Under clear skies, hundreds of students came out to the South Lawn Friday for a highly-anticipated event — the Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan look-alike contest. The event was hosted by SWAP, a Contracted Independent Organization that promotes sustainable fashion on Grounds. The look-alike contest was the first of its kind at the University, furthering the recent trend of celebrity look-alike contests and spotlighting the thrift store aesthetic of cultural icon Bob Dylan.
According to Jaden Bernard, SWAP Secretary and fourth-year College student, SWAP initially floated the idea of a look-alike contest inspired by the movie A Complete Unknown over winter break. The musical biopic released in December stars Timothée Chalamet as a young Bob Dylan, the famous folk-rock artist of the 1960s. According to Bernard, the contest functioned as a lighthearted way to bring more awareness to SWAP and sustainable fashion by showcasing Chalamet’s portrayal of Dylan’s fashion sense.
As soon as the spring semester started, SWAP started advertising their contest with social media posts and flyers around Grounds. The contest quickly garnered attention, and students raced to find outfits and nominate contestants in the same fanatic spirit of the original Timothée Chalamet look-alike contest last October in New York City.
SWAP directed the participants to dress up with oversized jackets, sunglasses and bring a general apathy to the 60s musical icon. Bernard said that in the lead-up to the big day, SWAP urged contestants to thrift pieces or look through their closets, rather than purchase new items, to dress in a sustainable manner.
“Part of the reason we chose Bob Dylan is because early Bob Dylan especially is wearing a lot of thrifted pieces, and I think Timothée too, for the movie, was wearing thrifted pieces,” Bernard said. “We [encouraged] people not to buy anything.”
About 40 students signed up for the contest in advance, nominating themselves or others to compete via a form on SWAP’s Instagram page, and a few more participants registered in person just before the contest.
On the fateful day, all the Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan hopefuls lined up on the edge of the South Lawn before a large crowd, which cheered loudly for their favorite contestants. The participants, colloquially known as Tim-Bobs, received name tags with their contestant number, and the contest began in earnest a few minutes after 2 p.m.
First, all the contestants were introduced by emcees Bernard and Franny Hesford, SWAP executive board member and third-year College student. Then, throughout the contest, contestants were asked to name five Bob Dylan songs, dance to the soundtrack of A Complete Unknown and sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in a Bob Dylan voice, among a variety of other challenges. Bernard explained that they eliminated contestants each round according to crowd reaction and applause, the contestant’s demeanor, their aura and the accuracy of their outfits.
“It is an anti look-alike contest actually, because it's not only dressing as a person who's dressing as a person, but we have no physical guidelines [or] parameters,” Bernard said. “We're judging this more on method acting and fashion.”
Many of the contestants were dressed to impress as specific versions of Dylan that appeared in the movie, from Premiere Bob Dylan to Granola Dylan. Second-year Nursing student Alanna Davis emulated Dylan’s laid-back spirit by competing as the Newly Electric Bob Dylan — complete with an artfully curated ensemble of black sunglasses, a scarf and an oversized jacket. She bought a wig to mimic Dylan’s tousled curls, and she held an unlit cigarette as a final touch.
Davis said she has often been told she looks like a female Timothée Chalamet, and she loved the Bob Dylan biopic, which inspired her to enter the look-alike contest. Even though she was eliminated about halfway through the competition, Davis was happy she made it fairly far and still appreciated the opportunity to participate in the novel event on Grounds.
“It's a really fun way to get the U.Va. community involved in a way that's very carefree, [but] at the same time very competitive,” Davis said.
Over the course of an hour, the large group dwindled to three. Third-year College student Alex Williams was one of these final contestants. She dressed as Premiere Bob Dylan, with her blonde bangs peeking out under a beanie, a striped scarf and a black jacket — reminiscent of Timothée Chalamet’s take on Bob Dylan’s outfit at the Sundance Film Festival in 2003.
“Ever since middle school, I've been somebody who just loves to dress up and kind of do things that are a little crazy, [that] maybe other people would think are a little weird,” Williams said. “So I just knew it would be fun, and I knew I'd meet some fun people … It was exciting. Honestly, I was nervous, but once I got into my persona, it just felt natural.”
Williams was initially eliminated in the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star round because she added a line from Chalamet’s SNL skit to the song. However, she made an unexpected comeback as the one eliminated contestant who was allowed to return to the competition by audience choice. A crowd favorite, Williams developed a devoted fanbase that eagerly voted for her to stay in the contest.
“I think it was interesting how they had a democratic system … of crowd input, but still, the judges made the final decision,” Williams said. “They had a good collection of competition to find [a] well rounded Bob Dylan or Tim Bob.”
When it came down to the final three, the judges put it up to a crowd vote. It was a close call, but ultimately third-year Architecture student Benjamin Edlavitch was named the winner, taking home the grand prize of $2.52 and a brand-new harmonica. Basking in his victory, he performed a triumphant Bob Dylan impression for the audience, who erupted in cheers.
Ironically, Edlavitch did not plan on entering the contest — that is, until a few weeks ago, when a barista at Ivy Provisions told him he looked like Bob Dylan and mentioned the look-alike contest. Edlavitch entered for fun and wore the same jacket he had on that day at the coffee shop. When his number was finally called, Edlavitch remembers looking down at his nametag in disbelief, just to make sure it was him.
Edlavitch said he plans to spend his cash prize on a snack from the Architecture school vending machine — and he does, in fact, intend to use the harmonica.
“I'm going on a road trip this summer. I told myself I was gonna get a harmonica before then. The universe works in mysterious ways,” Edlavitch said, keeping up his Bob Dylan voice.
For the not-so-lucky contestants, makeshift cigarettes made of pretzels, white chocolate and oreo dust were the consolation prize. However, it was not just the absurd prizes that drew students to the contest, but also the thrill of doing something new just for fun. The contest gave everyone — the SWAP organizers, the contestants and the attendees — an opportunity to unabashedly participate in a pop culture trend and share the excitement together, in real time.
Thinking back to his celebrity moment on the South Lawn, Edlavitch recalled how exhilarating it felt with everyone in the crowd and his fellow look-alike contestants.
“[It was] just electrifying, you know, surrounded by so many Bob Dylans,” Edlavitch said. “Really good energy, lots of peace and love.”
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