8 Actors Who Became Unexpected Fashion Icons Because of One Role

Every so often, a single character does more for an actor’s public image than an entire career of red carpet appearances. A costume design catches on, a press tour outfit goes viral, and suddenly the performer is being talked about in fashion columns instead of just film reviews. It happens quietly at first, then all at once, and it rarely follows the script anyone expected.

These eight cases show how a role can reshape the way an actor is seen off screen, sometimes permanently. Some of it came from the costumes themselves, some from what the actor chose to wear while promoting the film. Either way, the fashion world took notice, and it stuck.

1. Anya Taylor-Joy in The Queen’s Gambit

Anya Taylor-Joy played chess prodigy Beth Harmon in a Netflix limited series set largely in the 1950s and 1960s, and the costume department dressed her in a wardrobe that moved from orphanage drab to genuinely covetable vintage glamour. Fashion lovers adored the 1960s-set drama for the looks of Beth, who goes from frumpy to fabulous over the course of the series. The show’s fashion platform tie ins were real too, since Harmon inspired fashion fans with her iconic checkered coats, and the style platform noted a 383 percent growth in clicks for that category compared to the month before the show aired.

The chess boom that followed is well documented, though the numbers vary depending on the source and retailer. Chess.com reported a 500 percent increase in new member sign-ups, and Amazon saw a 215 percent increase in chess set sales in the weeks following the release. Taylor-Joy herself later reflected on the phenomenon, joking with Vanity Fair that the cast used to say they were bringing sexy back to chess, and the attention has followed her into a run of high profile film roles and fashion ambassador work since.

2. Ryan Gosling in Barbie

Ryan Gosling’s turn as Ken in Greta Gerwig’s 2023 film turned a supporting role into a full blown style moment, largely because he committed to it on every red carpet stop along the way. Gosling underwent an extensive transformation to become Ken, including bleaching his hair and bronzing his skin, and his red carpet looks executed pastel monochrome suiting and open collared shirts to perfection. The tour became a running fashion story in its own right, from a pink Gucci suit at the world premiere to pastel looks at stops around the globe.

The pink suit trend followed him well past the film’s release, culminating in a crystal covered Oscars performance suit. He channeled his Mattel doll character onstage in a vibrant Barbie pink suit embellished with faux diamonds, worn over an open collared shirt in the same bright hue with matching gloves, finished with glossy black dress shoes and black sunglasses. Menswear writers spent much of 2023 and 2024 referencing his Ken wardrobe as shorthand for a new, unapologetically playful take on men’s suiting.

3. Diane Keaton in Annie Hall

Long before streaming era fashion cycles, Diane Keaton’s portrayal of the title character in Annie Hall gave menswear on women a mainstream moment that outlasted the film itself. Her loose ties, waistcoats, oversized trousers and wide brimmed hats were reportedly pulled together in part from her own closet, and the look became so associated with the character that it earned its own shorthand in fashion writing for decades afterward. Retailers and designers have referenced the silhouette repeatedly in the years since, treating it as a recurring touchpoint for androgynous, borrowed from the boys tailoring.

What made the look stick wasn’t just the clothes but the attitude behind them, a kind of relaxed confidence that felt different from the era’s more polished ideas of femininity. Keaton has continued to favor variations on that same silhouette in her own public appearances for years, which has helped keep the connection between actress and character alive in fashion retrospectives. Few costume choices from late 1970s cinema get cited as often when writers discuss the roots of gender fluid tailoring.

4. Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City

Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw turned a television character into something closer to a walking style archive, thanks largely to costume designer Patricia Field’s work pairing designer pieces with flea market finds. The tutu in the opening credits, the newspaper print dress, the nameplate necklace, and an unrelenting parade of statement heels all became reference points that fashion writers still return to regularly. Parker’s own public identity shifted alongside the character’s, to the point where she has spent years being interviewed specifically about fashion rather than just acting.

The show wrapped its original run decades ago, yet its costuming still shapes runway trend pieces and retail marketing whenever a maximalist or eclectic mood resurfaces. Parker’s continued involvement in the franchise’s revival kept that connection current rather than nostalgic, giving new audiences a reason to revisit the original wardrobe choices. It’s a rare example of a fictional character’s closet becoming more famous than most real designers’ actual collections.

5. Timothée Chalamet across Dune and Wonka

Timothée Chalamet’s rise as a red carpet fixture accelerated sharply once his blockbuster roles in Dune and Wonka put him in front of cameras constantly during promotional cycles. He leaned into daring, often sheer or unconventionally cut looks from designers like Haider Ackermann, choices that stood out precisely because they avoided the safe, predictable suiting most young leading men default to. Fashion press began treating his outfit choices as their own kind of release schedule, previewing and dissecting them the way they would a runway show. Unlike some entries on this list, his fashion reputation was not really built by his costumes on screen but by what he wore promoting the films, which is its own kind of interesting case. It shows how a role’s press tour can carry as much fashion weight as the character’s wardrobe, sometimes more. His willingness to experiment publicly, especially in an industry that often rewards men for playing it safe, made him one of the most closely watched dressers among younger actors working today.

6. Zendaya in Euphoria

Zendaya’s role as Rue in HBO’s Euphoria pushed her fashion profile in two directions at once, through the show’s glitter heavy, boundary pushing makeup and costuming, and through her own separate red carpet choices during the show’s promotional cycles. The series’ visual language, built around bold eyeliner, rhinestones, and unconventional color combinations, became a genuine influence on beauty trends well beyond the show’s core teen audience. Cosmetic brands and makeup tutorials referenced the Euphoria aesthetic for years after the show’s early seasons aired. Zendaya’s off screen fashion, meanwhile, developed its own identity that drew on old Hollywood glamour rather than the show’s grittier visual world, giving her a kind of dual fashion reputation tied to the same project. Her longtime stylist collaborations turned award show appearances during the Euphoria years into some of the most anticipated fashion moments of each cycle. Few actors have managed to have both their character’s look and their personal red carpet identity become influential from the same show.

7. Jared Leto in House of Gucci

Jared Leto’s transformation into Paolo Gucci for Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci leaned so heavily into exaggerated, eccentric tailoring that it became a talking point almost independent of the film’s reception. The character’s loud patterns, wide lapels, and theatrical accessories were designed to feel almost like a caricature of 1970s and 1980s Italian excess, and that excess became the point of fascination for fashion commentators. It was less about inspiring people to dress that way and more about reigniting interest in the maximalist Gucci archive aesthetic the film was built around. Leto has a long running habit of disappearing into elaborate transformations for roles, and this one folded neatly into his existing reputation for using costume and prosthetics as a kind of performance art. The film’s release coincided with renewed public interest in the Gucci family’s history, which kept the visual style circulating in fashion media well past the movie’s theatrical run. It’s a good example of a costume becoming culturally interesting specifically because of how over the top it was rather than how wearable it looked.

8. Michael B. Jordan in Creed

Michael B. Jordan’s role as Adonis Creed helped cement a reputation for clean, fitted, athleisure leaning menswear that carried directly into his own red carpet choices for years afterward. The character’s training gear and understated streetwear gave Jordan a visual identity that felt distinct from the flashier suiting favored by many of his peers, and menswear writers frequently cited the Creed films when discussing his personal style evolution. That connection between on screen minimalism and off screen tailoring became a defining thread in coverage of his fashion choices. Jordan’s collaborations with designers and brands in the years following the film’s success built on that same foundation, favoring precise fits and muted palettes over anything overly loud. It gave him a fashion reputation built on consistency rather than one single viral moment, which is arguably rarer and harder to maintain. The role didn’t just shape a costume, it shaped how a major action star chose to present himself in every appearance that followed.

What ties these eight together is timing as much as talent. A costume department gets the details right, or an actor commits fully to a press tour bit, and the public decides to keep paying attention long after the film has left theaters or the final episode has aired. Fashion moments like these rarely happen by design, which is part of why they tend to stick around.