Your black turtleneck has a colourful past

The black turtleneck is a serious piece of clothing. Utilitarian, moody, considered, ambiguous. It’s also a well-known fact that if you wear any other colour turtleneck, you look like a Wiggle.

People have weaponised the garment, which began as sports attire for 19th century polo players, and used it as a tool for chic manipulation.

In another context, the piece was worn by subversives and activists. Here are the colourful characters who famously sported a black turtleneck.

The Black Panthers leveraged the non-descript, un-gendered black silhouette, taking attention away from the person wearing it and projecting it onto the task at hand - dismantling the racist systems that repressed them.

Before there was Elizabeth Holmes, there was Steve Jobs. Holmes’ female-tech-god “uniform” was famously modelled after his. Jobs' black turtlenecks, of which he had about 100, were made-to-order by Japanese designer Issey Miyake.

Andy Warhol’s art was all about pop culture, high vs low brow, but his staple was the black turtleneck. It had the spirit of a stern world and settled the whimsy of his blonde wig and black aviators.

Marilyn Monroe made the black turtleneck sexy when she was intimately pictured in her home in 1953 by Life photographer Alfred Aisenstaedt. To this day, the juxtaposition of the high-neck, form-fitting sweater pairs modesty and sensuality in a way that no other garment can.

The prize for most frivolous turtleneck goes to Dwayne “Sir Rock” Johnson. It was the 90s #tbt that launched a thousand memes. Even now, if you wear a necklace over a black turtleneck sweater you are probably giving Dwayne.

The black turtleneck, with its many personalities and disciples, shall be reborn.

WORDS: Joanna Panagopoulos PRODUCER: Bianca Farmakis Read more

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