How the actor taught us how to dress.

When Mr Robin Williams turned up to the movie premiere of Flubber in 1997, he wore a combat-style black bomber jacket by Issey Miyake, some thin, gold round-framed spectacles with clear side-shields, baggy black trousers and a pair of plimsolls. It was quite at odds to the dowdy science teacher getup worn by his character in the film and is in no uncertain terms, some astonishingly good fashion. Back then, the late Mr Williams turned heads for his unique brand of comedy rather than for the brands he wore on his back, but fashion’s cyclical nature has favoured the comedian’s sense of style in hindsight, and it turns out his outfits were ahead of their time.

This all came to light after, early last month, a few images of Mr Williams dressed in surprisingly current fashion – including the aforementioned outfit – did the rounds on Twitter (which was perhaps apt considering that Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, an HBO documentary about the comedian’s life, had just been released). One picture showed him in the 1990s looking like a resplendent dad in a theme park, wearing a flame shirt that could have been straight out of Prada’s AW18 collection. The shirt was paired with wraparound sunglasses and a cross-body bag to form an outfit that makes Gully Guy Leo’s style seem dated. Mr Williams may be better known for the curtain-style dress he wore in Mrs Doubtfire in 1993 (more so in recent years because Ms Kim Kardashian was seen wearing something similar to the Met Gala), but this showed him in a different light – the comedian from so many childhoods was actually a bit of a style harbinger.

Mr Williams’ style was not limited to pre-emptive post-ironic streetwear, however – the actor also was a dab hand at understated black-tie dressing and tailoring, as can be seen in this picture from 1981. And he could also rock a Cuban shirt with laidback ease.

Despite his warcore-style jacket, dad sneakers and general prescience of what would be happening in fashion now, the much-missed Mr Williams will not be remembered for his clothes. And rightly so. They, along with his performances in Dead Poets Society, Jumanji_,_ Aladdin, Good Will Hunting, One Hour Photo and so many others, are just part of his individuality. And a sign that the clothes – however stylish – don’t always make the man.