Geek Chic--Daniel Wu and Anthony Wong have it, Johnny Depp doesn't!

I have noticed in the past year or so a real resurgence in "Geek Chic".  You know, guys wearing strange clothing combinations (and if they don't fit quite right, so much the better), thick rimmed glasses, frightful hats and just generally anti-fashion outfits.  A goofy smile doesn't hurt, either.  Now you might think every guy has an inner geek just waiting to come out.  But think about it for a minute:  could you ever envision Mick Jagger as a geek?  Hardly!  There are also some guys who desperately want to express that inner geek, but fail miserably.  So here is my current Geek Chic Hall of Fame.

Exhibit A - Anthony Wong Yiu Ming

Now Anthony Wong is usually a very cool dresser.  Edgy, always a bit ahead of trends, fearless, with a body that clothes love (tall and lanky doesn't hurt one little bit) and a highly personal sense of style that sometimes borders on the eccentric.  But in recent years Anthony has gone over the edge and embraced his inner geek wholeheartedly.  What is there to say about this outfit?  Take notes, boys, if you are just getting into the game.  This guy is a master.

Here is Anthony at his most over the top on stage.  He is like some Chinese Oscar Wilde crossed with a fin-de-siecle Mephistopholes from a Viennese production of Faust.  We haven't seen stagecraft like this in pop star costuming since David Bowie left his glam phase behind in the 70s.  This guy really rocks on stage, and I don't just mean his music.

Exhibit B - David Byrne

Another alternative musician who delighted in embracing his inner geek was David Byrne.  He brought a sense of surreal fantasy to a lot of what the Talking Heads did, both on records and on stage.  I got to see Talking Heads in their Stop Making Sense tour back in the early 80s and it was a revelation to see so much thought go into David's costumes and his wacky dancing.  A real trailblazer in geek chic 80s style, where big was good (hair, shoulders, excess) but bigger was BEST!

Come to think of it, all of the personnel of the Talking Heads embraced their inner geek with downright enthusiasm, even Tina, the bassist.  This is a picture from about 1980.  This was the heyday of punk.  No sign of it here.  Nope, these guys look like Junion High School science teachers.  I think geekdom comes naturally to everyone in this band. 

Exhibit C - Johnny Depp

This guy is a ringer.  He is trying so hard to be geeky, and it just isn't convincing.  Maybe its the French girlfriend, maybe its living in Provence for so many years, but no matter how hard he tries, this guy just can find his inner geek.  Nope, Johnny Depp just ends up looking like a French intellectual, which he probably would have been if he had been born in France and not the US.  Eccentric does not equal geek.  Sorry, Johnny.  Stop trying so hard, 'cause you're never going to channel true geekdom.

Exhibit D - Daniel Wu

DRUMROLL

There are geeks, and there are geeks.  But Alive Not Dead's own Daniel Wu wins the prize for geekiest celebrity hands down!  What possessed him to put this outfit together and then show up at the Alive Not Dead first year birthday party and be photographed a bazillion times?  True geekdom.  He doesn't give a damn about looking like a STAR.  He's trying to let his inner nice guy shine through.  He wants us to love him for his mind and his talent, not for his washboard abs and his pretty face (which directors delight in showing us every chance they get).  Nope, Daniel wants us to get that he's not just a pretty face and a killer bod, he's a nice guy and he thinks long and hard about stuff.  This is a man of ideas, not some muscle bound himbo.  This is a guy any girl would want to stay up late drinking lattes with and discussing deep thoughts.  Daniel is a true geek's geek.  In this outfit, he is the epitome of ultimate geek.  I shudder to think what would happen if Daniel Wu and Anthony Wong Yiu Ming showed up at the same event.  Could Hong Kong, could the world handle so much cool geekiness?  It might be the end of life as we know it on this planet.