He may have sung “sometimes the clothes do not make the man” on his 1990 anthem of self-expression, “Freedom! ’90”, but there’s no denying that George Michael had one of the finest wardrobes out there.
Whether during his leather-clad and short-short-heavy Wham! years between 1981 and 1986 or his time as a solo artist, Michael was known as much for being a fashion icon as he was his musical genius – and not just because he got the world’s supermodels (Turlington, Campbell et al) to appear in two of his music videos.
Michael used fashion as much as an expression of his own hyper-sexualised masculinity (he was privately gay until he was outed in April 1998) as he did a tool to reflect his political views – case in point being the time he wore Katharine Hamnett’s anti-war and anti-drugs “Choose Life” T-shirt in the 1984 video for “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”. Furthermore, even when the press tried to drag him down, he dressed up (he turned up to David Letterman’s chat show – his first television appearance since being outed – in an ultra-chic, three-button blazer and wide-leg slacks).
It may be the four-year anniversary of his death at the end of this year, and yet Michael’s camp-tastic looks of the 1980s, as well as the more melancholic, pared-back, Issey Miyake-laden style of his later years, remain massive influences on the fashion industry at large. The Spring/Summer 2020 collections, for instance, are awash with the linchpins of Michael’s style, from shorter-than-short shorts, double-denim two-pieces and arm-baring vests to floaty, sexed-up suiting, aviator shades and dangly earrings.
Below, we’ve dissected Michael’s wardrobe to show you the timeless and accessible style lessons you can take away from it.
Not the first to do it (Johnny Depp sported one in 1984’s A Nightmare On Elm Street) nor the last (Will Smith wore one during his Fresh Prince years), Andrew Ridgley and George Michael are arguably the most famous crop top-wearing men in history. In 1985 the Wham! duo took to the stage in matching white Katharine Hamnett cropped vests.
Fast forward 15 crop top-less years (even Ewan McGregor couldn’t take it mainstream in 1994’s Trainspotting) to the 2010s and Kid Cudi (he performed an entire Coachella set in one in 2014), Jaden Smith and Calvin Klein (for Spring/Summer 2011) heralded the Michael staple. Today, the abs-exposing crop tops and knits are Troye Sivan’s go-tos, as well as collection staples for Daniel W Fletcher, Xander Zhou and Raf Simons.
Better start that 30-day crunch plan.
Channelling a less scantily clad, arguably more handsome Tom Of Finland, George Michael made the Clint Eastwood-approved Western-style double denim his own. Both on stage and in music videos, matchy-matchy denim was a mainstay in Michael’s wardrobe in the late 1980s and early 1990s, long before Britney and JT even gave it a go. Down below, Levi’s 501 jeans were Michael’s go-to and he was never afraid to try out different washes or distressed numbers, while, up top, a sleeveless jacket was key.
Today, double denim is bigger than ever. Seen on the likes of Stranger Things’ Dacre Montgomery (whom we’d go as far as saying has a style based solely on Michael), as well as Daniel Craig and George Clooney, it’s also one of the biggest trends on the catwalk. For Spring/Summer 2020 Valentino, Loewe, Versace, Celine, Fendi and Louis Vuitton all proposed we start matching our blue jeans to our truckers.
Michael, being Greek Cypriot (his real name was Giorgos Kyriakos Panayiotou), had a decent year-long tan to show off. No surprise, then, that he had a penchant for thigh-high, leg-flashing shorts. Favouring brands such as Fila (turns out he was a big fan of the Italian sports label and even wore a track jacket when he became the first star on James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke”), short shorts are as synonymous with Michael as “Last Christmas”.
Thanks to him, we’re also at it, all summer long, and they’re not in danger of going anywhere, if the catwalks are anything to go by. For the SS19 season, designers went big on barely there shorts, with Prada, Louis Vuitton and Dries Van Noten leading the way. For this season, things have got sexier and a lot more risqué with brands such as Versace, Daniel W Fletcher and Fendi proposing that you swap out your twill shorts in favour of soft, silky boxer shorts.
During his Wham! era, Michael wasn’t averse to wearing a vest. In fact, the Johnny Depp go-to was perhaps his most favoured item of clothing to wear up top during his years with Andrew Ridgley, and he sported everything from neon-hued string jobs to crisp white M&S styles.
And while we’ve been advocates of the humble vest for some time, it seems it’s now a fashion must-have after being associated with the likes of Coronation Street’s Jack Duckworth for too long. Whether knitted and worn with a pair of straight-leg jeans or super thin and tucked into a pair of short shorts, the vest is a catwalk mainstay, presented by the likes of Prada, Lanvin, Dolce & Gabbana and Saint Laurent.
While the sun might be shining today, we recommend throwing an overshirt over one.
Simply put, George Michael loved a co-ord. Comprising a pair of aforementioned thigh-skimming short shorts and either a matching shirt or cropped vest (a bold “Club Tropicana“ canary-yellow one for a performance at the Lyceum Theatre in 1983, for instance), it was a go-to for the “Jesus To A Child” singer during the Wham! era.
Today, the co-ord has unfortunately been adopted by those blink-and-you’ll-miss-them Love Island contestants, but we’re still making a case for it. As are brands such as Charles Jeffrey, Ahluwalia Studio and Oliver Cheshire’s Che. And rather than stick to the nylon co-ords that Michael sported, designers are proposing you throw denim, silk and fleece into the mix.
George Michael on beating drugs, depression and his outing in LA
