Harry Styles: First Solo Man on the Cover of Vogue
With his eccentric looks and charming demeanor, it is no surprise that Harry Styles is the first man to be featured solo on the cover of the December 2020 issue of Vogue. With influences from 60s and 70s rockstars such as Prince, Freddie Mercury and David Bowie, Styles shows off his style and embraces his femininity by playing with androgyny and self-expression.
Any fan of Harry Styles knows that he is not afraid to reject tradition and go out of his comfort zone, and this issue of Vogue shows this. The outfits in this photoshoot are simply immaculate. Styles takes the cover of Vogue rocking a fabulous Fall 2020 Gucci dress, a statement that shows how the lines of gender are starting to blur in mainstream media. And Harry is at the forefront of this revolution.
““You can never be overdressed. There’s no such thing. The people that I looked up to in music—Prince and David Bowie and Elvis and Freddie Mercury and Elton John—they’re such showmen.””
While Harry has been experimenting with his look through wacky and campy outfits that make him stand out and embrace his androgyny, he does not fail to give credit to his many inspirations, telling Vogue that “… You can never be overdressed. There’s no such thing. The people that I looked up to in music—Prince and David Bowie and Elvis and Freddie Mercury and Elton John—they’re such showmen.” This influence is highly clear in the pictures of Styles for his Vogue issue. Sporting different kinds of skirts, as well as a kilt in one of the photos, Harry draws inspiration from rock musicians who were not afraid to break down barriers regarding gender structures. “What’s really exciting is that all of these lines are just kind of crumbling away. When you take away ‘There’s clothes for men and there’s clothes for women,’ once you remove any barriers, obviously you open up the arena in which you can play,” Harry states.
While Harry clearly has a lot of outside inspirations, it is no doubt that millions of people look up to Harry himself not only through the lens of music but also through fashion. In fact, the way that Styles expresses himself through fashion has certainly inspired me. To cite a previous MODA Article, I mentioned Harry Styles as my fashion inspiration in my 2019 Quad Style. And, since then, Harry has not failed to influence the way that I use fashion to express myself.
Not only has Styles’ solo career given him more influence over his music, as he has written all of his songs in his two solo albums, it has also allowed him greater creative expression, pertaining to his style and brand. Having been a Harry Styles stan since the early One Direction days, Harry’s transformation regarding his style as well as his liberty to find comfort within himself has been an important journey to witness.
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When talking about Harry’s style and his gender expression through fashion, however, it is important to acknowledge and appreciate all of the non-binary and gender nonconforming artists that are changing the game in terms of style and music. Artists such as Arca, Dorian Electra, Yves Tumor, and Grimes are helping redefine the idea of gender in media. Although Harry Styles has been a strong influence on many who are embracing their identities and sexualities by helping break down gender barriers in clothing, we must still realize why cisgender artists like Harry are getting so much appreciation by doing the same thing as other actual gender fluid artists have done before him, yet have been ridiculed for. On this account, it is fair to say that although Harry is taking a step in the right direction in breaking gender norms, it is still important to acknowledge others that are doing the same thing yet not getting as much credit as they deserve.
