Justin Bieber is one of Hollywood’s keenest stunt dressers. Having spent over half of his life in the spotlight, for better and for worse, Biebs and his longtime stylist, Karla Welch, have cracked the code on how to parlay dressing like someone’s “skate-rat kid brother” into a steady source of media attention. Because who among us hasn’t succumbed to the lure of a “He wore what?” headline? Certainly not ye who clicked on this article.
Pulling up to the Grammys in a giant suit and a hot pink beanie? Of course. Rocking a fur coat in the dead of summer? Certainly. Wearing some Mesozoic-era-looking snow boots to brunch in Bel Air? Nothing else would do. And even if we’ve come to expect these freaky-deaky ’fits from Bieber, their wacky effect is only heightened when he’s with his wife, Hailey Bieber, an exceedingly polished dresser who, even in baggy sweats and a biker jacket, always manages to look like the former ballerina that she is.
Recently, the Biebers went on a date night to Sushi Park, located in a West Hollywood strip mall—Hailey looking characteristically composed in a black leather jacket, baggy white trousers, and a Koosh-ball-esque knit beanie. Meanwhile, there was an impish Justin, whose body was wrapped in a big rainbow crochet blanket, worn as though he was attempting an intentionally terrible celebrity disguise. And just in case we couldn’t suss out who was under all that yarn, he paired the blanket with a plaid bucket hat and patchwork pants both from his own brand, Drew House. Nice try, Sleeper Bieber.
In a move that seems like the inevitable endpoint of a hyperfixation on cozy ’fits, celebrities have sort of embraced “fashion blankets” as of late—and not just the kind for your home, though those count too. In 2021, A$AP Rocky and Rihanna arrived flirtatiously late to the Met Gala, each in their own bed-linen-adjacent getup: her in a down-comforter-like Balenciaga gown; him donning a humongous calico patchwork quilt reworked by the designer ERL.
This past fall, Billie Eilish and her boyfriend, Neighbourhood front man Jesse Rutherford, posed on the red carpet for a Los Angeles County Museum of Art gala huddled inside a massive monogrammed Gucci duvet. (For emphasis, Billie also wore a matching sleeping eye mask as a headband.) And while there is a certain coyness to a famous couple showing up in public wrapped in a blanket—you know!—that hardly seems to be what Justin Bieber is after. His fashion goal has only ever been unmitigated, often delightful, chaos.
This article was originally published in GQ.
