A new biopic, <i>Miles Ahead</i>, celebrates jazz trumpeter Mr Miles Davis, whose sense of style was as polished as his playing.

One of the 20th century’s greatest pioneers of jazz – if not music in general – Mr Miles Davis was no slouch when it came to throwing together an outfit. In fact, his style, like his music, had a staggering range, shifting over the course of his career from English-style tailoring (according to The Guardian, he used to home-notch the lapels of his suits to imitate the Duke of Windsor) to the far-out, defiantly funky ensembles (and giant hexagonal shades) he adopted in the 1970s and 1980s, after single-handedly inventing the musical genre of “fusion” with his seminal album Bitches Brew (an essential listen, by the way). Such sartorial prowess is fully reflected in new biopic Miles Ahead, directed by and starring Mr Don Cheadle as the iconic trumpeter, and featuring some fantastic costumes from designer Ms Gersha Phillips. But there’s also plenty of inspiration to be found from the man himself. Below, MR PORTER selects a trio of tips from Mr Davis’s prodigious wardrobe.

Mr Davis and Mr Gil Evans, pictured above in 1962, first worked together on 1948’s Birth Of The Cool, an album that stripped back a lot of the noodling tendencies of contemporary bebop jazz and paved the way for Mr Davis’s sublime, laid-back album Kind Of Blue, a landmark in what became known as cool jazz. It seems the duo also applied the same less-is-more approach to their outfits, at least if we go by the bomber-jacket-and-polo combos above. It’s a wonderfully simple look that still works today. Put it together by pointing your browser at stylish minimalists A.P.C. and Margaret Howell.

This image of Mr Davis, taken around 1959, serves as enduring testimony to the fact that double-breasted suits are not solely the preserve of giant financiers smoking cigars in 100th-floor boardrooms. No, actually, with a slim closure, subtle pattern and certain amount of restraint in the button department, such an outfit combines smartness with a bit of maverick energy. See for yourself with a windowpane check number from Parisian brand Sandro.

In the late 1960s, Mr Davis’s wife, Ms Betty Davis, pictured above left, introduced him to the work of Mr Jimi Hendrix, who would come to influence Mr Davis’s incredible, free-ranging electronic jazz double album of 1970, Bitches Brew. Tragically, just months after the record came out, Mr Hendrix died. But it seems that some of his wild, psychedelic style lived on in the ensemble Mr Davis wore to the funeral. Although we probably wouldn’t recommend wearing something similar to such a sombre occasion (things were, of course, different in the 1970s), we can’t help admiring Mr Davis’s rakish combination of scarf, velvet jacket and necklace. It’s not a million miles away from the looks currently on offer at Saint Laurent, which implies that, if you were wondering about adding a few extra accessories to your wardrobe, now is probably the time.