Timothée Chalamet [1] is breathing new life into the art of thirst trapping. On 20 Aug., the "Wonka" star [2] shared a series of shirtless [3] holiday photos on Instagram, but rather than flashing his abs or subtly flexing like the toxically masculine are prone to do, he took a more understated approach I must take a moment to appreciate.
Let's begin this analysis with the first picture: an up-close shot of a wet-haired Chalamet posing in a cave in an undisclosed location. His smirk is subtle, and his skin has a glow directly contrasting the grimy wall behind him. The second carousel picture shows the actor partially submerged in rocky water, wearing patterned swimming trunks and a smirk. "Summer24!" he captioned the post, seemingly forgetting the year is, in fact, 2023.
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I can't help but notice these photos have an aesthetic I'm personally familiar with. I call it the "trying to get a new profile pic on family holiday" aesthetic — TTGANPPOFV-core, if you will. These pictures are characterised by an out-of-focus digital camera quality, and the alignment is almost always askew. There are perhaps unintentional facial expressions captured in between pose changes — two of which Chalamet's recent uploads have. While the majority of these are typically photographed by a parent or sibling, it's unclear who waded into that grotto to photograph Chalamet. (Some fans are convinced it was his rumoured girlfriend, Kylie Jenner [6], but I'm choosing to mentally unsubscribe from news surrounding their relationship entirely.)
Chalamet dipping his toe into TTGANPPOFV-core is entirely on brand with the rest of his slightly chaotic Instagram grid. Among a slew of caption-less fashion campaign photos and movie trailers are memorable glimpses at his dishevelled pantry [7], his "Dune" action figure [8], and instant noodles [9]. Oh, and lest I forget "Strawbooty," [10] the derriere-shaped piece of fruit he captured for his second-ever Instagram post.
If we're lucky, Chalamet will bless us with at least one more of his patented artsy-boy thirst traps before summer comes to a close — and maybe he'll even tag his mysterious photographer next time.
