Few music producers are as versatile or as well-known as Pharrell Williams. However, outside of his musical talents, the Pharrell Williams hat styles are also famous. If your only exposure to Williams’ hats is his happy hat, here are more.
Pharrell Williams Hat Styles: The Early Days
Mr. Williams started in music back in the 90s. Born in 1973, he began exploring his musical talents as a young man. One of his first big breaks was contributing to the song Rump Shaker by Wreckx-n-Effect.
Pharrell Williams wears a camo trucker-style cap at a press conference for Reebok, 2004 (Mark Mainz/Getty Images)
Our first Pharrell hat, however, is from 2004. The previous year, Mr. Williams and his co-producer Chad Hugo won Grammys for their work on Justin Timberlake’s album Justified.
In this photo, we see the Pharrell Williams camo trucker hat. The hat has a thick padded front crown and a mesh back. The camo pattern also covers the front brim. Mr. Williams wears this cap to the side, which was the style at the time.
This Pharrell Williams fur trapper hat is what he wore to the MTV European Music Awards, 2006 (Toni Anne Barson Archive/WireImage/Getty Images)
In 2006, Mr. Williams attended the MTV European Music Awards. On the red carpet, he wore a thick fur trapper hat with earflaps and strings attached. This hat resembles what Russian soldiers wear (the Ushanka), but the flaps are thicker and longer.
Pharrell Williams trilby hat (Getty Images)
By the end of the decade, Mr. Williams was still trying out various hat styles. In 2010, when Williams was part of the music group N.E.R.D., they partnered with Honda to promote the new CR-V. At the event, Mr. Williams wore a black mens trilby hats. This hat has a stingy brim that he wore snapped up in front and in back. It also has a center crease in the crown.
An Icon in the Making: The 2014 Pharrell Hat
Although Mr. Williams dabbled in various hat styles, 2014 marked a seismic shift for his headpieces. While attending the 2014 Grammy Awards, he turned heads by wearing a massive custom-made brown headpiece that became known by many names. Some called it the Pharrell Williams Big Hat. Others called it the Pharrell Williams Mountain Hat because it looks like the campaign cover the Royal Canadian Mounties wear. And still, others called it the Pharrell Williams Happy Hat. Although, he actually wore a beige mens fedora hat with a black hat band in his music video for the hit single Happy.
Still, the Pharrell Williams Happy Hat by designer Vivienne Westwood is every bit as much the recording artist’s signature silhouette as the Slash Top Hat.
Fast food aficionados dubbed the Pharrell Williams Mountain Hat with its chaotic Montana Peak and flat brim the Pharrell Williams Arby’s Hat. The moniker occurred because the hat resembles the roast beef sandwich shop’s iconic sign.
Pharrell Williams showing off the crown of his dark gray Happy Hat (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
In a green Pharrell Williams Mountain Hat at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards (Mark Davis/Getty Images)
At the end of 2014, Mr. Williams decided to venture out and wear a slightly different take on The Hat. At the Jingle Ball, he wore an open-crown hat with a fixed flat brim accessorized with a yellow bandana hatband.
Pharrell Williams wears an open-crown Mountie-style hat at the Jingle Ball, 2014 (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
Open crowns have no crease or pinch at all, just the smooth round top. But if you were to pinch this hat symmetrically in front and back, you’d be left with a genuine Pharrell Williams Campaign Cover. It'd be like the ones Marine Corps drill sergeants wear.
Pharrell’s Style Since “The Hat”
2014 was such a banner year for Mr. Williams’ music and hat styles alike. Unfortunately, fate stepped in and brought him down a notch, thanks to a lawsuit from the estate of Marvin Gaye. The estate alleged that Mr. Williams stole musical elements for the 2013 smash hit Blurred Lines and the court found him guilty in 2015.
Pharrell Williams wears a black fedora at the Latin Grammy Awards, 2016 (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Still, it takes a lot to dull the shine of a fashion-forward star, and in 2016, his hat styles returned. While on a red carpet for the Latin Grammy Awards, Mr. Williams sported a black felt fedora. But in keeping with his nice-guy image, he decided to fold the front brim up so it wouldn’t look like a gangster fedora hat. The style looks more like a Mexican sombrero from a Clint Eastwood western.
Pharrell Williams Hat - Final Thoughts
Pharrell Williams is an international music producer with a string of hits. He’s also an avid hat wearer, and he’s not afraid to push the fashion envelope. Learn more about the Pharrell Williams hat styles over the years, both pre and post-2014 Grammys.