Daniel RidingHere at MFM, when covering a style icon we tend to look at people who have a stylish take on gentlemanly apparel. So for this particular style icon piece we decided to look to someone who is a little bolder with their garment choices, and hopefully encourage our readers to be a little braver in their styling process. Why should the girls have all the fun? Over the past couple of seasons we have seen designers unveil a plethora of high volume visuals and designs and this shows that us men are really taking the bull by the horns and braving the world of contemporary clothing. Will.I.Am is someone who really isn’t afraid of getting things wrong, and that is the first step into the world of dressing differently. If he dresses like a dapper gentleman he does it with a kick by adding vibrant colours or an interesting piece of clothing that may appear futuristic or otherworldly.
In The Beginning…
At the start of his career Will.I.Am was part of the R&B group Black Eyed Peas and he was starting to show signs of adventurous dressing. It wasn’t until we saw him as a solo act without the other band members that we really began to notice and appreciate is wacky sense of self styling. He takes pushing yourself to the next level, and if you have read any of my previous articles you will know I am a huge advocate of being brave and trying interesting bold new things. While some of his clothing choices may not be for everyone, he certainly helps demonstrate my fashion mission statement of men being able dress as interestingly as possible without the society led restraints of how men should dress. Even though I love tradition and have a firm love for anything heritage, I do also believe that the idea of adding some extra ‘pow’ to an outfit is imperative in maintain one’s individuality.
Super Style
Will.I.Am has what I like to call ‘super style’ which basically means awakening your fashion sense’s super powers. Think of how you dress now and then assess about how you can give it a boost. For example: full on suit and tie, looks dashing in theory but what about adding a bright colour shirt with an even brighter tie, and then maybe wear some brogues that have a coloured sole. You may not need or want to reach the level of the Will.I.Am’s wardrobe, but it will show you how you can make things a little more interesting.
Style Inspiration
So now the question is how do us regular guys translate Will.I.Am’s personal style into our own wardrobes? How you approach this is really down to your own personal taste and bravery level, but to help you along I am going to show you how I would translate this wild way of dressing into three different looks. This way of dressing may not be for everyone but it should definitely give you a clear perspective on dressing a little differently.
Look One: Casual
I know what you’re thinking, how in the world can this crazy way of dressing be translated into a style that is meant to be considered casual? Well there are a number of ways this can be done, as far as I’m concerned the best way to approach this is with the use of colour, and finding vibrant alternatives to your otherwise casual pieces. So maybe we should really call it casual/borderline crazy, but clearly in a good way. Jeans are considered a staple piece of everyman’s wardrobe so you could maybe keep this as normal as possible or if you’re daring enough go for a pop of colour. A baseball jacket is also considered casual so again turn up the volume and go for a bold colour. This kind of look should really be about bold and crazy accessories so it’s a good way to introduce yourself to bold styling choices.
Look Two: Smart
This version of smart may not always be appropriate for every kind of occasion, the choice of bold colours and vibrant pieces are best left behind when asked to attend a wedding or funeral (unless the dress codes deems it a requirement). The best way to approach the fabulous version of formality is to focus on tailored pieces but mix and match colours almost to the point of looking borderline obnoxious but where it can still be classed as socially acceptable to be eye catching. The way Will.I.Am approaches this look is with the idea of picking a colour an sticking to different shades within that colour palette, this refrains the look from appearing too outlandish.
Look Three: Futuristic
This is where the look becomes very different from the previous two, if Will.I.Am wants to go for a more futuristic approach he tends to stick with a colour palette of black but makes his clothing choices that much more interesting and sci-fi looking. This way of dressing is reminiscent of how Japanese street fashion wear is approached or how the boys in the current Korean pop bands like to dress. This way of styling yourself is definitely something new and takes a strong fashion stomach to digest this kind of look. But if you are keen to make a statement then look no further, and approach this idea of dressing with a feeling of futuristic armour and power dressing.
To Conclude
As you can tell the way Will.I.Am dresses needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, don’t take it too seriously and allow yourself to have fun with it. People will either love it or hate it; it’s up to you how much you dilute these looks to suit your own personal style. Will.I.Am after all spends his life in the public eye and had been on his fair share of best dressed and worst dressed lists. Take from this article what you will, you don’t even need to dress exactly with as much free reign as this article suggests. What I am merely trying to articulate through Will.I.Am’s dress sense is this feeling of not being so restricted in your choice of garments. Never be afraid to be even just a little bit different, if what we are seeing coming down the catwalks is anything to go by then the future of male dressing is going to become that much more interesting. So be brave, be bold, and just completely own it.