He’s renowned for his dressed-down approach when it comes to the red carpet, so many fans might have been surprised to see Ed Sheeran making his way into the GQ Men Of The Year awards on Wednesday night.
The chart-topping singer posed for photographers dressed in an elaborate and brightly-coloured Versace suit jacket – which it turned out had been lent to him by a famous friend.
Well, we say “lent to him”, it doesn’t actually sound like Ed had much choice in the matter.
Speaking to reporters on the night, Ed admitted that his ensemble was a rental from his pal Sir Elton John, after the Rocket Man legend laid into him over his fashion choices.
“I have always been the non-stylish person. I have been lent a nice suit,” he explained.
Ed continued: “This is from Donatella Versace and basically I have gone round Elton’s for dinner and he said, ‘You’ve dressed terribly for the last 10 years, let me sort you out’. So this is Elton sorting me out.”
Ed and Sir Elton’s friendship dates back several years, with the latter giving a speech in the former’s honour when he was awarded the Global Success prize at the 2018 Brit Awards – even if he did end up struggling with the pronunciation of “Sheeran”.
More recently, the Bad Habits star made headlines when he revealed he’d given Sir Elton a rather rude birthday gift, which has been “hidden in an area in the house” away from his sons, Zachary and Elijah.
During the night, Ed was awarded Solo Artist Of The Year, which was presented to him by his friend and frequent collaborator Stormzy.