Robin Williams was beloved for his genius wit and huge personality, but along with other streetwear buffs of a certain vintage like Eric Clapton, he also represented something of an unlikely style icon.
Scroll down your Instagram Explore feed and it won't be long until you wind up on a fan gallery extolling some of the late comedian's biggest '90s fits — think flame shirts, wraparound sunglasses, The North Face grails, and that Issey Miyake bomber jacket. After that, he developed a small obsession with urban techwear brands, namely ACRONYM, leading him to become a perennial presence on men's fashion forums like Superfuture.
Williams was a fashion aficionado and was regularly seen spending money in high-end boutiques across the globe (Supreme, The Darkside Initiative, and Slam City were reportedly just a few of his favorites). He wasn't so much ahead of the curve as he was operating in another field entirely. For proof, see when he stepped out rocking Salomon sneakers way back in 2009 (the same year, you might remember, he wore Raf Simons kicks on Letterman).
Last night, Williams' daughter, Zelda, opened up on her dad's god-level drip. Posting on Twitter, she confirmed he was a huge BAPE fan, to the point where he knew every employee's name in the store (famously, Kid Cudi worked in the SoHo BAPE location circa the mid-'00s after moving to NYC from Cleveland, so might they have been acquainted with each other?). Williams also had a predilection for obscure Japanese brands (as we already knew) and was something of a thrifter, with Zelda confirming the glasses seen in the famous Issey Miyake shot were actually an antique pilot pair.
It's clear Williams didn't care much for trends or adhering to a certain aesthetic. He quite simply liked cool shit, and when you think about it, that's one of the purest and most commendable motivations anyone who's into fashion could have. Who knows what he would have made of hype culture and the resell market if he was still around today. We're thinking he'd be on another wave entirely, rocking the next big thing long before everyone else, like he always did.
