First rising to fame as one of the early 2010s YouTube vloggers every teen was obsessively watching, the Johannesburg-born, Perth-raised Troye Sivan’s main dream was to be a musician. After taking part in Australian talent competitions in the late 00s, he released his first single, “Happy Little Pill” in 2013, followed by the album Blue Neighbourhood in 2015 and Bloom in 2018; collaborating with the likes of Ariana Grande and Charli XCX along the way. As an actor, he’s also starred in everything from X-Men to the heart-breaking conversion therapy movie Boy, Erased, as well as the sleazy, controversial HBO series The Idol.
Defeating twink death with his Dorian Grey-esque endless youth, Troye has become a queer icon since coming out in 2015, blessing the community with bottoming anthem “Bloom” and “Rush”, a poppers homage. His personal style has evolved from the skinny jeans and baggy jumpers he’d sport in his vlogging era to Valentino halter shirts, oversized Loewe tees (seemingly sans pants) and slinky, barely-there black dresses.
As he gets his first Grammy nomination for “Rush” from his album Something to Give Each Other and we gear up for Troye’s next music era, we look back at the most iconic outfits of one of the queer style icons du jour.
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On Stage with Taylor Swift for the Reputation Tour in Pasadena, 2018
Taylor Swift is famed for being one of the greatest touring artists in history and, eager to bag himself a ticket for The Reputation Stadium Tour, Troye messaged Taylor for guest list. Instead of hooking him up, Taylor suggested he join her on stage to perform “My My My!”, the lead single from Troye’s sophomore album Bloom, together. But what do you, a Swiftie, wear to a Taylor Swift concert? Taylor merch, duh.
At the MTV VMAs, 2021
Days after dropping “Angel Baby”, his queer, mega-pop power ballad — “I thought we needed a few more of those,” he told Just Jared — Troye made his return to the limelight at the MTV VMAs wearing a fabulously head-turning look perfect for the awards ceremony. The cropped, ab-blaring blazer with matching shorts, socks and pointed shoes was from Fendi’s SS22 collection and marked Troye’s new era as one of the leading celebrity faces of queer fashion in the 2020s.
At the Met Gala, 2021
You all know the picture. The one of Troye – instructed by Rihanna and photographed by Tom Daley, no less – hiking up his Altu cut out black dress to use a urinal, a diamond Cartier necklace across his collar and a Luar Ana in his hand in the bathroom of the Met Gala. It’s iconic and has been recreated by every gay man in a dress since.
Walking in the Savage X Fenty Vol.3 show, 2021
A continuation of his budding friendship with his idol Rihanna, Troye reclaimed boxer shorts for the twinks when he stripped down to a baggy metallic silver pair to strut in a Savage X Fenty show that also featured Irina Shayk, Alek Wek, Cindy Crawford, Vanessa Hudgens, Precious Lee, Gigi Hadid and Sabrina Carpenter.
At a Pre-Grammy Gala, 2023
Supporting young queer designers, Troye rocked up to the Pre-Grammy Gala wearing a wide-shouldered, long-line white shirt, uber-tight skinny-fit trousers and a skinny tie, all from Louis Gabriel Nouchi’s newly showcased AW23 collection.
At Cannes Film Festival, 2023
With a starring role in HBO’s sleazy drama The Idol – as old friend and creative director to Lily-Rose Depp’s troubled popstar character – Troye took to Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of the first two episodes in a fittingly fun and flirty custom Valentino look.
At the Loewe SS24 show, 2023
If the SS24 menswear shows are any indication, the look for next summer is a pair of thigh-skimming short shorts. But with Troye and Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson always one step ahead and ready to push the boat out, at the Loewe show in Paris, Troye wore nothing but an oversized yellow tee from the AW23 collection — one just long enough that we’re left questioning whether he was wearing anything underneath. The look, naturally, went viral on Gay Twitter, with users saying it was giving both Princess Diana’s revenge dress (is it?) and Dobby the house-elf (fair). Either way, it’s a slay.