Festival Style Icon- Alex Turner

We have looked all week ahead to this summer’s festival season and today we will focus on the man who most music fans would love to see live, Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner. The lad from Sheffield who has been a figure of suave nonchalance ever since he first came to our attention as a teenager with his “I bet that you look good on the dance-floor” singing band. Ten years on, he has matured into a cultured young man with a timeless and individual sense of style.

His look has changed quite significantly down the years, from his Teddy Boy look in the band’s early days to rocker with the long untamed hair-do sported during albums such as their third, Humbug, in 2008. He has more recently become known for his vintage 50’s rock look, with a pomade-filled quiffed haircut, slicked back in a way reminiscent to that of a young Elvis Presley. His image transformation is made all the more remarkable by the fact he doesn’t have a stylist like most of his musical peers, instead, he is completely self-styled; proving he has a natural panache when it comes to fashion.

Topping the bill on the Friday of last year’s Glastonbury Festival, The Monkeys failed to disappoint with an engaging set, mixing roaring noise with breath-taking lighting, all fronted by the enigmatic display of 28-year-old Turner. This weekend they will open the festival season in Finsbury Park, London, with a gigantic headline set. Then later this summer they will make another appearance at the prestigious Reading & Leeds event. Having nailed just about every festival there is to nail in this country already, these two events are set to draw in crowds exceeding 80,000 a time and this should propel the band into claiming the lofty title of Britain’s biggest band, held by the likes of Oasis and The Stone Roses before them.

His former girlfriend Alexa Chung is a notable model and fashionista in this country and some attribute his change in style to her influence upon him, however, there has always been consistency with his sense of dress and the style of music he produces. Notably, when he took time away from the Arctic Monkeys to begin a side project with close-friend Miles Kane on The Last Shadow Puppets, his appearance changed quite dramatically in the two short years, growing a long mane reminiscent of John Lennon’s.

Here are three ways to emulate looks Alex Turner has sported over the years:

Alex’s early days will be remembered for the classic polo shirts and everyday lad sort of look. His hair and general style have altered greatly since these days.  

 As the band released albums such as “Humbug” and then “Suck It and See”, Turner grew his hair much longer and embraced the famed rock figure he had become. You might say these times were defined by printed t-shirts and skinny jeans, so it is easy to recreate the look.

3. Retro 

Now infamous for his quiff hairstyle and retro style, he has become much more refined in the way he dresses and bases many of his outfits on either a white button-up or a leather jacket.

Get the look at Mainline Menswear: