The Academy Awards has a rather unfair reputation in menswear. We tend to think of it as a line-up of snoozy suits that fail to match the bombast and spectacle of the evening gowns on display. In recent years, though, we’ve seen a refreshing jolt of energy hitting the red carpet, thanks to maverick dressers from Mr Timothée Chalamet to Mr Donald Glover. In turn, the stakes have been raised ever higher. An off-the-rack tux just isn’t going to cut it anymore. No pressure.

With that in mind, we turned towards this year’s crop of Best Actor nominees – who, it must be said, have cut a remarkably stylish swathe through the awards season so far. With the big night only a few sleeps away, we asked ourselves what we’d like to see them wearing. It’s not too late for next-day delivery…

Mr Bradley Cooper’s red-carpet MO largely cleaves to the classics: simple, elegant tailoring from the likes of Louis Vuitton and TOM FORD. In all likelihood, he’ll wear Louis Vuitton to the Oscars, given his appearance in advertising campaigns for the brand over the past year. But if the decision was ours, we’d use the awards as an opportunity to reinforce his heightened stature in Hollywood (and we don’t just mean that he’s 6ft 1in). Of the year’s nominees, he’s the only one who has also directed the film he starred in – Maestro, which celebrates a golden age of American culture. So, we’d keep it thematic in Ralph Lauren Purple Label, one of the most iconic American success stories. No bells and whistles required.

Mr Colman Domingo has cut the most eye-catching figure throughout awards season, appearing in sprightly colours, directional cuts, and playful accessories (and making a compelling case for the pussy bow while doing so). He’s also dressed in a broad spectrum of brands, from established houses such as Givenchy and Valentino Garavani to unexpected names including AMIRI. So, he’s the most likely to play a wild card come the Oscars. But for the big day, we’d say it’s time to call in the big guns: look no further than TOM FORD’s Jacquard evening jackets, which are lively enough to suit his expressive style, but suitably elevated for the occasion. Failing that, it’d be a great moment for him to subvert expectations and go perfectly, strikingly minimal in a shawl-collared white jacket from ZEGNA.

Mr Cillian Murphy has made little secret of his disdain for the whirl of publicity. He’s drifted through the Oppenheimer press tour like a spectre in sharply monochromatic SAINT LAURENT. It’s proven a winning formula: the brand’s sleek, sophisticated and attenuated tailoring is a good fit for the actor’s steely-eyed intensity. Certainly, he could do a lot worse than looking to SAINT LAURENT once again for the big day. A strong-shouldered jacket with the brand’s signature slim tailored trousers would cut an imposing silhouette on the red carpet. But he’d do just as well in the Swedish tailoring house Saman Amel. Its elegant suits are equally sharp, with a more traditional construction.

Though he’s not in fact the oldest of the year’s nominees (he’s 18 months younger than Mr Jeffrey Wright), Mr Paul Giamatti feels like something of an elder statesman. Can you remember a time when he wasn’t on our screens? His nominated film, The Holdovers, might lean into the crusty styling of the early 1970s, but we’d say it’s safe to leave it there – no one needs to see corduroy or elbow patches on the red carpet. As such, he’d do well to turn to one of the old masters: a classic suit from a British tailor such as Kingsman, Richard James or Dunhill would show the kids how it’s done. Or prove that the Italians do it better (and nod to his own heritage as the descendant of Italian immigrants) in the godfather of grown-up luxury, Brunello Cucinelli.

American Fiction – the film for which Jeffrey Wright is nominated – is a smart and acidly funny critique on the way that African-American creatives are portrayed culturally. So, why not use the Academy Awards to champion another Black creative who has upended the rulebook? We’d look to Mr Jerry Lorenzo’s Fear of God, which has emerged as the definitive breakthrough menswear brand of this decade, and a true player in modern luxury. Plus, its gently oversized cuts would perfectly suit Wright’s broader frame. We’d advise one of the label’s wool-and-cotton blend blazers, which call back to the generous proportions of 1980s Armani. Classically stylish, but undeniably of the moment. Rather like American Fiction itself, in fact.