Why Guy Fieri’s Flame Shirt Is Having a Fashion Moment

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Flame shirts are a special brand of sleaze. Unlike the gross-appealing machismo that comes with classics like open tops, mobster pinky rings, or pencil-thin mustaches, flame shirts may be the least sexy clothes in existence. Senior Vogue Market Editor Kirby Marzec connects them to “that weird heavy-metal-meets-grunge-mall-rat guy with the awful pointy beard, gelled spiky hair, and is totally drinking a Monster Energy drink.” Eek.

But Marzec isn’t so far off from how society views the flame shirt. It recalls a specific noughties-era type of a man: a hint of Smash Mouth, a drizzle of chin strap, and, of course, one large keg of peroxide bleach (for those gelled tips). But the best seared-in-the-brain example of the unforgettable look is Guy Fieri. Though he often wears a standard bowling shirt on top of a white tee, the donkey sauce–chugging TV personality and restaurateur was immortalized in a meme-ified image of himself in the campy flame shirt. (Saturday Night Live dedicated an unaired sketch to Fieri and his flame shirt back in 2012). Fun fact: Fieri reportedly disliked the flame shirt he became so synonymous with.

Fast-forward to 2018 and Fieri might want to revisit that shirt as it is surprisingly on-trend. The classic flame graphic with ends curled up like a biochemical hazard symbol came licking down the men’s runway for Fall 2018. It turned up on T-shirts as prints and in the form of a necklace pendant at Dior Homme. It also cameoed as black squiggles on the jeans at Vetements. Kolor showed a Thrasher-like logo of electric blue and nuclear orange tongues eating the phrase “Uneven.” Unsurprisingly at SSS World Corp, a label rooted in bad boy appeal, there was a short-sleeved button-up shirt that boasted emoji-type flames swallowing skulls. Even Prada sent out a camp shirt with airbrushed flames. On the women’s front, Rihanna wore a flaming fur coat and Vetements goth-stomping flame heels two days ago.

From left: Prada Fall menswear 2018, Dior Homme Fall menswear 2018, SSS World Corp Fall menswear 2018Courtesy of Indigital.tv

So, can Fieri and other men of 2018 reclaim the flame? It’s a toss-up on whether we should, well, feed the fire here. Vogue Culture Editor Alessandra Codinha says, with Hades-type hatred: “I think if you have to communicate how hot you are by wearing clothes painted with literal flames, you’re not.” (Sick burn!) Vogue Living Editor Ella Riley-Adams treads lightly on the subject. “Yes but they would have to be very cool otherwise,” she writes. “Like if they were wearing flame shirt plus good Carhartts plus a turtleneck under.” As for a guy’s opinion, Vogue contributor Diego Hadis offers up a less heated point. “If I wore a Prada flame shirt, it would have to be under something really simple and understated, like a black cardigan or something,” he says. “Flame prints are almost unsalvageable, except toned down as mentioned above. Peaking out from underneath a Comme des Garçons holey sweater might be okay, too.” The takeaway, here? Don’t let the fires engulf you. Try layering and breaking the print up with solids. A flicker, in this case, is best. As for Fieri? Looks like he was ahead of his time, after all. Next stop, Flavortown.