NEW YORK — The New York Times has unveiled “The 67 Most Stylish People of 2025,” a globe-spanning roster that elevates Shah Rukh Khan, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, WNBA rookie Paige Bueckers and tennis No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz as some of the standout names on its annual Most Stylish People 2025 list after the feature was published Dec. 7. At a moment when best-dressed rankings are everywhere from red carpets to sports tunnels, the project treats clothing as a shorthand for culture, politics and power, Dec. 9, 2025.
The Most Stylish People 2025 package appears in the Styles section as a long feature, grouping 67 honorees drawn from film, television, politics, sports, fashion, and internet culture. Readers outside the Times paywall are getting the news secondhand, through summaries and reactions built off the full New York Times package. Still, debate over who made it — and who did not — has already spread well beyond fashion social media.
Why the Most Stylish People 2025 list hits differently
Reaction has quickly zeroed in on how sports and youth culture loom large on the Most Stylish People 2025 roster. Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers, fresh off a WNBA Rookie of the Year campaign, earned a nod after years of tunnel fits and TikTok outfits; The Times wrote that “her stardom has extended far beyond the court, thanks to an effervescent ‘rizz,’ or charisma, that comes through in her easy tailored clothes,” according to Connecticut sports site CT Insider. For tennis, world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz’s inclusion underscores how locker-room looks and pre-match walk-ins now rival runway shows for fashion influence.
Politics is just as prominent. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum is singled out for the way she pairs tailored jackets and dresses with embroidery and motifs from Indigenous communities, using her clothing as an extension of her economic and cultural agenda and pressuring brands accused of copying artisans’ work. Coverage in Mexico News Daily notes that the Times credits her with drawing attention to Indigenous fashion while cracking down on knockoff designs. The same list finds room for more unexpected political figures too, including Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV, described in reports as pairing a Chicago White Sox baseball cap with papal vestments.
On the entertainment side, Shah Rukh Khan’s placement has electrified fans from Mumbai to New York. After a three-decade film career and more than 100 movies, the actor’s first Met Gala appearance in May — in a floor-length Sabyasachi coat, silk shirt, and tailored trousers — became the visual the Times used to explain why he belongs among the 67, according to NDTV’s lifestyle vertical. The coverage emphasizes how his global fan army and the deliberate drama of that look helped bring one of fashion’s most exclusive nights “into his orbit.”
From 93 to 71 to 67: a style series with history
This year’s Most Stylish People 2025 spread slots neatly into a short but influential tradition at the Times. In 2022, a Boston.com write-up on Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s inclusion on the paper’s “93 Most Stylish People of 2022” list noted how the series often doubles as a primer on the politics of hair and self-presentation, not just hemlines. A year later, FashionUnited highlighted Michelle Yeoh, Beyoncé, and Pharrell Williams as standouts in the “Most Stylish People of 2023” roster, explaining how the Times used its own search data to surface names who dominated fashion news that year. Sports Illustrated’s lifestyle desk, writing about Martha Stewart’s surprise appearance on the 2023 list, pointed out that the Times has long mixed A-list celebrities with curveball choices like Las Vegas’s Sphere arena.
What the list says about style now
Taken together, those earlier lists and the new Most Stylish People 2025 edition show how style coverage has shifted from ranking red-carpet gowns to mapping cultural influence. The Times isn’t alone: outlets like GQ have rolled out their own global rankings, such as GQ’s recent list of the 50 most stylish people alive, that blend athletes, royals, internet stars, and designers into a single conversation. Rather than dictating trends, these lists increasingly track who is using clothes to bend the culture in real time.
For the individuals named — from Khan and Sheinbaum to Bueckers, Alcaraz, and surprise picks like Liam and Noel Gallagher — a line in the Times’ Most Stylish People 2025 feature is both an accolade and an argument starter. Fans will debate omissions and oddities, but the through line is clear: style is no longer siloed in fashion capitals. It is playing out in presidential palaces, WNBA tunnels, tennis exhibitions, and Met Gala stairs, one outfit and one viral image at a time.
