How celebrities like Holly Willoughby are taking fshion inspiration from KFC’s Colonel Sanders

If you’re looking for fashion inspiration this autumn, look no further than your local KFC.

It appears Colonel Sanders, the white-suited, bewhiskered Southern gent and founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain has become an unlikely style inspiration. 

Fashion conscious celebrities from Holly Willoughby to Victoria Beckham appear to have adopted one of his trademark looks – a white shirt and black neck tie.

While they all look finger lickin’ good, their monochrome ensembles to bear a striking resemblance to the the formal attire worn by gentlemen in the Southern states of the US at the turn of the last century.

To deflect the scorching heat, many would don a white shirt and suit, teamed with a black tie fastened loosely at the neck.

And it became the well-known outfit of Colonel Harland David Sanders, who founded the chicken chain in the 1950s.

His top secret blend of herbs and seasoning – which remains a closely guarded secret today – made him a multi-millionaire before he died in 1980.

And his face – and iconic white shirt and black neck tie – remains on the packaging in 23,000 KFC outlets in 140 countries all over the world.

Among the stars who have given it a chic upgrade are This Morning host Holly, who teamed her black ribbon neck tie with a white textured shirt with a statement collar and black slimline trousers.  

Model Twiggy teamed her crisp white shirt and tie with glittering gold palazzo pants, a red belt and a long velvet jacket when she attended the Harper’s Bazaar 150th Anniversary Party at The Ritz in May 2017.

Style queen Victoria Beckham also embraced the trend earlier this year, lending it a more casual vibe with wide-leg denim trousers.

Johnny Depp’s ex Amber Heard gave it a red carpet vibe with an open shoulder white shirt and figure-hugging black leather skirt, posing at the 14th annual L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth Gala in New York in December.

And Strictly’s Claudia Winkleman scored a perfect 10 from the judges in her monochrome ensemble, which she mixed up on another occasion by swapping to a black shirt and white neck tie. 

Actress Keira Knightley clearly thought it was an outfit fit for a Queen, donning a crisp white shirt with a black bow at the neck to receive her OBE for services to Drama and charity during an Investiture Ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 2018.