King Charles and Zohran Mamdani Prove There’s More Than One Way to Look Great in a Suit
On paper, King Charles III and Mayor Zohran Mamdani have very little in common. One was destined to reign over the British Isles from birth, the other began his New York City mayoral campaign with barely a puncher’s chance of winning. One owns enough sprawling estates to fill an issue of Town & Country, the other just implemented his state’s first-ever pied-à-terre tax. One supports Burnley, the other is a lifelong Gunner. But the two men do share one not-insignificant trait: They look damn good in suits. Of course, even when it comes to sartorial matters, the pair employ near-opposite approaches.
When Charles and Mamdani met earlier today—during the monarch’s visit to the 9/11 memorial, as part of his four-day state tour of the US—both were dressed in their well-established uniforms. Charles has long been one of the greatest champions of his nation’s grand tailoring tradition; last year, he earned a spot on our list of the 50 most stylish people alive for his “reliable rotation of well-worn Anderson & Sheppard suits, Turnbull & Asser shirts, and John Lobb shoes.” In Manhattan, the king donned a typically rakish rig: a three-roll-two suit in a beautiful blue windowpane wool; a striped spread-collar dress shirt, which subtly clashed with the prints of his silk tie and hanky; gleaming black cap-toes. Everything he wore hung with a loose, unaffected elegance only achievable through artful bespoke construction and decades of regular wear.
