Like tattoos and beards, men’s piercings are no longer just for punks or Hackney art school students. As the leading actors from last weekend’s Bafta awards proved, ear piercings for men have gone mainstream: Regé-Jean Page, Paul Mescal and Colin Farrell were all photographed on the red carpet flaunting dazzling hoops and studs in their lobes, and pairing them with svelte, formal dinner suits.
There’s something uniquely expressive about a man’s ear piercing. What you choose says a lot about who you are. Take Farrell’s droopy lobe bangles at the Baftas, evocative of a notorious ex-hellraiser, or Mescal’s softboi huggie hoop, which adds that edge to his look. Elsewhere, there was Harry Styles and his single dangling pearl earring at the Met Gala. The right earring on the right man can be a subtle trademark, and everyone is getting in on it in 2023.
