At the forefront of the mid-00s indie scene was a young man from Sheffield who “just wanted to be one of The Strokes” – a teenage singer-songwriter-guitarist named Alex Turner. At just 16, he formed the Arctic Monkeys with two of his school friends, fast becoming a global sensation by proliferating through fiercely loyal online fan groups, collecting several Brit Awards, a Mercury Prize and five Grammy nominations along the way. Last week, the band — including a now 36-year-old Alex — released their adventurous new record, The Car.
If each Arctic Monkeys album cycle can be seen as an aesthetic evolution for Alex, one of the most notoriously beloved was the musician’s leather-clad AM era in 2013: the moody alt rock album was met with widespread critical acclaim upon release, and is largely credited as a cornerstone of a particular sort of early 2010s Tumblr aesthetic – think soft grunge, or those five American Apparel-clad children standing in front of a wall.
It was a look so powerful that it might have damned him and the group, as Ashley Reese writes for Alt Press, “to a leather-jacket-and-mop-top image forever”. But this greaser effort wasn’t Alex’s last iconic outfit — and it certainly wasn’t his first. To mark the release of Arctic Monkeys’ seventh studio album, we look back on a number of the most notable looks sported by the OG indie band’s mischievous frontman.
At a concert, 2006
Arctic Monkeys began recording together in 2003: they distributed demos via free CDs they’d burned their songs onto, and signed with London-based independent record label Domino in 2005. As a British adolescent and early adopter of blokecore, many of Alex’s outfits at the start of his career consisted of Adidas track tops like this classic black windcheater, as well as utility jackets, grey-blue jeans, and an impressive collection of polo shirts — collar flipped up, of course.
At the Brit Awards, 2008
Despite a reputation for snubbing award ceremonies, the band collected their trophies for Best British Band and Best British Album in tongue-in-cheek Tory cosplay, dressed in their flat cap finery. Like his fellow Arctic Monkeys members, Alex wore bright socks pulled up over tweed trousers, accessorising with a paisley neck scarf and a shiny hunting horn. He topped the ensemble off with a camel-coloured cap with a single pheasant feather across the brim.
In the “Cornerstone” music video, 2009
How could anyone forget the Humbug era iteration of Alex Turner? Appearing in the minimalist video for “Cornerstone”, a beautifully melancholy single about bar hopping in all the wrong places to find love, a long-locked Alex wears a knitted red mock neck jumper and chunky white over-ear headphones, with a cassette recorder artfully slung across his chest. You can watch the lo-fi, Richard Ayoade-directed clip on YouTube, or just look up “art” in the dictionary, it’ll be there somewhere.
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On the streets of New York, 2015
The release of Suck it and See in 2011 marked Alex’s foray into a few elements of 1950s style, as well as the birth of his iconic Teddy Boy quiff. Leather jackets and loafers formed the basis of his go-to uniform for the next few years — a dependable and easily remixable recipe that worked best as it edged away from the more costume-like end of rockabilly. In this paparazzi shot, Alex wears a gold link chain that dances just above the neckline of a navy and white striped ringer tee. His Saint Laurent Paris leather racer jacket is worn open, sitting around his shoulders; his hair is tall, combed and somehow still tousled. No one does it better!
In the “Miracle Aligner” music video, 2016
The Last Shadow Puppets is an experimental side project Alex embarked on with fellow artists Miles Kane, James Ford and Zach Dawes. Following their 2008 debut The Age of the Understatement, the supergroup returned after eight years with Everything You’ve Come to Expect — a sophomore album that houses 2016’s “Miracle Aligner”. The playful, seductive track arrived with a stunning music video that finds Alex and Miles conversing in Italian, wearing deep spray-tans and matching pastel-hued suits. Come for the looks, stay for the synchronised dad dancing.
At Glastonbury festival, 2016
The legendary English festival certainly has a long history of producing iconic looks. While this 2016 effort is rather understated — not quite in the league of Amy Winehouse’s cocktail dress, Sinead O’Connor’s fairy wings or even former beau Alexa Chung’s indie sleaze uniform — it’s a chic addition to the slogan tee hall of fame. Over a pair of black trousers with a drop-front Bavarian button fly, the musician wears a shirt from Alexa’s bestie Tennessee Thomas’ LA store The Deep End Club that reads: GIVE A DAMN. With a cream-coloured blazer in one hand, a stage mic in the other, a pair of orange-tinted aviator sunglasses finish the look. Four stars out of five.
On The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, 2018
Sometimes a boy gets a haircut, and the world goes mad. When Alex sheared off the lustrous rock star mane he had been combing on stage in the years prior, the culture reset. The artist debuted this new bold and buzzed look in an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, pairing his newly shaven crown with some tinted vintage frames and an all-black trousers, tee and blazer ensemble. Though controversial at the time, the buzzcut era is remembered fondly as another of the indie visionary’s effective artistic experiments — now bring back the polo shirts!