Harry Styles: Fine Line & Fashion

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What springs to mind when you hear the name Harry Styles? For many the wildly popular band One Direction is the first thought, but it is clear in Styles’ second album, “Fine Line” that he has developed a compellingly individual voice. This ex boyband heartthrob has grown into a worthy role-model, an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, the Black Lives Matter movement and unafraid to challenge gender norms.

“Fine line” is the ultimate breakup album with a twist. The album creates a timeline of a relationship, from the initial rush of meeting someone in the first track (and massively successful single) “Golden” to the breakup in the final track and the album’s namesake, “Fine Line”. Though many of the songs reflect difficult times in Styles’ life, his new-found freedom and confidence paints these experiences in an optimistic light, making for an album like no other. This is an album with a song for every mood and aesthetic. It is a feel-good yet heart-wrenching creation, non-specific and written for everyone because that is what Harry Styles ultimately stands for.

Harry Styles’ growing confidence in pushing boundaries is not confined to his music either. He has been an official Gucci ambassador since 2017, starring in three campaigns so far, and there is no denying his custom Gucci 2019 Met Gala look was impressive. Styles’ has become something of a fashion icon as his career continues to develop and his tour suits are one of the things fans most look forward to, designed by Harris Reed to express Styles’ personality and to break the restraints of typical masculinity. This is something Styles’ loves to do and something he is loved for which is clear from the huge wave of support he received after backlash for wearing a dress on the cover of Vogue magazine in November.

It is obvious that blurring the lines between femininity and masculinity will always be controversial in the eyes of some, but Harry Styles has shown no signs of retreating to “normal” societal standards. Instead, he stands by his music and art with pride.