There’s no doubt Mr Lenny Kravitz is a style icon. He has been setting and subverting trends since 1989 when he released his debut album, Let Love Rule. His second album, Mama Said, and singles such as “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” cemented his rock-god status. More than three decades on, Mr Kravitz has published a memoir, also titled Let Love Rule, which details his music, style and life from childhood to the age of 25.

Today’s 25-year-olds will know him as the father of Ms Zoë Kravitz, father-in-law to Mr Karl Glusman, Cinna from The Hunger Games movies and the current face of SAINT LAURENT. They will also know him for his huge scarf.

On a chilly September day in New York City in 2012, Mr Kravitz stepped out wearing a sizeable accessory that immediately drew attention. The scarf blanket (scanket, blarf?) is the closest physical manifestation of self-care we’ve ever seen in a winter garment. To be fair, it looks utterly cosy. If its purpose is to keep his neck warm, then it more than fulfils the brief. Beyond that, it raises some questions about Mr Kravitz. For one, does the oversized scarf indicate that he has an unusually cold torso? Was he in a hurry to leave the house and grabbed the throw from his couch? Did he get in a fight with a giant and win the scarf as a trophy? Or is it simply a security blanket that he’s super attached to?

Apart from the size, Mr Kravitz is doing some things right with his scarf. The knitted behemoth is in a neutral brown colour, which goes with everything. A good scarf should be made from a soft and substantial fabric, such as wool or cashmere, to keep you warm. It should also be long enough to wrap loosely once around your neck, with the ends reaching halfway down your jacket, to balance your proportions. He missed the mark only on that last one.

Mr Kravitz has since explained his choice of scarf and admits it is one he “cannot escape”. In an appearance on The Tonight Show in 2018, he told Mr Jimmy Fallon that, as a resident of the Bahamas (the island of Eleuthera to be exact), he’s used to hot weather, so a comparatively cold day in New York called for reinforcements. “I had to go to the store,” he said. “I was buying some groceries and I thought I’d put on a lil’ scarf to protect my throat, and that’s the scarf I had.”

Unfortunately for him, but luckily for the internet, his errand was caught on camera and quickly became a meme, his neckwear growing in size as it made its way around the web.

Even without a gargantuan scarf, Mr Kravitz is not a man who could not go unnoticed, even if he wanted to. No wallflower, he’s worn flared metallic jumpsuits, feather boas and gold ponchos. He once bought a tailored Giorgio Armani suit to “dress weird”.

The 56-year-old Grammy-winning musician created his distinct aesthetic with the help of Ms Arianne Phillips, the Oscar-nominated costume designer behind A Single Man, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, the Kingsman films and Madonna’s many looks. Mr Kravitz has established his eclectic uniform of hippie insouciance with skin-tight leather trousers, skinnier jeans, shirts unbuttoned to the sternum, denim on denim, layers of necklaces and two nose rings (a stud in one nostril and a hoop in the other). Even as it changes, his hair, which has gone from short curls and cornrows to an afro and dreadlocks, is instantly recognisable. He recently told WWD that, “For me, it’s about fitting my silhouette and expressing just how I want to feel at that time, whether it’s just wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt and some boots and going out into the world.”

Yes, he knows how to rock the requisite off-duty celebrity staples of hat and aviators. But even on a normal day, he’s rarely without a pair of sunglasses. His bright purple beanie here both protects and highlights his trademark hair. His distressed jeans are tucked into ankle boots. It’s essentially a cold-weather version of his usual look.

But he’s not on a red carpet, on stage or on the cover of a magazine. He’s just doing some shopping. A living, breathing rock star walking down the street, unreservedly himself. In an unforgettably enormous scarf.