Spike Lee’s Style Evolution

Life is good when you’re in a timeless, well-fitting gray suit, layered over a sheeny shirt and tie, glass of bubbly in hand.

It’s an absolute power move to sport your own merch, especially when it looks this good.

Now, that’s a coat and a half. It’s giving Jonathan Anderson’s Loewe 24 years before that appointment. The gloves are also pretty great (is that a mix of brown leather and black nylon?).

Wearing that black suit and white shirt again? Make your colourful scarf your secret weapon, and why not throw a hat on while you’re at it.

Pure ’90s nostalgia, with the ankh necklace and the other less-easy-to-describe necklace really bringing the entire look together.

The ankh is back for ’92, atop an effortless collarless blazer, made more casual by a Malcom X cap—here, an explicit nod to the biopic which released that year.

Gotta hand it to Vogue: this is a ‘fit and a half. It’s like what we’re all wearing now, piecing remnants of fading trends—gorpcore, dadcore, Y2K, Aimé Leon Dore-mania—together in a super refreshing way.

The famous red Yankees cap, styled with a cozy, Knicks-flavored Nike ACG fleece.

Without the telltale flip phone and grainy quality, you’d believe this photo was taken yesterday. That green felt Yankees cap, khaki raglan knit, and beige cargo pant combo feels so right now.

Everything, here, is intentional. The unusually-rectangle-for-Lee glasses. The is-it-a-tie-is-it-a-cravat accessory. The wide satin lapels. The big cuffs, heightened by the shorter arm sleeves. The straight leg trousers. The well-shined shoes. That’s what we call making an effort.

This look tells me that Spike Lee would look very good in, and would probably very much appreciate, clothes by Bianca Saunders. The silhouette and the colors feels very much in line with the British designer’s output.

Styled with a shy shrug of the shoulders, this earthy look, delicately finished with tortoise shell spectacles, whispers quiet intellect.

What I want my Winter Wonderland ‘fit for this year to look like.

This might be the coolest anyone’s ever looked in a Wimbledon blazer, as Lee has freed the piece of its haughty colouring by styling it with a baggy polo, relaxed trousers, and Knicks-themed AF1s.

The magic of this ensemble is that he didn’t overthink it. He grabbed a trusty big pony Ralph polo, paired it with some everyday trousers, and finished it off by throwing on some Jordans and a baseball cap. Sometimes, good fashion is really that simple.

A true mark of style is the ability to seamlessly switch between the laid-back look of sports jerseys and shorts and smarter cord suits and ties.

If I could be anybody at any time, being Spike Lee in a velvet suit and satin tie stood with Samuel L. Jackson at the September 2007 Giorgio Armani show would be high up there.

To turn a noughties skater boy ‘fit into a political statement (see: Obama ’08 printed on the tee) is absolutely everything to us.