Introducing Y2Chaotic Style, As Seen On Addison Rae & Timothée Chalamet

Take a quick scroll through any celebrity’s feed and you’ll typically find a fashion formula — in fact, we take pride in breaking said recipes down. But in the last few months, professional Bob Dylan impersonator Timothée Chalamet and pop ingenue Addison Rae have put their personal styles through the shredder and thrown caution to the sartorial wind. Their devil-may-care, thrift-meets-luxury looks — with a particular penchant for fashion from the 2000s — are something our team has come to call “Y2Chaotic.” It’s the early aughts, but not like you remember them.

Chalamet has never dressed so boldly. For one, he showed up to the New York premiere of A Complete Unknown as a 2003 Dylan, blond wig and all. Beyond that, he’s been mixing True Religion (we confirmed with the brand he’s not getting paid, he just really loves it) with Arc’teryx beanies; Chanel crossbody bags; Alexander McQueen’s skull scarf, perhaps the ultimate accessory of the 2000s; and all manner of outerwear. In Paris, it was a Raiders jacket; in New York, a bubblegum-pink Telfar puffer.

It smacks of the every-which-way abandon of Y2K street style, but Chalamet is making it his own with luxury upgrades and indomitable swagger. In short, the whirligig energy of his public appearances seems to have trickled down to his style — or maybe it’s an ouroboros of “Y2Chaos.”

Rae, for her part, has made headlines in this very publication wearing a pinafore and snapback one day and a Jean Paul Gaultier cone bra the next. Rae is a self-professed student of pop culture, and under the watchful eye of stylist Dara, makes disparate worlds meet. It’s her Ghesquière-era Balenciaga tan top in the “Aquamarine” video paired with stripper-lite Louboutins. It’s her leaving dinner in a fur vest, pearls, shell bikini, teal tights, a charm bracelet, and white sunnies, smoking a cigarette with a Prada tote on her arm. Her motto these days is “put four to five items on that don’t work, then add two more.” On anyone else, it would read as try-hard, and it doesn’t always land — but that’s the point. It’s trying times, so why not wear ‘50s sparkly pumps with hot pants and a graphic T-shirt to get ice cream?

Both on the heels of and in anticipation of a big project (the former for Timmy, the latter for Rae), switching things up stylistically is a surefire way to incite conversation. The duo is dressing purely off instinct, with a nod to the 2000s that suggests they’re just products of their time who enjoy setting off on a path few are currently traveling down. They’re also both clearly having an incredible time being “Y2Chaotic,” which is perhaps the best selling point for “putting that sh*t on.” If it sticks, we’ll be seeing much more of it, and if not, at least it helped spark further discussion of what celebrity style can look like.