On July 23, 2023 a man wearing a campy gold fringe vest with matching golden fringe pants walked out on stage at RCF arena in Reggio Emilia, Italy ready to stun yet another crowd—Harry Styles. The crowd embodied the lively atmosphere by dressing up in feather boas, sequins and funky patterns. Fans anticipated to watch what would mark the last show of Love on Tour.
After this, Styles would not post on social media, release any music or interact with fans for the next three years. The only substance to keep the fandom alive was the occasional sighting post provided by fan accounts. This all changed when Styles posted on Instagram announcing his new album — “Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally.”
This Instagram post made waves in the media, with fans immediately deciding what they might wear to the potential tour, predicting the aesthetic of the album and revisiting old memories from the last era of his career.
Despite Styles being on a 3-year hiatus, his fans continued to be loyal to his career and maintained the so-called “fangirl” status.
There has been a long history of celebrities going on hiatus and returning to their careers years later, some fail, some succeed. Katy Perry was one of the most iconic pop stars of the 2010s but her album “143” received excessive backlash, with it being described as “disastrous” and a loss of her “pop charm.” Other celebrities who have failed at making a comeback include Kanye West after making antisemitic remarks.
So even though these celebrities were once star-studded, why couldn’t they make a comeback? Yet, Styles could?
Looking back, we know Style’s career took off when he auditioned for the X-Factor in 2010 where he would become one of the five members of the insanely famous boy-band One Direction. One Direction was just the start to his career of fan girls wanting autographs and years of traveling on the road.
In a written interview with The Medium, Styles shared how the reason the band took off is because of the relatability of all the members. The boys of the band were just teenagers attending high school before their musical careers took off.
But in 2016 we watched the craze of One Direction suddenly come crashing down as the band decided to take an indefinite hiatus, which, though it being ten years later, fans are still waiting for a reunion. After the end of One Direction, we watched as each of the members began releasing solo music, getting married and starting families.
Even though they have each become successful in their own ways, Styles has continued to stand out amongst the others. He has become a representation of being unique, true to yourself and what it means to love one other.
In 2018, Styles was spotted with a badge on his guitar that read “Treat People with Kindness.” From then on people started putting the mantra on t-shirts and affiliating it with Harry Styles. This led to Styles releasing the song “Treat People with Kindness,” based on the mantra.
Styles has continued projecting his mantra of treating people with kindness for fans by advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and promoting kindness at his concerts. Styles has helped his fans come out to families on multiple accounts, one being in 2018 when one fan held up a sign reading “I’m gonna come out to my parents because of you!”
What Styles wears has become a great part of his persona. We’ve watched him go from wearing the basic white t-shirt and jeans combo to styling sequin blazers with fringe, glitter pants to wearing a Gucci dress on the cover of Vogue. It’s safe to say that Styles has become a big influence for fashion, especially during this time, as we see him explore gender-bent clothing and defy the limits of how it should be worn.
Harry Styles has continued to be a musical powerhouse and fashion icon for the community of Generation Z. From his influential music, his impact on fashion and his ever-lasting goal to spread kindness, it’s easy to agree that Styles truly will never go “out of style.”
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Hi! I’m Hannah Planey, A Magazine’s editor-in-chief. My staff and I are committed to bringing you the most important and entertaining news from the realms of fashion, beauty and culture. We are full-time students and hard-working journalists. While we get support from the student media fee and earned revenue such as advertising, both of those continue to decline. Your generous gift of any amount will help enhance our student experience as we grow into working professionals. Please go here to donate to A Magazine.
