Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai - The Mad Hatter

Hamid Karzai, the man once proclaimed by Tom Ford to be "the chic-est man on the planet" due to his hat, is losing his sartorial credentials as we speak. Or rather, as I write. In his ever-present Karakul hat - made out of the pelt of foetal or new born lambs - was the coolest thing around when Karzai took power in Afghanistan in 2002. Not so much anymore.


Now, a whole war later, the hat isn't what it used to be. Karzai is struggling in the political arena, and his signature accessory is suffering a similar fate, at least according to this NYT article. The decline of the man and his hat has left a road heavy with fashion victims and, if we're to believe Ahmed, an Afghan in his 50s shopping for a new hat, not much cred to presidential role: “I went back to my village in Logar wearing my karakul hat and people laughed: ‘There goes the old man who thinks he’s president'". It ain't easy be a trend setter. Hamid - or being a prophet in your home town, for that matter...