By Rory Satran

Back in October, before the election that would make him one of the most powerful people in government, Elon Musk was stumping for Donald Trump at a rally in New York. Wearing his uniform of a black T-shirt, black blazer and black Make America Great Again cap, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO pumped up the crowd, declaring: "I'm not just MAGA, I'm dark gothic MAGA."

It was a radical new style for the Republican party, where conservative values usually mean conservative clothing. With his T-shirt namechecking Isaac Asimov's sci-fi series "Foundation," Musk looked more like he belonged at a Magic: The Gathering tournament than a political event.

Now firmly ensconced in the White House as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk's "Dark MAGA" style has gone mainstream. His acolytes dress down in black caps, black jeans and black hoodies, with blazers on top for more formal occasions. Geeky slogan T-shirts are big: Musk's have included "DOGE," "Tech Support" and "Occupy Mars." The look is easy to emulate: Hundreds of black MAGA caps, T-shirts and hoodies are available through the official Donald Trump store, Etsy sellers and made-in-China Amazon outlets.

Dark MAGA conveys a certain renegade, individualist conservatism: I'm MAGA, but I'm also me.

"I feel like I can relate to Elon," said Lindsay Krisko of Frisco, Texas. Through her business Glitter Dixie Designs, Krisko makes black Dark MAGA hats and tops on her Cricut crafting machine that she wears and sells online and at her local Painted Tree Boutiques. She said she loved her country but wasn't always in the mood to wear red, white and blue.

Krisko said she was fascinated by Musk's political transformation and that she identified with his shift toward the right. "Dark MAGA for me reflects that our government isn't perfect and hasn't been working for the people," she said.

The look is a drastic departure from the preppy, patriotic style and red MAGA hats of the first Trump administration. No one incarnated everyman MAGA style more than Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who became famous in 2020 for pointing guns at St. Louis protesters in their suburban khakis and capri pants. Four years later, Trump won in part by pulling in a whole new demographic: Musk-y independents who would never set foot in a country club.

"I don't want to wear a bright-red MAGA hat -- that's cringe" said Jessie Whitney, 35, an Albany, N.Y.-area, musician in the band Anacortez, whose music she describes as "heavy rock meets post-hardcore."

Whitney, who voted Democratic before 2024, said she wasn't interested in "starting an argument about politics in the middle of the feminine hygiene aisle" at Walmart. She preferred her Dark MAGA hat because it was "a little bit more low-key, but it still makes a statement."

Dark MAGA is "an edgier, outskirts type of situation rather than the red MAGA caps that everyone knows," said Mimi Mih ilescu, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Bath who studies internet culture and politics. In her 2024 article on political blog The Loop, "How Dark MAGA Memes Are Shaping Radical Belief Systems," Mih ilescu described Dark MAGA followers as "righteous warriors" engaged in an apocalyptic battle for free speech.

In an interview, Mih ilescu explained how the Dark MAGA aesthetic has grown out of online memes with roots in "fashwave" -- alt-right music and culture. The memes use black-and-red lighting, lasers coming out of politicians' eyes, Japanese anime and techno music. Musk posted a video compiling some of these tropes on X with the message "Dark MAGA Assemble!"

The Dark MAGA crew certainly doesn't have a monopoly on utilitarian all-black garb. Just ask high-school technical-theater nerds or Silicon Valley software engineers. Given these overlapping styles, ideological collisions are inevitable. At his recent White House visit, a journalist needled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about his lack of formality when he wore his standard black polo shirt symbolizing solidarity with his military. (Similarly, Mih ilescu called the Dark MAGA folks a "special army" who are "people who will fight for their country.")

Later, in a White House press briefing, Peter Doocy of Fox News compared Zelensky's style to Musk's and asked why Musk also didn't wear a suit. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt crowed, "He did last night!"

Indeed, Trump's taste in clothes seems to be rubbing off on Musk. Returning from Mar-a-Lago with the president earlier this month, Musk flashed a black DOGE T-shirt. Over it? An embellished-collar jacket from his boss's favorite brand, elite Italian tailor Brioni. Dark MAGA, meet Fancy MAGA.

Write to Rory Satran at rory.satran@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 29, 2025 07:00 ET (11:00 GMT)

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