“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro,” Hunter S. Thompson once famously—nay, immortally—wrote. Like so many an HST line, those words from the journalist (and, yes, icon of gleeful, unwavering substance abuse) ring truer today than ever before; one can only imagine the field day that Thompson, with his keen mind for politics and savage wit, might have had with the current election cycle. Even in fashion, it seems, the weird have turned pro, judging by signs from Alessandro Michele’s varsity-lettered, tiger-emblazoned chiffon gowns to velour Juicy Couture body gloves from Vetements.
Thompson’s personal fashion legacy, a glorious, gonzo mishmash of sportsmen’s utility, is looking particularly prescient these days. A reproduction of his iconic Abercrombie & Fitch patchworked Safari jacket was backed just last week on Kickstarter. Henry Holland referenced it directly for Spring ’16, with a freewheeling, maximalist homage. Both bucket hats and tropical shirts have emerged from the shadows to serious new modishness, and for Spring ’17, tinted shades and aviators from labels like No. 21, Tommy Hilfiger, and Gucci recalled Thompson’s yellow Ray-Ban Kalichrome Shooters (that little ring between the lenses was, believe it or not, a cigarette holder, a gimmicky bid by Ray-Ban for active smokers).
In honor of the mighty HST’s birthday, we’re turning to some archival shots of the journalist, for whom it never got weird enough, as wardrobe inspiration.