the majority of the lei are fake, they have been piled on to obscure who is standing close to him.
It was and is common to pile leis like that on people; whether this photo is shopped or not I have no idea. But for arrivals, departures, graduations etc of people who have a lot of friends or relatives, I’ve seen piles of leis like that.
And one thing all the lei do very well, is obscure the girl who is standing close to him. Most people don’t even notice her, which has always puzzled me.
the majority of the lei are fake, they have been piled on to obscure who is standing close to him.