See President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and JFK reimagined as hipsters
On Inauguration Day, as presidents and political figures throughout history float to the front of our minds, we invite you to participate in a little experiment. What if these leaders, past and present, had grown up in today’s world? What if they were… hipsters?
Hipstory, a new book of postcards hitting stores Feb. 21, collects illustrator Amit Shimoni’s vibrant, imaginative portraits of these would-be millennials — which have been displayed online and in galleries around the globe. Below, EW is thrilled to reveal a selection of images from the book, along with the characters’ cheeky bios.
Excerpts from Hipstory: Why Be a World Leader When You Could Be a Hipster? by Amit Shimoni
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Abe Lincoln, Alt-Country legend, pioneer of pallbearer chic, liberator of slaves and all round badass remains one of the most enduring of all hipster icons. Not only has he built log cabins with his bare hands and won first place in the Freestyle Beard Category at the trans-continental Facial Hair Championships two years in succession, he has also opened the world’s first hand-pulled pork franchise in Wicker Park, Chicago.
BARACK OBAMA
Having recently been made redundant, former CEO Barrie O.B. is already making the most of his free time and has signed up for classes in urban foraging, beekeeping, taxidermy and Kokedama (the Japanese art of sculpting moss balls). He is also learning to play the ukulele and insists on subjecting visitors, VIPs and startled heads of state to selections from Morrissey’s back catalogue.
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
Dr. King Jr. recently collaborated with Diplo on a remix album of his most famous speeches which he plans to release as a vinyl exclusive for Record Store Day. Dr. King is also about to launch “I Have a Dream,” his new range of hand-dyed, street art-inspired baguette tote bags, embroidered linens and rumpled-khaki sportswear.
JOHN F. KENNEDY
Having recently made a killing by investing in a Portland-based start-up importing sustainably harvested bamboo-framed sunglasses, trustafarian former heartthrob J. Fitzgerald Kennedy can nowadays be found in Brooklyn’s most fashionable cold-pressed juice bars, hunched over his battered pre-war typewriter and working on his debut novel with his rescue bulldog, Oswald, at his feet. He describes the work-in-progress as a “mash-up” of Murakami, James Franco, Jonathan Lethem and David Foster Wallace.
HILLARY CLINTON
Clinton Denim Workshop is a small-batch, hand-crafted American heritage denim brand founded by devoted husband-and-wife team Hilly and “Bonnie Prince” Billy Clinton – and their team of jeansmiths – in the heart of the Appalachians. Made on authentic seventeenth-century Flemish shuttle looms the denim is produced with the finest milled organic cotton. Each pair of jeans is handstitched and signed by either Hilly, Billy, or one of their dedicated team of young interns.
MAHATMA GANDHI
When Indian Slow Tech guru Mahatma “Karmacoma” Gandhi first arrived in the West during the dark ages of the late 1990s, he was horrified. “I couldn’t find a decent green chai latte anywhere! It was enough to drive me to acts of violent resistance!” Thankfully, those days are long gone. However, “The Mahatma” still insists on certain standards when it comes to his favorite beverages: “My coffee must be double-filtered because, as far as I’m concerned, single-filtering is strictly for Imperialists”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II
Britain’s longest-serving monarch and Normcore fashion goddess, Elizabeth R is also the undisputed Queen of the Mixtape. Her most recent release, “Flowers in the Dustbin” is available exclusively on cassette and eight-track and its eclectic mix of dreampop, freak folk, Japanese rockabilly, Congolese polyphonic Pygmy chants and vintage field recordings of exorcisms has been described as “a culture-jamming future classic.”
NELSON MANDELA
Long-admired as a global peace icon, Nelson has more recently been making headlines around the world for other reasons: he is officially recognized as the first man to have ever taken a selfie in American Apparel and post the result on Instagram, receiving 2.3 million “likes” in the process. He was wearing a 1960s Hawaiian “Kilauea volcano” print shirt over a vintage New Order T-shirt at the time.
DONALD TRUMP
Believe it or not, businessman, politician and all-American braggart, Donald “Darko” Trump actually has a sensitive side. He owns every Wes Anderson film on Betamax, he unwinds with the love poetry of Sufi master Rumi and re-reads Sylvia Plath’s Ariel at least twice a year. During a recent interview, Trump claimed that a 2008 Arcade Fire live show made him cry and that experience has taught him that “the greatest step towards a life of simplicity is to learn to let go.”
WINSTON CHURCHILL
Having kicked Fascism’s ass during the 1940s, Winnie ‘Buns of Steel’ Churchill reinvented himself as a fitness guru and is now the CEO of Blood, Toil, Tears & Sweat – a successful chain of boutique health spas. An enthusiastic early adopter of Bikram yoga and mindfulness meditation, Winnie has made sure his clubs offer classes in everything from ballet to Boxfit and from Soulcycle to vinyasa flow.
From Hipstory: Why Be a World Leader When You Could Be a Hipster? by Amit Shimoni. Used with permission of Laurence King Publishing.
