As good a song as “Are You Gonna Go My Way” is, the internet generation may always know the rock star Lenny Kravitz best for his taste in accessories. If you’re here reading this article, you are probably aware of The Scarf.
At the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday evening, Kravitz introduced an entirely new piece of neckwear: a patent leather tie strung up on a beaded cord and adorned with a heavy crystal cross. It was, in other words, a necktie necklace.
The musician wore the accessory with a studded leather jacket from Vintage On Hollywood (on Instagram, the store called it “his lucky jacket”), leather pants, and no shirt. The tieless agenda has reigned on Hollywood red carpets and at political gatherings of late; this is the first time in recent memory, however, that we’ve seen someone go for a tie sans shirt.
Later on during the broadcast, Kravitz—who also won a Moonman last night for best rock video—changed into a white feathered boa, snakeskin pants to perform a medley of his songs alongside Migos rapper Quavo. Aside from a dangling fringe chain necklace, the rocker was, once again, not wearing a shirt.
It’s possible that Quavo’s verse on their joint song “Fly” may even have influenced Kravitz’s performance outfit last night: “Put some feathers on my drip ’cause I’m fly / Diamonds twinkle every time I’m outside,” he raps on the track. It’s also possible that the rocker may have taken some inspiration from his soon-to-be son-in-law Channing Tatum’s most memorable movie look.
Earlier this year at her dad’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, actress Zoë Kravitz regaled the crowd about Lenny’s perpetual state of shirtlessness. “I’ve seen your incredible dedication to your art. But mostly, I’ve seen through your shirts. According to my dad, if it doesn’t expose your nipples, it’s not a shirt,” she said. “Sure, it used to embarrass me when you picked me up from school as a kid—but I gotta say, at this point, I respect it. You really do pull it off.”
