Wrong Event, Right Lesson: The Power of Wardrobe in Building an Iconic Personal Brand.

I pitched up at the wrong event.

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What gave it away was not the huge signage (which I missed) but the fact that I was surrounded by a sea of blue suits.

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Within 30 seconds, I realised that I was in the wrong place.

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And so did everyone else.

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During my drive to the correct venue, I thought a lot about what we wear as a tool to communicate who we are, how we choose to express ourselves, and where we feel we belong (or don’t).

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It’s what speaks before we do.

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In Part Two of our Elements of Building an Iconic Personal Brand, I want to look at style and wardrobe by analysing two distinct icons; Steve Jobs and Iris Apfel.

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We’ll start with Steve Jobs and his iconic black turtle neck, jeans, and sneakers.

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Despite the simplicity, his wardrobe was a very deliberate decision. He wanted to curate a wardrobe that eliminated any unnecessary fuss and distraction from his work.

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At the same time, it’s also a wardrobe choice that distinguishes him and has become an iconic style.

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If we hop over to the other side of the fence, we get to Iris Apfel.

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Described as the matriarch of maximalism, Iris rose to fame later in life, capturing the attention of big fashion houses and becoming a social media sensation.

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What Iris represents, and I believe why she rose to such stardom, is that she used her style unapologetically to express her creativity and self.

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I’m interested. Where do you fit between these two icons?

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Me? To quote the late and great Iris: “I like big and bold and a lot of pizzazz.”

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