Pharrell’s Weird Style Gets Weirder Every Year
Pharrell Williams has long been a trendsetter — but so far, 2014 has been particularly fruitful for the musician. For one, radio over the past six months has practically been defined by the breezy, disco-y “Pharrell sound,” while his recent single “Happy” has taken over commercials, Hollister’s, and the iPod playlist of parents and preteens alike. For two: The head of clothing company Billionaire Boys Club (BBC) has become a global style icon thanks, mostly, to the emergence of a little accessory known on Twitter as @PharrellsHat — a piece of vintage Vivienne Westwood haberdashery that Arby’s would like to take credit for (and now, $44,100 later, owns). Since its grand entrance at the Grammys in January, #Pharrellhat has become the stuff of folklore; capitalizing on its myth, this month, BBC’s summer line debuted sweatshirts and T-shirts depicting a Lego-ized, cartoon Pharrell in various outfits and hues of the hat. In May, Pharrell hand-designed ten pairs of adidas Originals for sale at Colette — just another notch on his 2014 fashion résumé to add to his sunglasses collabo with Montcler and an upcoming perfume with Comme des Garçons.
Big year aside, the musician’s eclectic style has long been influencing micro-movements in streetwear and beyond, whether through the emergence of pastel ice cream cones on his eponymous Ice Cream sneakers to the brief-but-memorable proliferation of the loud, all-over print hoodie. Though he’s had some moments best described as primary-color fratty through the years, Skateboard P’s sartorial taste can never be described as unmemorable. Click through our slideshow for a look at his style choices over the last decade and a half.
Baby Star Trak, 2000–2002 Pharrell had been quietly working in hip-hop and R&B for nearly a decade as one half of the Neptunes, his iconic pr...
Baby Star Trak, 2000–2002 Pharrell had been quietly working in hip-hop and R&B for nearly a decade as one half of the Neptunes, his iconic production duo with Chad Hugo, but it wasn't until the early 2000s that they first became famous enough for paparazzi-fied events, having scored singles for the likes of Jay Z, Britney, and more. Pharrell was partial to oversize jeans and T-shirts advertising the Neptunes' record label Star Trak, nerdified substantially with shearling jackets and trucker hats and Pharrell's ubiquitous Vulcan-sign hand. He would later tell InStyle, "Fashion has to reflect who you are, what you feel at the moment, and where you're going. It doesn't have to be bright, it doesn't have to be loud. Just has to be you." It's a mantra he'll follow through the years.
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CFDA Red Carpet, 2003 Though hip-hop producers weren't exactly red-carpet regulars in the early aughts, by 2003, Pharrell was an international su...
CFDA Red Carpet, 2003 Though hip-hop producers weren't exactly red-carpet regulars in the early aughts, by 2003, Pharrell was an international superstar, with enough hits under his Gucci belt to be invited to the CFDA Awards for the first time. Clearly he'd also learned a thing or two about fit, as well, though thankfully we've all left that drape and hue of denim in the last decade. Still repping the Star Trak Records Vulcan symbol, no matter how formal the occasion. Live long, and tailor.
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Bape Beginnings, 2003 Pharrell's rising star also afforded him more travel to Japan, where he became enamored with Harajuku streetwear brand A Ba...
Bape Beginnings, 2003 Pharrell's rising star also afforded him more travel to Japan, where he became enamored with Harajuku streetwear brand A Bathing Ape (BAPE), and its founder, designer/DJ Nigo. The company produced colorful sweatshirts and sneakers with a distinct shooting-star logo, often in patent leather, that ran at a $350 price point — not uncommon in the current luxury sneaker era, but fairly bananas back in '03. That year, Pharrell made a notable shift toward brighter, Japanese-inspired patterns and flair, from the tilt of his BAPE skully to the Murakami design of his Louis Vuitton facial bandana. That year, in conversation with Michael Jackson for Interview, he alludes to his forthcoming lofty sartorial decisions when he describes making his music as "[treating the air like a canvas and the paint is in the chords that come through your fingers … so when I'm playing, I'm painting a feeling in the air."
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BBCs and Ice Creams, 2004–2005 By the next year, Pharrell and Nigo had teamed up Stateside to start Billionaire Boys Club, a fairly standard stre...
BBCs and Ice Creams, 2004–2005 By the next year, Pharrell and Nigo had teamed up Stateside to start Billionaire Boys Club, a fairly standard streetwear line, and the slightly more ostentatious Ice Creams, round-toed sneakers characterized by their allover-print pop-art ice cream cones and dollar signs and diamonds. The shoes were something of a piece de resistance, insofar that if you could resist them, you could avoid walking around New York City looking like a grown toddler. Nevertheless, they proved quite popular, and Pharrell's style was evermore refined upon further Nigo hangtime, blending hues of camouflage, donning BAPE underwear, and piling on necklaces (call him 10 Chainz, if you will). On one of Snoop Dogg's biggest post-millennial hits, "Drop It Like It's Hot," Pharrell rapped: "I'm a nice dude with some nice dreams. See these ice cubes? See these Ice Creams?" How could you miss them, though!
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All-over-print Hoodie Era, 2005 Concurrent with Pharrell's Ice Cream domination was the rise of the all-over-print hoodie, when not just P but se...
All-over-print Hoodie Era, 2005 Concurrent with Pharrell's Ice Cream domination was the rise of the all-over-print hoodie, when not just P but seemingly every rap fan in New York City spent approximately 12 to 13 months wearing garish, babylike patterns in snuggie-soft fabrics. Bape and BBC were the purveyors of many, particularly among hip-hop skate rats in the nether regions of Manhattan, though the trend branched out to boutique brands like Supreme to more mass market labels such as Stussy. Of his BBC line and his collaborator Nigo, Pharrell told German music website electronicbeats.net, "Greatness, in my life, has definitely come from art. It's a collaborative effort between me and my partner. I give him drawings or visual references and he turns my ideas into reality. I am very fortunate to flush out my ideas with a genius."
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Unafraid of a Statement Hat, Part 1: 2006 Foreshadowing: Pharrell dons the first in a series of eye-catching headgear while performing at the 02 ...
Unafraid of a Statement Hat, Part 1: 2006 Foreshadowing: Pharrell dons the first in a series of eye-catching headgear while performing at the 02 Wireless Festival in London, though one would be forgiven for thinking he is poolside, given the towel around his neck and the bucket shape of his hat.
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Unafraid of A Statement Hat, Part 2 (2006) At the MTV Europe Music Awards in Europe, Pharrell wears a luxuriously fluffy, Russian-inspired troope...
Unafraid of A Statement Hat, Part 2 (2006) At the MTV Europe Music Awards in Europe, Pharrell wears a luxuriously fluffy, Russian-inspired trooper hat, complete with ear flaps and coordinating footwear. To be fair: Copenhagen is chilly in November.
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Sharp Suits, 2007 For his debut solo album, In My Mind, Pharrell was nominated for a Grammy, and for the first time he seemed to be growing up ac...
Sharp Suits, 2007 For his debut solo album, In My Mind, Pharrell was nominated for a Grammy, and for the first time he seemed to be growing up accordingly, ditching the sweatshirts for devastatingly handsome, red-carpet-ready suits. At right, he prepared to frow at Louis Vuitton's S/S '08 show in Paris wearing razor-sharp pinstripes; at left, he donned a bow-tie and abstract tuxedo jacket at his own celebration dinner at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Could have done without the G-Shock watch in the latter ensemble, but it certainly was 2007.
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Rap Hipster, 2008 The latter half of the aughties brought about what many would refer to as the "rap hipster," and most controversial, ...
Rap Hipster, 2008 The latter half of the aughties brought about what many would refer to as the "rap hipster," and most controversial, the advent of the skinny jean. Gone were the baggy, saggy drapes on denim; this was about fit, butt, and, often, plastic-framed statement glasses. That same year, N.E.R.D. released its third album, featuring lead single "Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)." This look, vest and leather and all, was a culmination of what Pharrell had always been growing up in Virginia Beach — a jazz nerd, a skate rat, and a punk rocker.
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SpongeBob Obsession, 2008–present "I can say that probably for the last four years, I've been wearing SpongeBob toe socks," Pharrell to...
SpongeBob Obsession, 2008–present "I can say that probably for the last four years, I've been wearing SpongeBob toe socks," Pharrell told AskMen, but clearly it does not stop there: In eight years, Pharrell's obsession with the cartoon has extended from T-shirts to, this April, a SpongeBob-themed 41st birthday party. His entertainment website for teens, which launched in 2010, is called Kidult, but it's clear he's talking about more than his readership. Perhaps unrelated: Helen Lasichanh gave birth to Pharrell's first child, Rocket Man Williams, in 2008, around the time the Bbegan manifesting publicly. Maybe he'd just never watched it before. Great show!
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This Is What You Wear to an Embassy, 2011 And yet! At this formal, red-carpet Dolce & Gabbana party at the Italian Embassy in Moscow, Pharrel...
This Is What You Wear to an Embassy, 2011 And yet! At this formal, red-carpet Dolce & Gabbana party at the Italian Embassy in Moscow, Pharrell bundled up in one of his chicest looks yet: fur and a tux, formal but just ostentatious enough for the confident trendsetter he had become.
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Minimalist Adult Casual, 2011–2012 These years showed Pharrell easing into his adulthood as he hit his late 30s, looking more comfortable in his ...
Minimalist Adult Casual, 2011–2012 These years showed Pharrell easing into his adulthood as he hit his late 30s, looking more comfortable in his style choices than he had since the first days of BAPE. Perhaps it was the occasion – in 2011, he launched a pink, creamy vodka liqueur called Qream that came in an elaborate bottle reminiscent of a high-end '70s perfume atomizer. In contrast, Pharrell slipped into minimalism for the first time in his life, and it suited him better than most of his past casual looks. He was also taking some time to relax — beyond co-producing with artists like Frank Ocean, Adam Lambert, and Miley Cyrus, he spent those years relatively low profile, gearing up for his current big explosion.
Photo: Getty Images
Unafraid of a statement hat part 3, 2011 At Art Basel, he debuted this odd military cap, customized with what appear to be Mickey Mouse stickers,...
Unafraid of a statement hat part 3, 2011 At Art Basel, he debuted this odd military cap, customized with what appear to be Mickey Mouse stickers, a conversation piece capping his Miami grunge look and boots with a pair of hand-drawn Chanel Cs.
Photo: Getty Images/FilmMagic
The Shortpants Tuxedo, 2012–present Pharrell's shorts-and-tux look at this year's Oscars caused a slight titter, but it was not the first time he...
The Shortpants Tuxedo, 2012–present Pharrell's shorts-and-tux look at this year's Oscars caused a slight titter, but it was not the first time he's shown off his knees on a red carpet. The shorts-tuxedo first made an appearance at the 2012 CFDA Awards in New York, during which he covered his then-green hair with a skully and amped it up with a slightly oversize, Elber Albaz–style bow tie. The Oscar ensemble was a bit better, though, not just for its cleaner lines, but because his wife, model Helen Lasichanh, wore a contrasting tuxedo, summoning enough formality for the both of them. In a 2011 W profile, Pharrell said, "Fashion boils down to women, and really, everything boils down to women."
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Unafraid of a Statement Hat Part 4, 2012 DIY at its most punk, Pharrell hits Cannes with something really real to say.
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Tailored Streetwear, 2012–present As he's come into this second renaissance with the success of tracks like "Get Lucky" and "Blurr...
Tailored Streetwear, 2012–present As he's come into this second renaissance with the success of tracks like "Get Lucky" and "Blurred Lines," something very distinct has happened to Pharrell's casualwear: He has matured his streetwear foundation into something structured and highly sophisticated. Perhaps his style reflects his art – his solo work has never been more popular, but he has also never looked cooler, pairing a distinctly Rei Kawakubo sense of space (and Commes des Garcons pieces) with, you know, drop-crotch jorts. Somehow it all works, as he looks like a goth Eloise, prim and arty and tailored.
Photo: Getty Images
Custom kicks, 2013–2014 We knew a Basquiat phase was coming sooner or later, but Pharrell's penchant for customizing his own Adidas may have even...
Custom kicks, 2013–2014 We knew a Basquiat phase was coming sooner or later, but Pharrell's penchant for customizing his own Adidas may have even led to his present deal with Originals. Marker-drawn in technicolor flowers and adorned with random Chanel jewelry he just happened to have lying around, his personalized kicks have been his most interesting accessory to date. "You didn't do that in high school? Of course you wrote on your pants," he told Complex. "I'm a kid! So I just keep doing the shit I feel like I can do." His collection of hand-drawn Originals recently went on sale at French boutique Colette.
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#PHARRELLHAT, 2014 The hat heard round the world. Of its origins, Pharrell told W, "I bought it five or six years ago. I went into the store...
#PHARRELLHAT, 2014 The hat heard round the world. Of its origins, Pharrell told W, "I bought it five or six years ago. I went into the store World’s End in London with my friend Ronnie Newhouse to buy a pair of boots for my wife. While we were there, Ronnie [a creative director who understands the power and history of fashion like few others] told me that the hat was designed by Vivienne Westwood and was championed by her then husband, Malcolm McLaren, who managed the Sex Pistols. I bought two hats that day, and I wore one in a TV interview soon after. No one said anything about the hat. They didn’t notice.” But since the Grammys, he has seized the moment — wearing the Hat in several different colors.
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
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