On Sept. 16, 1984, the Anthony Yerkovich-created series Miami Vice premiered on NBC and went on to revolutionize television with its ultra-stylized visuals, cutting-edge MTV-era music and unconventional fashion highlighting the riveting weekly adventures of hard-bitten undercover detectives. “The ambition of the show was to break the form of everything that had come before,” the series’ executive producer Michael Mann tells
In the Casablanca of ’80s Miami, boat-dwelling Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and suave New Yorker Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas) drove luxury cars, averted explosions and busted drug lords in bold and unexpected designer outfits. Crockett’s jacket-over-T-shirt signature triggered a paradigm shift in the traditional concept of menswear, which endures 40 years later. “It changed the way men dressed in the world,” says Emmy-nominated season one costume designer Jodie Tillen. “It gave men permission to wear pastels.”
Today, its slouchy silhouettes and soft colors are heavily influencing men on the red carpet. “Miami Vice has definitely been on my mood board,” says stylist Michael Fisher. “It’s been referenced 10,000 times for every photo shoot I have.” In recent months, Fisher has dressed clients Sebastian Stan, John Mulaney and Jake Gyllenhaal in art deco-hued suits and oversize jackets with slouchy tanks, looks that immediately bring the show to mind.
