• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

The Ultimate Style Icon?

LabelKing

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
May 24, 2002
Messages
25,421
Reaction score
268
Is Kim Jong Il the ultimate style icon? Fade to Black brought up a good point with all these Asian boys wanting to be fashion icons, but failing desperately in all their pre-fabricated artificiality. Leisure suits, high-heeled shoes and outrageous eyeframes--you can't fake that.
Kim-Jong-Il.jpg
070529_kimjong-ill_vmed_12p.widec.jpg
 

Fade to Black

Distinguished Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2006
Messages
2,736
Reaction score
1
i'd vote for Gianni Agnelli.

i'd like to add that Lapo Elkann has done a good job of carrying the torch...

other definitive style icons:

- Yohji Yamamoto
- Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
- Serge Gainsbourg
- Elton John
- Michael Jackson
 

Fade to Black

Distinguished Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2006
Messages
2,736
Reaction score
1
Originally Posted by LabelKing
all these Asian boys wanting to be fashion icons, but failing desperately in all their pre-fabricated artificiality.
it's even worse when you see this sort of celebrity style trickle down into the average Asian youth. Yesterday at dinner I passed by this group of young guys, they were all wearing those hip, "in the know" Japanese brands...Mastermind Japan tees, Levi's X Fenom jeans and what not, but it was all pure hype, no swagger. That's the problem...people are concentrating too much on the implications of the clothes themselves rather than thinking about the implications the clothes have on their personality.
 

LabelKing

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
May 24, 2002
Messages
25,421
Reaction score
268
Originally Posted by Fade to Black
i'd vote for Gianni Agnelli.

i'd like to add that Lapo Elkann has done a good job of carrying the torch...

other definitive style icons:

- Yohji Yamamoto
- Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
- Serge Gainsbourg
- Elton John
- Michael Jackson

I also favor '60s and '70s Yves Saint Laurent.
 

Fade to Black

Distinguished Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2006
Messages
2,736
Reaction score
1
YSL was good back then, but I can't help but think how he's kinda faded into the background and he doesn't feel relevant today. For that, I think in the greater picture of history Karl Lagerfeld is a better style icon than YSL.
 

LabelKing

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
May 24, 2002
Messages
25,421
Reaction score
268
Originally Posted by Fade to Black
it's even worse when you see this sort of celebrity style trickle down into the average Asian youth. Yesterday at dinner I passed by this group of young guys, they were all wearing those hip, "in the know" Japanese brands...Mastermind Japan tees, Levi's X Fenom jeans and what not, but it was all pure hype, no swagger. That's the problem...people are concentrating too much on the implications of the clothes themselves rather than thinking about the implications the clothes have on their personality.

Indeed, I was in Hong Kong about a year ago, and saw all this firsthand. A whole lot of those" brands that were worn to obvious effect, like Undercoverism Number Nine, etc.

Rather than showing apparent individuality, it shows their whore-ness.
 

RJman

Posse Member
Dubiously Honored
Spamminator Moderator
Joined
Dec 10, 2004
Messages
19,159
Reaction score
2,086
Kim Jong-Il is a style icon only in the Bond villain type of way. He's like a Korean Gert Froebe, and as I write that I can hear the latter (or his dubbed voice by David de Keyser) chuckling, "Golf is not yet the national game of Korea, eh?"
 

LabelKing

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
May 24, 2002
Messages
25,421
Reaction score
268
The other conspicuously Bond-esque villain style icon I can think of is Mobutu Sese Seko with his leopard-skin hats, tortoise-shell eyeframes and weird leisure suits:
T628648A.jpg
 

Fade to Black

Distinguished Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2006
Messages
2,736
Reaction score
1
Idi Amin? He wore military uniform like no other.
 

LabelKing

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
May 24, 2002
Messages
25,421
Reaction score
268
Originally Posted by Fade to Black
Idi Amin? He wore military uniform like no other.
According to sources, Idi Amin used to have people look for assorted, completely random medals to buy so he could wear them on his tunic. Or perhaps Qaddafi of Libya:
1212-qaddafi.jpg
Also Bokassa who holds the record for world's most expensive shoes also known as a pair of bespoke pearl-studded Berlutis for his coronation, which were interestingly given to him by the government of France.
bokassa9.jpg
 

babygreenspots

Distinguished Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2006
Messages
1,203
Reaction score
14
Qaddafi is a good call.

Reza Shah Pahlavi was okay, but I don't have time to search for a picture.

I would definitely second Yves Saint Laurent if you want people from the fashion world. Lagerfeld is bit too weird.
 

RJman

Posse Member
Dubiously Honored
Spamminator Moderator
Joined
Dec 10, 2004
Messages
19,159
Reaction score
2,086
Originally Posted by PCabrelli
You cannot beat the king of Chin, Burt Lancaster!

I thought that was Bruce Campbell.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 60 38.7%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 11.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.4%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 18.1%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,174
Messages
10,579,196
Members
223,888
Latest member
LisaAtkinsu
Top