ON HIS ROYAL BADNESS

A look at how a musical icon dressed—and what it means.

The legendary musician Prince, who died in 2016 at age 57, was known for a lot of things: his music, of course, which changed pop music forever; his electric live performances; and his hit 1984 film Purple Rain. But he was also a fashion icon: As historian Ritchie notes, his “distinctive wardrobe rewrote contemporary perceptions of how Black male musicians should look, sound and behave.” Ritchie takes a look at some of Prince’s most memorable looks, starting with his use of leg warmers, which saw him teetering “somewhere within the gender spectrum,” and continuing with the memorable purple trenchcoat he donned in Purple Rain: “Fetishizing the garment, Prince flipped the military connotations, traditionally steeped in decades of heteronormative displays of masculinity, and subverted this by wearing it alongside bare flesh and layers of feminine lace and ruffles.” She goes on to cover his other signature looks: his high heels, BDSM-inspired chain hat, and, of course, the iconic cloud suit he wore in the video for “Raspberry Beret” (and that he certainly did not find in a second-hand store). Ritchie makes a convincing case that fashion was a huge part of Prince’s personality and public image, writing that it was “just as intrinsic to his creative process as a recording session or a dance rehearsal. Prince represents the potential of limitless self-expression when one is wholly and uniquely themselves.” The book will appeal to Prince superfans and students of fashion, but it’s a testament to Ritchie’s writing—rooted in academia but accessible to lay readers—that even those who only casually know of Prince will find much of interest here. This is a fun and fascinating read.

A well-researched account of the man who started his own personal style revolution.