Leave it to Alexander Skarsgård to turn the graphic tee into high-concept provocation. With stylist Harry Lambert, the actor has made the Pillion press circuit a showcase of sly humour, fetish references, and vintage treasures – proof that a T-shirt can be as head-turning as any red-carpet gown
A truly brilliant piece of clothing says a lot with very little – an understated but impeccable bit of tailoring, an IYKYK accessory. But the graphic tee? A sartorial soul-barer. A loud and proud declaration of one’s personality. And Alexander Skarsgård keeps finding ways to play up the print t-shirt, with his wicked sense of humour and kinky, witty dressing.
The Swedish actor, currently making the Pillion press tour his playpen with the help of his stylist Harry Lambert, appeared on British late-night talkshow The Graham Norton Show, sporting a new tee. The tight shirt reads: “HOT BUFFET: ‘Available All Day.’ Eat as much as you like,” which he paired with black leather pants and a cheesy grin.
The shirt is by British conceptual artist Joe Sweeney, who works across sculpture, print, video, and installation. Other tops on his webstore include “NO LOITERING,” “CAREER GIRL,” and “BURGER SAUCE: £0.20” tees, a “Reserved” polo, and a top featuring a drawing of a poppers bottle.
Photo: Courtesy of the BBC
Across the Pillion press tour, Skarsgård and Lambert have revelled in the power and perversion of an, at first, unassuming tee, one that makes you do a double-take. At Cannes Film Festival, they kicked things off with Skarsgård wearing a white crewneck tee depicting a man lying horizontal, licking a leather boot-clad foot hovering above his face. Lambert sourced it from South London store Jerks: Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson, and Zoe Kravitz are also fans of the vintage tee haven. The next day at Cannes, Lambert put Skarsgård in a sun-faded ‘Let’s Party’ shirt, also sourced from Jerks, from the 1980s.
Burrowing deeper into his BDSM-referencing bag, Skarsgård stepped out at the Zurich Film Festival wearing a white silk shirt with a grey graphic of dildos and butt plugs from Magliano, a Milanese label inspired by Italy’s 19th century queer subcultures.
Cannes Film Festival 2025. Photo: Getty Images
Zurich Film Festival 2025. Photo: Getty Images
Last month, Skarsgård also visited the Valladolid International Film Festival, for which he had plucked a tee from his own archive to wear. He wore a grey shirt that reads “WHEN MEN WERE MEN,” from dive bar of the ages Chicago’s Old Town Ale House, which the late Roger Ebert called “The best bar in the world that I know about.” The bohemian saloon has hosted famous patrons, from Bill Murray to Stephen Colbert, John Belushi, Anthony Bourdain, and Skarsgård himself, since 1958.
Alexander Skarsgård in Ludovic de Saint Sernin. Photo: Kate Green/Getty Images
Photo: Shutterstock
Photo: Getty Images
When he’s not in a cheeky vintage tee, Skarsgård has been keeping up the leather daddy luxe look, wearing a white, backless halterneck shirt and leather pants via Ludovic de Saint Sernin, and cheeky short-shorts and schoolboy socks from S.S. Daley.
Pillion, now out in the world, sees him play a dom motorcycle leader. But rest assured, this is far from the end of Alexander Skarsgård’s subversive and sexy fashion era – and that T-shirt collection is just growing.
This feature was originally published on Vogue.com