, has drifted out to sea, but look what the spring tide washed in.

Hollywood’s current pack of leading men has picked up grandma’s discarded knitted pieces, adding colour and the occasional sprig of chest hair to make cardigans, nubbly jumpers and sweater vests the trans-seasonal uniform of the SNAG 2.0 (Sensitive New Age Golden Globe nominee).

With half of Hollywood and luxury labels on board, the revenge of nerdwear is complete, and we can all be winking wolves in sheep’s clothing.

(Left-right) Barry Keoghan in Louis Vuitton at the Toronto International Film Festival; Troye Sivan in Magliano at the Wicked premiere; Tom Daley knitting at the Paris Olympics; Daniel Craig in Loewe at Paris Fashion Week.Credit: Getty

The star of Gladiator II, Paul Mescal, is seen cosying up in a cardigan as frequently as he airs his thighs in football shorts. Jacob Elordi has layered summer whites with a black cardigan to soften his toxic Euphoria persona, while Daniel Craig shook his Bond image with stirring Loewe jumpers, best suited to spies going undercover in university libraries.

The smell of mothballs now competes with spritzes of Creed Aventus on moody men choosing to express fragile masculinity in a more palatable manner than a Make America Great Again baseball cap.

“Nothing says ‘I’m approachable’ more than a fine-gauge button-up cardie,” says menswear stylist Ken Thompson. “It’s a combination of technique and wool that gives the wearer a sense of security in a time of uncertainty.”

Sighs usually reserved for playful labradors were heaped upon British Olympic diver Tom Daley’s impressive needles, rather than his skintight Speedo, in the stands at the Paris Olympics as he knitted a commemorative jumper.

Irish actor Barry Keoghan erased memories of the sociopath he played in Saltburn wearing a pink sleeveless sweater vest on the red carpet in September, suggesting that butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, no matter how close it gets to a bathtub drain. Sweater vests also conveniently offer the opportunity to flex biceps without resorting to a sweaty gym singlet.

In the past, stars found security emulating Marlon Brando toughness in the rigid confines of a black leather jacket, but cosplaying the bad boy has lost its allure, especially when you end up looking like Elon Musk instead of the Godfather star.

Leather is also a sweatier affair than most cardigans, jumpers or sweater vests, which can be worn with shorts or layered over singlets when the summer sun sets.

Yet even with its once nerdy reputation, thanks to television’s Mister Rogers and softboi singers from the ’60s such as Val Doonican, the cardigan now packs a subtle sex appeal.

Television personality Fred Rogers, star of Mister Rogers championed the cardigan in its less-nuanced phase of fashion. Credit: Getty Images

“The cardigan conjures up images of academics sitting with their peers discussing ideas or teaching students in an inspiring and thought-provoking way,” says designer Monika Brangan, who specialises in an unconventional, colourful approach to womenswear. “There’s something definitely sexy about being intellectual.”

“Colin Firth is a great example, having popularised the Christmas sweater in Bridget Jones’s Diary. But he also knows a good cardie. The one he wears in Love Actually, though tatty, is sexy.”

While Christmas jumpers are generally worn with irony, the new batch of knitwear is proud as well as loud. It’s the same expression of individuality once confined to patterned socks, ties and boxer shorts.

Today’s knitwear also has a less flammable reputation in fibres that breathe rather than stew, but don’t try getting away with stealth wealth knitted pieces bought after multiple viewings of Succession. That featherlight navy cashmere jumper and grey hoodie are aesthetically cold rather than cosy.

“If the wool is thin and the cardigan has no structure, it’s a no,” Branagan says. “I’m also not a fan of a cardie with a zipper.”

Stealth wealth style is about silently signalling taste and affluence. Your naff and nubbly jumper says look at me and smile, like your favourite funny uncle at a family dinner.

Don’t expect your new knit-fit to be inexpensive. Keoghan’s pink sweater vest is from a Louis Vuitton capsule collection with Tyler, the Creator, with a $2010 price tag. Troye Sivan’s playful pink Magliano Bimbo cardigan worn to the LA premiere of Wicked costs $1243, while Daniel Craig’s Loewe wool jumper seen at Paris Fashion Week breaks most budgets at $6640.

“Shetland Fair isle vests featured in reruns of Brideshead Revisited and All Creatures Great and Small reference a bygone era or bespoke, handcrafted technique that is now luxury personified,” Thompson says.

Fortunately, the look can be copied by combing secondhand stores, although one dealer I visited had a rack of sweater vests from the ’70s starting at $70. It’s almost enough to make you follow Daley’s lead, squeeze into some Speedos and start knitting.

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