Every Celebrity Is Wearing Percival

Last year, I visited Percival's pop-up shop in Lower Manhattan. I'd seen the brand online, of course—its signature gradient knits and funkily-patterned polos are hard to miss, even in the bustling, booming world of menswear. The pop-up had the vibe of a cozy London pub: big leather couch, people who seemed more intent on hanging out than shopping, and even a brief Oasis versus Blur discussion between myself and Percival's founder, Christopher Gove. Sorry to Christopher, but I can't remember the verdict of that debate; I was distracted. Because the whole time we were talking, I was holding a ridiculously soft Percival knit cardigan and thinking, "Why the hell isn't this brand absolutely everywhere?"

Fast forward to now, and it is.

To me, the mark of a Cool Guy is someone who can take timeless styles and make them look and feel like something you haven't seen before. This, it turns out, is the entire basis of Percival—subverting the classics, building a wardrobe out of traditional pieces with a twist. The East London-based brand does everything in its Hackney studio, but its reach goes much, much further than that—all the way to the upper echelons of celebrity. Everyone from Andrew Garfield and Paul Mescal to The Rock and Asa Butterfield is wearing Percival these days.

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Paul Mescal wears a Percival knit polo.

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Dwayne Johnson wears a Percival knit polo.

When Andrew Garfield—a modern menswear icon—wears a dressed-down-yet-put-together look with the Casa Picante polo, it's much more interesting than your average polo, but no less classic. Same goes for Dwayne Johnson's black knit polo and Paul Mescal's white one. The vibe is steeped in the best parts of the past, but it's not stuck there. Instead, it's all about being cool and contemporary, reinterpreting tradition to fit today.

These are pieces that say "Yeah, I know how to dress," even when you pair 'em with jeans and sneakers, because the fit, the fabric, and the designs are just that good. They're the secret to looking like an A-lister off-duty when, in reality, you may just be a regular guy on his way to work. Just watch out for the paparazzi.