essay on harry styles

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Harry Styles

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• Official Site of One Direction
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Harry Styles (born February 1, 1994, Redditch , Worcestershire, England) is a British singer, songwriter, and actor, one of the original members of the boy band One Direction and a highly successful solo artist known for his multiple chart-topping singles and albums. Styles became a member of One Direction in 2010, when the group came together to compete on the British music competition television show The X Factor . He later embarked on a career as a solo artist and actor, with forays into fashion.

Styles was raised in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire , England , by his parents, Anne Twist and Desmond Styles. His parents divorced when he was seven years old; thereafter, he and his elder sister, Gemma, were raised by their mother. Styles made his start in music while a student at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, where he was the lead singer of the band White Eskimo. In 2010, encouraged by his mother, Styles auditioned for The X Factor . For the show, he performed a rendition of “ Isn’t She Lovely,” a song originally written by Stevie Wonder . After failing to advance, Styles was recalled and joined with Niall Horan , Zayn Malik , Liam Payne , and Louis Tomlinson to compete as a group on the show. The five-member group subsequently became known as One Direction, named at the suggestion of Styles, and ultimately took third place in the final round of the competition. The group released its debut studio album,  Up All Night , in 2011. Styles cowrote three songs on the album, which climbed quickly to number two on the U.K. Albums Chart and to number one on the Billboard 200. One Direction’s next four albums— Take Me Home  (2012),  Midnight Memories  (2013),  Four  (2014), and  Made in the A.M.  (2015)—were all hugely successful.

In 2016 Styles and the other members of One Direction decided to take a break from recording and touring, enabling Styles to pursue a solo career. That year he signed a contract with Columbia Records and launched Erksine Records, an independent record label. In 2017 he released his debut single, “Sign of the Times,” which topped the U.K. Singles Chart, and his self-titled debut album. His music became known for its combined elements of classic rock , soft rock, and pop, reflecting the many artists by which he was influenced, including the Rolling Stones , the Beatles ,  Pink Floyd , Fleetwood Mac ,  Harry Nilsson , and Shania Twain . His second solo album, Fine Line , was released in 2019, and it broke U.S. sales records for a British male singer. In addition, the song “ Watermelon Sugar” won the Grammy Award for best pop solo performance and the BRIT Award for British single of the year. His follow-up, Harry’s House (2022), was also a critical and commercial hit. It won three Grammys, including album of the year and best pop vocal album.

In 2017 Styles made his debut as an actor, taking on the role of a British soldier during World War II in the film Dunkirk ; his performance received positive reviews. He then accepted a leading role in Don’t Worry Darling (2022), a psychological thriller directed by Olivia Wilde . Also in 2022 he starred in the romantic drama My Policeman , a film set in 1950s Brighton, England, in which Styles played a gay policeman.

From early in his career, Styles was known for his philanthropy. He frequently donated proceeds from his concerts and tours to charities and took moments onstage to bring awareness to equal rights , gender equality , and other causes. He also promoted the slogan “Treat People with Kindness,” after which he wrote a song of the same name that appeared on Fine Line .

Harry Styles is the artist of the decade

• Insider is reminiscing about the past 10 years of musical greats with a series of opinion essays dedicated to the artists who inspired fans around the world. Here, writer Elana Rubin explains why she believes Harry Styles is the greatest artist of the decade.
• Styles made a name for himself this decade through his refreshing take on masculinity, his self-expression through his music, and his commitment to treating his fans with kindness.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Insider is looking back on the last decade of musical greats with a series of opinion essays . Next up: Harry Styles. 

Harry Styles could have gotten lost as an individual in his mega-successful band, One Direction . 

Styles was just 16 years old when he joined One Direction in 2010 after he and four other young men auditioned as solo acts on "The X Factor." Simon Cowell threw them together, and the result was something critics said rivaled The Beatles with their legions of young fans. 

The music industry has a talent for taking young artists like these and spitting them back out as a commodity. Styles could have easily fallen into that trap.

But even as a teen, Styles showed glimmers of the artist he would grow into a decade later: someone who wasn't afraid of self expression, appeared to reject traditional confines of masculinity, and learned to authentically connect with his fan base.

His authenticity, along with his talent, has caused him to become one of the defining artists of the decade.

Styles started off this decade as a member of One Direction, which garnered a massive fan-base for its uplifting sound

From the word "go," One Direction became a massive success after coming in third on "The X Factor."

With support from devoted fans around the world — and the catchy song "What Makes You Beautiful" paving the way — One Direction's "Up All Night" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, making them the first UK group to have their first album debut at the top spot.

The chart-topping only continued after the first album's record-breaking, with their subsequent albums, "Take Me Home," "Midnight Memories," and "Four," also accomplishing the Billboard feat of debuting at No. 1. Their final album, "Made in the A.M.," debuted at No. 2. 

It wasn't just album sales. 1D fans came out in droves to see their music performed live. All four of One Direction's headlining tours grossed more than $500 million total, and the group also released live DVD recordings from the Up All Night and Where We Are tours, along with a theatrical release, "This Is Us," which showed a behind-the-scenes look at the band as they toured in 2012. 

And there was merchandise, of course: One Direction dolls, lunch boxes, and life-size cardboard cutouts. Some critics compared the group's passionate fan base with that of The Beatles. Indeed, some people became so overcome with emotion when seeing the band perform that they cried — myself included. 

Their enormous success also catapulted Styles into superstardom, and he started to showcase his talent as a songwriter within the confines of the boy group, too. 

Styles took on a songwriting role while still in One Direction, proving early on that he has a knack for vulnerability and self-expression through song

Styles became known for his eccentric style, often pushing gender boundaries with his sartorial choices, but behind the scenes, it was his talent for songwriting that further set him apart from his bandmates .

"Something Great" off 2013's "Midnight Memories" exemplified Styles' earnestness with lyrics like, "The script was written and I could not change a thing / I want to rip it all to shreds and start again / One day I'll come into your world and get it right / I'll say we're better off together here tonight." The song was never a hit single, but hardcore fans know it well as showcasing Styles' ability to write heartbroken and emotionally vulnerable lines.

Another achingly honest song from Styles came on the 2015 One Direction album "Made in the A.M." and was titled "If I Could Fly." Styles sings about giving everything up for his love in the song, accompanied by a sweet and simple piano melody.

In 2014, "Just A Little Bit of Your Heart" came out, but he didn't perform the song as a member of One Direction. Instead, he gave it to Ariana Grande who included it on her album "My Everything." The heart-wrenching lyrics "I can't even think straight but I can tell / You were just with her / And I'll still be a fool, I'm a fool for you" wouldn't escape Styles' lips publicly until his 2018 solo world tour.

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But his catalog consists of more than melancholic melodies. Styles' upbeat "Olivia" was one of the highlights from "Made in the A.M.," with tongue-tied lyrics and a full band backing One Direction up, a B-side track worthy of any windows-rolled-down jam session.

The first singles from Styles' 2019 album 'Fine Line' helped cement him as a growing LGBTQ icon

In his solo career, Styles became even more adventurous with his sound, with head-banging tracks such as "Kiwi" and "Carolina," while maintaining his soft, sensitive, and loving nature in "Sweet Creature" and "Two Ghosts."  

Then just this year came "Lights Up," the lead single from Styles' upcoming album, "Fine Line." It's a stunning song that begs the question, "Do you know who you are?" 

It was paired with a music video , released on National Coming Out Day, that includes various shots of Styles being touched by people of all genders. Fans immediately heralded it as " the new bisexual anthem of the century ." ( Insider has even named the visual as the best music video of 2019. ) 

LGBTQ fan reactions were a testament to the power of his lyrics and visuals, and Styles seems to have embraced the community right back .

In August 2019, Styles said in an interview with Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield that he wants "to make people feel comfortable being whatever they want to be." Sheffield points out that Styles has backed LGBTQ artists and people in many ways, from supporting queer artist King Princess ( who will be a part of his Love On Tour 2020 ) to wearing a Michael Sam football jersey , the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team, back in 2014 as a member of One Direction.

Even before going solo, Styles' expression of his sexuality was refreshingly honest. When asked about what he looks for in a partner in a 2014 interview, he said being female is "not that important," shutting down the assumed notion that he's straight. 

Now in 2019, many fans view Styles as an LGBTQ icon, and the singer appears to welcome it and still refuses to label his sexuality.

Styles could warrant artist of the decade in his commercial success alone, but it's who he has grown to be that makes his success all the more important

Styles has made his concert venues a sea of positivity and warmth.

At any one of his tour stops, Styles can be seen holding up various LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter flags, signaling to his diverse group of fans that he loves and supports them. As a Jewish fan, it meant the world when Styles tweeted about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur amid a massive rise of antisemitism .

On a 2017 tour in Stockholm, Styles told the crowd , "If you are black, if you are white, if you are gay, if you are straight, if you are transgender — whoever you are, whoever you want to be, I support you. I love every single one of you."

Mexico City Two, Live On Tour. A post shared by @ harrystyles on Jun 3, 2018 at 5:15pm PDT Jun 3, 2018 at 5:15pm PDT

He also puts his money where his mouth is. On his 2018 world tour, Styles donated a portion of merchandise proceeds to charity,  generously giving $1.2 million that he could have easily pocketed for his own profit. He supported the March for Our Lives movement , a plea for gun control organized by Parkland high school students who survived the tragic attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 2018. 

Because of his activism and inclusion, be it overt or implicit, countless stories have circulated about how Styles has helped people feel safe in their own skin, from expressing their sexuality to tattooing themselves to dressing however they want to. 

And if you've gotten to this point and are thinking, " So what? The only people who like him are teenage girls," you've missed the point. Throughout this decade, Styles — whether in One Direction or beyond — has given young people and especially young women an outlet to feel authentically themselves, and feel supported by someone who doesn't patronize them.

"Who's to say that young girls who like pop music — short for popular, right? — have worse musical taste than a 30-year-old hipster guy? That's not up to you to say. Music is something that's always changing," Styles said of his predominantly female fanbase in the 2019 interview with Sheffield and Rolling Stone .

"Young girls like the Beatles," Styles continued. "You gonna tell me they're not serious? How can you say young girls don't get it? They're our future. Our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going. Teenage-girl fans — they don't lie. If they like you, they're there . They don't act 'too cool.' They like you, and they tell you. Which is sick ."

Styles' ability to be vulnerable through his music, remain authentically kind, and make his fans feel comfortable with who they are — that's what really makes an artist beautiful.

Elana Rubin is a contributing writer for Insider. She's also a screenwriter with words in Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elite Daily, Wonderland, and more. She lives in Los Angeles, but is an East Coast girl at heart. Say hi on Twitter or Instagram @elanarubin.

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Harry Styles

English-born singer Harry Styles rose to fame as one of the five members of the boy band One Direction. He launched his solo career in 2016 and made his acting debut in the 2017 film 'Dunkirk.'

Who Is Harry Styles?

In 2010 Harry Styles auditioned for the UK television show The X Factor , where the judges combined him with four other young male singers to form One Direction. The boy band became a pop music sensation, delivering hits like "Best Song Ever" and "Story of My Life" through five immensely successful studio albums. Styles then made a solo splash in 2017 with his debut single, "Sign of the Times," and a self-titled album. In 2020, he received praise for his second solo album, Fine Line .

Harry Edward Styles was born on February 1, 1994, in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. His parents, Des and Anne, divorced when he was 7 years old. He and his sister Gemma were brought up by their mother in the town of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire. His mother was later remarried, to Robin Twist.

Styles attended Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, where he and three of his friends formed a band called White Eskimo. Styles was White Eskimo's lead singer, and the band was popular enough to win a band competition at their school. After school and on weekends, Styles worked at the W. Mandeville bakery in Holmes Chapel.

'The X Factor'

Performing as One Direction (a name reportedly suggested by Styles), the five boys became one of the most popular contenders in the X Factor finals that season. Although they finished the competition in third place, they were immediately signed to Cowell's Syco music label.

One Direction

Styles, the youngest member of One Direction, became a fan favorite for his curly hair, wide smile and sweet-yet-naughty demeanor. He sang some of the lead vocals on the band's first single, "What Makes You Beautiful," which was released in September 2011 in the United Kingdom. One Direction's debut album, Up All Night , was a best seller in both the United Kingdom and the United States the following year. In another highlight of 2012, Styles and the rest of One Direction performed at the Olympics closing ceremony in London.

Styles went on to enjoy immense success with his bandmates, One Direction following Up All Night with Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013) and Four (2014), all debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The group's final album, Made in the A.M. , just missed the cut by arriving at No. 2 in 2015, before the band split for a lengthy hiatus.

Solo Albums: 'Harry Styles,' 'Fine Line'

Styles made a successful solo entry in 2017 with the epic single "Sign of the Times," his accompanying self-titled album debuting in the familiar No. 1 spot. Fans then waited another two years for his next single, which came in October 2019 with the soulful "Lights Up." His sophomore solo album, Fine Line , contained his first No. 1 single, "Watermelon Sugar." That year he was also nominated for three Grammy awards.

After appearing in concert documentaries with One Direction, Styles made his feature film debut in Christopher Nolan 's 2017 war thriller Dunkirk , as an Allied soldier named Alex.

Personal Life

Known as "the flirt" of One Direction, Styles' romantic relationships were followed obsessively by the press and fans as he rose to fame. In 2011 he began dating television presenter Caroline Flack, whom he met when he was competing on The X Factor and she was hosting its companion show, The Xtra Factor . The difference in their ages—Styles was 17 at the time, and Flack was 32—became the subject of discussion.

Styles was then romantically linked to photographer Sarah-Louise Colivet, models Emma Ostilly and Cara Delevingne, and singers Lily Halpern and Rita Ora. His most-publicized relationship of 2012 was a two-month liaison with pop star Taylor Swift , the experience allegedly fueling a couple of Swift's songs. Styles later dated French model Camille Rowe.

The singer opened up about Swift and his romantic life during a March 2020 interview with Howard Stern , calling it "flattering" to be the subject of someone else's songs, and also described his recent encounter with muggers on Valentine's Day.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Harry
• Birth Year: 1994
• Birth date: February 1, 1994
• Birth City: Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England
• Birth Country: United Kingdom
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: English-born singer Harry Styles rose to fame as one of the five members of the boy band One Direction. He launched his solo career in 2016 and made his acting debut in the 2017 film 'Dunkirk.'
• Astrological Sign: Aquarius
• Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us !

• I wake up so many mornings feeling so lucky and so grateful to be where we are.

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How Harry Styles Uses Style to Break Down Gender Norms

Harry Styles went from being known as a teen heartthrob and supposed “womanizer” during his days in One Direction, to a fashion icon and trailblazer breaking gender norms as a solo artist. Styles has paved the way for other artists and celebrities—men and women—to break down toxic masculinity altogether. 

Styles recently released his single “ As It Was ” from his upcoming album, Harry’s House , which is set to be released on May 20. Styles hasn’t released an album since 2019 and his fans were expecting a lot. Styles delivered.

In the music video for the single, Styles displays his gender-fluidity, dressed in a red sequin jumpsuit with a female dance partner in blue as they move along a spinning platform. What sets this music video apart from his others is his ability to shift from the masculine role to the feminine at different points of the film. At one point Harry is embracing his female partner, protecting her, and visibly embodying the masculine energy between them. 

At another point, Styles lets go of her and begins dancing, twirling like a ballerina. In a 2019 interview with the Guardian , Styles said, “If I see a nice shirt and get told, ‘But it’s for ladies.’ I think: ‘Okaaaay? Doesn’t make me want to wear it less though.’ I think the moment you feel more comfortable with yourself, it all becomes a lot easier.” It’s clear that Styles sees no gender in clothes, and that is comfortable with being completely himself. 

Styles has always played around with his feminine side and he’s definitely not afraid of experimenting when it comes to fashion. In November of 2020, he appeared on the cover of Vogue as the first-ever man to appear solo, wearing a Gucci dress. 

After the cover was published, conservative political commentator Candace Owens tweeted , “There is no society that can survive without strong men.. It is an outright attack. Bring back manly men.”

In response to this, Styles captioned a photo on his Instagram with “Bring back manly men.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by @harrystyles

Just like his music, Styles’ fashion taste was not always this bold and daring during his One Direction days. Styles’ loved rocking loose blouses with skinny jeans and his signature Chelsea boots. From time to time, though, he’d bring out a bold pattern to shake things up a bit. Even at this point in his career, he was embracing his feminine side with no regrets.

Styles dressed in a pink ballerina’s tutu for a Saturday Night Live show in 2019.

Styles’ has explored different realms of fashion and style to the point where fans were quick to label his different “phases,” in which his hair and his choice of clothing drastically changed each time. It all started with “Fetus Harry,” straight from the X-Factor, then “Fratboy Harry,” to “Bandana Harry,” “Prince Hair Harry,” “Long Hair Harry,” “Dunkirk Harry,” and more recently, “Fine Line Harry.” 

Styles at the X-Factor Studio in 2010

Styles in 2013

Styles at his St. Louis show in 2021 for LOVE ON TOUR

Since going solo, Styles’ fashion taste has grown tremendously. He brought back 70s and 80s fashion during his first solo tour, “Live on Tour” with floral suits, sequins, and even a pleated skirt at his show in Glasgow, Scotland. 

Styles at his New York City show on September 28, 2017, wearing patterned bell bottoms.

Styles takes the stage in an enthusiastic and traditional Scottish pleated skirt in Glasgow on November 2, 2017.

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When it comes to embracing both masculinity and femininity, Styles told Timothee Chalamet in an i-D interview in 2018 that his friends and family played a big role in discovering who he wants to be.

“I didn’t grow up in a man’s man world. I grew up with my mum and my sister. But I definitely think in the last two years, I’ve become a lot more content with who I am. I think there’s so much masculinity in being vulnerable and allowing yourself to be feminine, and I’m very comfortable with that. Growing up you don’t even know what those things mean.”

Growing up in the spotlight and in one of the biggest boy bands in the world can also put a strain on your self-discovery journey. 

“You have this idea of what being masculine is and as you grow up and experience more of the world, you become more comfortable with who you are. Today it’s easier to embrace masculinity in so many different things. I definitely find — through music, writing, talking with friends, and being open — that some of the times when I feel most confident is when I’m allowing myself to be vulnerable. It’s something that I definitely try and do,” said Styles.

Chalamet, acclaimed Lady Bird and Dune actor, has also adopted a a gender bending style. He plays around with feminine materials and daring patterns. In his interview with Styles, he expressed his excitement for modern masculinity. “There isn’t a specific notion, or jean size, or muscle shirt, or affectation, or eyebrow raise, or dissolution, or drug use that you have to take part in to be masculine. It’s exciting. It’s a brave new world,” said Chalamet.

Styles is popular with many members of the LGBTQ+ community. On his last tour, videos surfaced the internet of him helping fans come out in the middle of his shows, as he danced around the stage waving the LGBTQ flag. 

Styles at one of his shows last year after he helped a fan come out. He then screamed “Freedom.”

The intro to Styles last tour was and still is the epitome of who he is. The Love On Tour introduction features the work of poet Charles Bukowski.  The poem echoes through the crowd, as the build up for the song “Golden” begins to play.  “Style,” Bukowski says, “Style is the answer to everything. A fresh way to approach a dull or dangerous thing. To do a dull thing with style is preferable to doing a dangerous thing without it. To do a dangerous thing with style is what I call art.”

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How Harry Styles Saved My Life

“Stop your crying, baby, it’ll be alright.” These lyrics helped me overcome my eating disorder and learn to be kind to myself.

You’re obsessed.

He doesn’t even know you exist.

You’re wasting your money.

Grow up already. Isn’t he for 12-year-olds?

He doesn’t care about you.

You’re embarrassing yourself.

You’ll never meet him.

Being a fan of One Direction since 2010 and continuing to support Harry Styles on his solo journey, I know I have heard it all. But nothing anyone says has ever made me feel bad about idolizing someone who represents kindness, equality, support, inclusion, and love.

Harry recently adopted the slogan “Treat People With Kindness.” The phrase is embroidered onto almost all his merchandise, printed onto water bottles and tote bags, and even written on the side of his customized Calvin Klein tank tops. But he doesn’t just promote the message to his fans: He lives it himself, day by day.

“I love every single one of you,” Harry has said to his fans. “If you are black, if you are white. If you are gay, if you are straight, if you are transgender. Whoever you are, whoever you want to be. I support you.”

Throughout his time in One Direction and as a solo artist, Harry has reached out to fans to help them through personal struggles. During his 2018 solo tour, for example, he helped a bisexual fan come out after reading her sign saying, “I’m gonna come out to my parents because of you!!!” He then asked the audience to quiet down so he could get the fan’s mother’s name and shouted, “Tina, she’s gay!” into his microphone, adding “Tina says she loves you. Congratulations, I’m very happy for you.” Through his music, interviews, and concerts, Harry makes sure his fans know just how important they are to him, and how he is accepting of whoever they want to be.

Raised in Holmes Chapel, England, Harry started his singing career in 2006 when he and three friends at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive school started their band White Eskimo. But he had dreams for something bigger. On April 11, 2010, 16-year-old Harry stepped in line to audition for the X-Factor U.K.

After Harry was cut during the show’s bootcamp, Simon Cowell decided to send Harry and four others — Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson — through as a group rather than as five separate soloists. Harry is credited with creating the name One Direction, and the band advanced to the semi-finals before placing third on Dec. 12, 2010. Cowell later signed the band to his record deal. Their first single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” was released almost a year later, giving fans an idea of what to expect on the band’s first album, “Up All Night.”

Four more albums and world tours later, One Direction decided it was time for a break. Because of his separation from the band, Harry had room to grow as a solo artist and explore his own sound, which led to the release of his first single, “Sign Of The Times,” on April 7, 2017. Later that year, he released a self-titled album and the dates for his first world tour as a soloist.

Throughout his years in the spotlight, Harry has had the ability to both positively and negatively influence his fans. According to Newport Academy , celebrities heavily impact how their fans — specifically teens — view themselves and the world around them. Often, celebrities serve as role models for teens, whether it be for better or for worse. Teens tend to morph their own attitudes and behaviors in ways that mirror their famous idols.

Models, in particular, can have a severe impact on teenage body image. I have experienced this firsthand, and it led to dangerous habits. It started with the occasional glance at Instagram pages belonging to models like Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid, some visits to magazine websites like Vogue or Elle, and searches for healthy recipes on Pinterest. But it quickly spiraled into something much worse.

A 2014 survey by the Today Show and AOL found nearly 80 percent of teen girls compare themselves to the bodies and lifestyles of celebrities on social media. Of this percentage, almost half were unhappy with their appearances because of what they saw online.

This dissatisfaction with body image is linked to mental and physical health problems, including body dysmorphia, depression, and eating disorders. Newport Academy shares that studies have shown a high percentage of girls and women who consume media related to body image and unrealistic, thin body types are more likely to exhibit disordered eating habits. Celebrities who post about unhealthy fad diets and seemingly impossible workout routines trigger these harmful thoughts and actions, minimizing just how severe eating disorders can be.

Social media contributed to my belief that the size of my waist and the number on the scale defined my worth. But my eating disorder wasn’t sparked by Instagram posts and Pinterest boards. It started when I was young.

I was a 4-year-old ballerina comparing my legs to the legs of other dancers, wondering why mine were bigger. I was an 8-year-old cheerleader wondering why my uniform fit differently from the others, why I had to hold all the prettier girls in the air, and why I couldn’t be one of them. I was a 12-year-old sixth grader hiding in the back corner of the girls’ dressing room, hoping no one was watching me change into my P.E. uniform, trying to hide my stomach from the athletic girls. I was a 16-year-old high school junior when I was diagnosed with anorexia and body dysmorphia, and now I’m a 19-year-old college freshman continuing to fight and win my battle.

The bullying started when I was in third grade. The other girls in my class were athletic, tall, and skinny with long blonde hair, expensive clothes, and big houses. I was the opposite. I prioritized my education, and despite my participation in ballet and cheerleading, I was considered an outsider. I didn’t play softball or soccer, I didn’t live in the rich neighborhood, and my parents didn’t have prestigious jobs. I was picked last in gym classes, sat alone at lunch, and had no friends to play with at recess.

The bullying continued through middle school, and in seventh grade, I developed severe anxiety and depression. It was 2013 by now, and One Direction had been a band for three years. I found peace in their music. Just around the time when my anxiety and depression became difficult to handle alone, the band’s third album, “Midnight Memories,” was released.

I had a notebook that I wrote in often. I kept it in my desk, shoved between textbooks and stray pieces of paper. I thought it was safe there. But one day when I opened it to write during free time I had in class, I found my poems and journal entries had been destroyed. Someone had ripped pages in half, scribbled in Sharpie over different lines, and erased my words to replace them with inappropriate drawings. On a journal entry I’d written about Harry, the person left a note about how he wouldn’t care what happened to me.

I started to believe whoever wrote that. I believed Harry couldn’t care less about what I was going through, and I let the anonymous messages get to me. But then I remembered the music. Two songs in particular — “Strong” and “Through The Dark”—gave me the strength I needed to get through days like that, days when I wanted to give up. I connected with lyrics like “Is it so wrong, that you make me strong?” and “Need you to keep me from falling apart.” They reminded me of Harry, how he kept me from breaking. I would string my headphones through the sleeve of my sweater and listen to their music in class, choosing that over listening to the people who always found something else to make fun of.

In eighth grade, I was diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder, a mental illness that prevents my mind from seeing what my body actually looks like. Going to school only made it worse. I tried to hide myself, wearing oversized clothes and controlling my posture in a way that hid the parts of my body I was uncomfortable with. My classmates knew how insecure I was. Boys would take pictures up my skirt from under the desk, touch me inappropriately, and send photos of my body in mass text messages to the class. Before the year ended, a student made a fake article about me, claiming I had participated in sexual intercourse with a group of boys in the grade. They photoshopped my face and body onto inappropriate images. The edit was sent to the entire grade.

The school did nothing about the incident. I felt like I didn’t matter and no one cared, so I turned to One Direction’s fourth album. As I sat alone on the concrete during recess with my earbuds in, Harry’s lyrics spoke to me. “Cause nobody saves me, baby, the way you do.” I felt like he knew he was saving me.

But no matter how hard I tried, my body image never improved. The summer between my sophomore and junior years was the hardest time of my life. I had promised myself I would get better. Be more positive, more confident. But I fulfilled that promise the wrong way.

I began exercising between two and three hours a day. I pushed myself on the treadmill until I was satisfied with the number of calories I had burned. I did squats until I couldn’t stand anymore, and I tried different ab exercises until I couldn’t breathe. I restricted my diet to less than 200 calories a day, eating nothing but a bowl of oatmeal to keep me on my feet. I praised myself when I could make it through a day without eating anything at all.

I weighed myself every morning, before and after every meal, before and after every workout, and before I went to sleep. I lost more than 50 pounds in two months, achieving a weight I considered “healthy” while slowly killing myself both physically and mentally, trying to maintain a weight my body was not built to be.

I fought my family when they admitted me to the hospital a month into my junior year. My academics were almost as important to me as my appearance, and being in the hospital for three months meant missing three months of lessons, assignments, and International Baccalaureate exam preparation. I had no desire to push myself to recover while in the hospital, hoping my doctors would decide not to pay attention to me if I refused to try. It was a strict environment of meal plans, group therapy sessions, and being unable to go to the bathroom if I wasn’t accompanied by a doctor.

I didn’t listen to anything I was told. I would still exercise too much and eat too little. I labeled some foods as “fear foods” — Pop Tarts, Clif Bars, bananas, nuts, salad dressings — and avoided them at all costs.

Eventually, my heart started acting abnormally, beating out of rhythm at quick speeds. I had to wear a monitor to make sure it was functioning properly. I avoided the group therapy discussions, and I didn’t cooperate with my therapist. I didn’t want to try anymore. I didn’t feel like I had any reason to.

But then I found one. I started noticing the pain my family was in, how much they worried about my health, and how much stress I was putting on them. I missed them. I missed my friends. I missed having dance parties in my room to some of my favorite One Direction songs. I missed living, and I decided I wanted to start living again.

I started listening to the One Direction songs I used to listen to, the ones that made me feel strong. They made me feel like I was capable and worthy of recovery.

I give one song on One Direction’s last album credit for saving my life. Harry wrote “If I Could Fly,” and I had never felt more connected to a song. “I’ve got scars even though they can’t always be seen,” he sang. “Pain gets hard, but now you’re here, and I don’t feel a thing.”

To me, the song was a promise that Harry would always be there to help me. It was a promise that recovery was possible. I started listening to the song every day, and its lyrics gave me the strength I needed to not only make my family proud, but to make Harry proud, too.

After three months in the hospital, I reached a healthy weight. I was able to go back to school if I followed a meal plan, avoided strenuous exercise, and worked with my counselors, teachers, family, and therapists as my recovery process continued. I have different people to thank for my recovery, and because of them — especially Harry — I started believing in myself.

After being back at school for a few months, I felt like I was beginning to relapse. But then in early March, I saw a commercial for Harry’s first single as a solo artist.

I’ve always felt like Harry knows when I need him most. “Sign Of The Times” was the first time I heard him sing something new since December 2015, and I immediately felt at home again.

“Stop your crying, baby, it’ll be alright.”

And again, I knew it was possible for things to be alright.

Now, after battling anorexia and body dysmorphia for three years, I am the healthiest I’ve been since the hospital. I graduated high school as valedictorian of my class despite missing three months of my junior year. I received my IB diploma and started college after being offered more than half a million dollars in scholarships from the universities I applied to. I am exercising to be healthy and strong, not to lose weight. I am eating to fuel my body and give it the power it needs to grow, not to watch it wither away, and  I am living to be happy and to love myself, not to please others.

Harry still helps me every day. I listen to his music when I exercise, when I’m doing homework, when I’m stressed, or just when I need the extra support he gives me. And after traveling to see him on his solo tour this past summer, I feel more connected to him than ever before.

I decided I wanted to thank Harry for saving me. I wanted to show him the support he showed me, and I wanted to prove the people who said he would n ever know me wrong. During the summer of 2018, I saw Harry seven times in different cities around the U.S. and stopped by his show in Bologna, Italy, while visiting family. I traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, in June and had a seat against his catwalk. I decided I would try to give him flowers when he walked past.

Halfway through his show, he finished singing “Meet Me In The Hallway,” and my heart felt like it would explode as he made his way down the stairs on the main stage. I held my bouquet out and hoped he would take the lilac and yellow flowers I’d bought for him — and he did. His hand wrapped around mine as he paused for a moment, stopping to smile and say “thank you very much” before continuing down the catwalk. 

A few weeks later, I flew to New York City, where I saw him twice at Madison Square Garden. In Detroit he recognized me in the front row and tossed me his bedazzled pride flag. In Chicago he stopped singing to ask me how I was and blow me a few kisses, and later he played the air guitar with me before drenching me with an entire water bottle during “Kiwi” after I appeared on the big screen in front of the crowd. At my final show in St. Paul, Minnesota, he saw me crying during “Sign Of The Times,” blew me a few more kisses, and waved a special goodbye straight to me.

Today, I have the lyrics “choose your words” from Harry’s song “Ever Since New York” tattooed on my wrist. It reminds me of the words that saved me, of the words people used to bully me — the same words I overcame — and the words I am writing right now, that I am able to write because of Harry.

Without Harry, my odds of recovery would have been slim, and my odds of happiness even slimmer. Knowing he recognizes who I am makes continuing to fight toward recovery worth it every day.

“Treat People With Kindness,” to me, means more than being kind to others. It means treating myself with kindness, too. Because of Harry, I now know how to do that.

I’m so glad you’re doing so well! Lots of love to you. Harry truly is an inspiration. A beautiful soul, rarely found. Keep fighting!!

All the love and continued success rising above adversity. You’ve chosen a wonderful role model. Someone who is kind and compassionate. Every time those bad feelings try to return just remember you matter to someone you deeply respect.

this is beautiful. ive always wanted to be a journalist but now i know for sure i do. sending love ur way always !💕💘💗💝💞💖💓

I loved reading this, I’ve been through something similar. I haven’t ever seen harry (yet, he needs to come to slc) but reading this gives me hope. thank you for sharing. this is beautiful.

this is so inspiring thank you for this. takes a lot of courage. bless ur beautiful soul!

You are an amazing young lady. This worlds needs more young girls like you that are strong, determined, loving and extremely talented I’m so glad that I’ve been given the opportunity to read your stories. I’ve gotten goosebumps, I’ve cried with such joy hearing life of your Loving Family. Than to hear how you were harassed, I know that feeling, it’s painful. I see pictures of you and wonder how such a stunning young girl would have that happen to her. Please continue to be strong and true to yourself God Bless you my dear I’m looking forward to read more of your stories

I want all bullies to learn how to take responsibility for their actions towards others and treat people with kindness by being polite and respectful to them and make wise decisions so they learn right from wrong.

I think harry styles is a really kind and caring person to me and I love his music and I’d just like to say a massive thanks to him for helping me and being an amazing person and he has a great sense of humour and always makes me laugh

I love you harry.

Hi harry , thanks for helping me through the cyclone that hit my country last year and I really appreciate it and I also wanted to say a massive thanks to you for helping me and my grandmother through the sad loss of my grandfather Charlie and I’m really grateful to have such a wonderful person to talk to.

From toni. 🙂

You made me cry 😭😭 lots of love from Nepal

I would like all the bullies to stop this behaviour and learn to treat each other with respect and take responsibility for their actions and listen to their parents when they teach them things.

Hi harry , on behalf of me and my grandmother , we’d like to say a massive thanks for helping us through the sad loss of my grandfather Charlie and through the cyclone that hit my country last year and it was really kind of you to think of us that way and I hope you have a great Christmas this year

From toni. 🎄

not gonna cry today

IM CRYING!!! YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!

This was truly beautiful to read, it brought tears to my eyes, I hope you are still doing well beautiful. Harry truly is the kindness person. So empathetic, caring and kind, someone who will actually truly listen to everything you have to say. He’s a wonderful role model. You are absolutely stunning by the way, and I’m so proud of you love!

This piece really is proof that bands save fans. These boys have made my life better in so many ways and I’m more than glad that these boys were able to impact you in such a great way <33 SENDING LOADS OF LOVE AND HAPPINESS TO YOU!! MORE POWER TO YOU GIRL!!!💚💙💚💙

I just want you to know that your writing is beautiful and I stumbled across this page because I am actually writing about Harry and was doing research, and just now finished after having to stop every few sentences to cry. I have a similar story to your, Harry is my hero as well. Its incredible how one human being can make us feel seen and heard even if we dont physically know him. Thank your for this and I wish nothing but happiness and love for you. From a fellow Harrie.

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Playtime With Harry Styles

To listen to Hamish Bowles read this profile, click the play button below:

THE MEN’S BATHING POND in London’s Hampstead Heath at daybreak on a gloomy September morning seemed such an unlikely locale for my first meeting with Harry Styles , music’s legendarily charm-heavy style czar, that I wondered perhaps if something had been lost in translation.

But then there is Styles, cheerily gung ho, hidden behind a festive yellow bandana mask and a sweatshirt of his own design, surprisingly printed with three portraits of his intellectual pinup, the author Alain de Botton. “I love his writing,” says Styles. “I just think he’s brilliant. I saw him give a talk about the keys to happiness, and how one of the keys is living among friends, and how real friendship stems from being vulnerable with someone.”

In turn, de Botton’s 2016 novel The Course of Love taught Styles that “when it comes to relationships, you just expect yourself to be good at it…[but] being in a real relationship with someone is a skill,” one that Styles himself has often had to hone in the unforgiving klieg light of public attention, and in the company of such high-profile paramours as Taylor Swift and—well, Styles is too much of a gentleman to name names.

That sweatshirt and the Columbia Records tracksuit bottoms are removed in the quaint wooden open-air changing room, with its Swallows and Amazons vibe. A handful of intrepid fellow patrons in various states of undress are blissfully unaware of the 26-year-old supernova in their midst, although I must admit I’m finding it rather difficult to take my eyes off him, try as I might. Styles has been on a six-day juice cleanse in readiness for Vogue ’s photographer Tyler Mitchell . He practices Pilates (“I’ve got very tight hamstrings—trying to get those open”) and meditates twice a day. “It has changed my life,” he avers, “but it’s so subtle. It’s helped me just be more present. I feel like I’m able to enjoy the things that are happening right in front of me, even if it’s food or it’s coffee or it’s being with a friend—or a swim in a really cold pond!” Styles also feels that his meditation practices have helped him through the tumult of 2020: “Meditation just brings a stillness that has been really beneficial, I think, for my mental health.”

Styles has been a pescatarian for three years, inspired by the vegan food that several members of his current band prepared on tour. “My body definitely feels better for it,” he says. His shapely torso is prettily inscribed with the tattoos of a Victorian sailor—a rose, a galleon, a mermaid, an anchor, and a palm tree among them, and, straddling his clavicle, the dates 1967 and 1957 (the respective birth years of his mother and father). Frankly, I rather wish I’d packed a beach muumuu.

We take the piratical gangplank that juts into the water and dive in. Let me tell you, this is not the Aegean. The glacial water is a cloudy phlegm green beneath the surface, and clammy reeds slap one’s ankles. Styles, who admits he will try any fad, has recently had a couple of cryotherapy sessions and is evidently less susceptible to the cold. By the time we have swum a full circuit, however, body temperatures have adjusted, and the ice, you might say, has been broken. Duly invigorated, we are ready to face the day. Styles has thoughtfully brought a canister of coffee and some bottles of water in his backpack, and we sit at either end of a park bench for a socially distanced chat.

It seems that he has had a productive year. At the onset of lockdown, Styles found himself in his second home, in the canyons of Los Angeles. After a few days on his own, however, he moved in with a pod of three friends (and subsequently with two band members, Mitch Rowland and Sarah Jones). They “would put names in a hat and plan the week out,” Styles explains. “If you were Monday, you would choose the movie, dinner, and the activity for that day. I like to make soups, and there was a big array of movies; we went all over the board,” from Goodfellas to Clueless . The experience, says Styles, “has been a really good lesson in what makes me happy now. It’s such a good example of living in the moment. I honestly just like being around my friends,” he adds. “That’s been my biggest takeaway. Just being on my own the whole time, I would have been miserable.”

Styles is big on friendship groups and considers his former and legendarily hysteria-inducing boy band, One Direction , to have been one of them. “I think the typical thing is to come out of a band like that and almost feel like you have to apologize for being in it,” says Styles. “But I loved my time in it. It was all new to me, and I was trying to learn as much as I could. I wanted to soak it in…. I think that’s probably why I like traveling now—soaking stuff up.” In a post-COVID future, he is contemplating a temporary move to Tokyo, explaining that “there’s a respect and a stillness, a quietness that I really loved every time I’ve been there.”

In 1D, Styles was making music whenever he could. “After a show you’d go in a hotel room and put down some vocals,” he recalls. As a result, his first solo album, 2017’s Harry Styles, “was when I really fell in love with being in the studio,” he says. “I loved it as much as touring.” Today he favors isolating with his core group of collaborators, “our little bubble”—Rowland, Kid Harpoon (né Tom Hull), and Tyler Johnson. “A safe space,” as he describes it.

In the music he has been working on in 2020, Styles wants to capture the experimental spirit that informed his second album, last year’s Fine Line . With his debut album, “I was very much finding out what my sound was as a solo artist,” he says. “I can see all the places where it almost felt like I was bowling with the bumpers up. I think with the second album I let go of the fear of getting it wrong and…it was really joyous and really free. I think with music it’s so important to evolve—and that extends to clothes and videos and all that stuff. That’s why you look back at David Bowie with Ziggy Stardust or the Beatles and their different eras—that fearlessness is super inspiring.”

The seismic changes of 2020—including the Black Lives Matter uprising around racial justice—has also provided Styles with an opportunity for personal growth. “I think it’s a time for opening up and learning and listening,” he says. “I’ve been trying to read and educate myself so that in 20 years I’m still doing the right things and taking the right steps. I believe in karma, and I think it’s just a time right now where we could use a little more kindness and empathy and patience with people, be a little more prepared to listen and grow.”

Meanwhile, Styles’s euphoric single “Watermelon Sugar” became something of an escapist anthem for this dystopian summer of 2020. The video, featuring Styles (dressed in ’70s-­flavored Gucci and Bode) cavorting with a pack of beach-babe girls and boys, was shot in January, before lockdown rules came into play. By the time it was ready to be released in May, a poignant epigraph had been added: “This video is dedicated to touching.”

Styles is looking forward to touring again, when “it’s safe for everyone,” because, as he notes, “being up against people is part of the whole thing. You can’t really re-create it in any way.” But it hasn’t always been so. Early in his career, Styles was so stricken with stage fright that he regularly threw up preperformance. “I just always thought I was going to mess up or something,” he remembers. “But I’ve felt really lucky to have a group of incredibly generous fans. They’re generous emotionally—and when they come to the show, they give so much that it creates this atmosphere that I’ve always found so loving and accepting.”

THIS SUMMER, when it was safe enough to travel, Styles returned to his London home, which is where he suggests we head now, setting off in his modish Primrose Yellow ’73 Jaguar that smells of gasoline and leatherette. “Me and my dad have always bonded over cars,” Styles explains. “I never thought I’d be someone who just went out for a leisurely drive, purely for enjoyment.” On sleepless jet-lagged nights he’ll drive through London’s quiet streets, seeing neighborhoods in a new way. “I find it quite relaxing,” he says.

Over the summer Styles took a road trip with his artist friend Tomo Campbell through France and Italy, setting off at four in the morning and spending the night in Geneva, where they jumped in the lake “to wake ourselves up.” (I see a pattern emerging.) At the end of the trip Styles drove home alone, accompanied by an upbeat playlist that included “Aretha Franklin, Parliament, and a lot of Stevie Wonder. It was really fun for me,” he says. “I don’t travel like that a lot. I’m usually in such a rush, but there was a stillness to it. I love the feeling of nobody knowing where I am, that kind of escape...and freedom.”

GROWING UP in a village in the North of England, Styles thought of London as a world apart: “It truly felt like a different country.” At a wide-eyed 16, he came down to the teeming metropolis after his mother entered him on the U.K. talent-search show The X Factor . “I went to the audition to find out if I could sing,” Styles recalls, “or if my mum was just being nice to me.” Styles was eliminated but subsequently brought back with other contestants—Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik—to form a boy band that was named (on Styles’s suggestion) One Direction. The wily X Factor creator and judge, Simon Cowell, soon signed them to his label Syco Records, and the rest is history: 1D’s first four albums, supported by four world tours from 2011 to 2015, debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard charts, and the band has sold 70 million records to date. At 18, Styles bought the London house he now calls home. “I was going to do two weeks’ work to it,” he remembers, “but when I came back there was no second floor,” so he moved in with adult friends who lived nearby till the renovation was complete. “Eighteen months,” he deadpans. “I’ve always seen that period as pretty pivotal for me, as there’s that moment at the party where it’s getting late, and half of the people would go upstairs to do drugs, and the other people go home. I was like, ‘I don’t really know this friend’s wife, so I’m not going to get all messy and then go home.’ I had to behave a bit, at a time where everything else about my life felt I didn’t have to behave really. I’ve been lucky to always feel I have this family unit somewhere.”

When Styles’s London renovation was finally done, “I went in for the first time and I cried,” he recalls. “Because I just felt like I had somewhere. L.A. feels like holiday, but this feels like home.”

Behind its pink door, Styles’s house has all the trappings of rock stardom—there’s a man cave filled with guitars, a Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks poster (a moving-in gift from his decorator), a Stevie Nicks album cover. Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” was one of the first songs he knew the words to—“My parents were big fans”—and he and Nicks have formed something of a mutual-admiration society. At the beginning of lockdown, Nicks tweeted to her fans that she was taking inspiration from Fine Line: “Way to go, H,” she wrote. “It is your Rumours .” “She’s always there for you,” said Styles when he inducted Nicks into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. “She knows what you need—advice, a little wisdom, a blouse, a shawl; she’s got you covered.”

Styles makes us some tea in the light-filled kitchen and then wanders into the convivial living room, where he strikes an insouciant pose on the chesterfield sofa, upholstered in a turquoise velvet that perhaps not entirely coincidentally sets off his eyes. Styles admits that his lockdown lewk was “sweatpants, constantly,” and he is relishing the opportunity to dress up again. He doesn’t have to wait long: The following day, under the eaves of a Victorian mansion in Notting Hill, I arrive in the middle of fittings for Vogue ’s shoot and discover Styles in his Y-fronts, patiently waiting to try on looks for fashion editor Camilla Nickerson and photographer Tyler Mitchell. Styles’s personal stylist, Harry Lambert, wearing a pearl necklace and his nails colored in various shades of green varnish, à la Sally Bowles, is providing helpful backup (Britain’s Rule of Six hasn’t yet been imposed).

Styles, who has thoughtfully brought me a copy of de Botton’s 2006 book The Architecture of Happiness, is instinctively and almost quaintly polite, in an old-fashioned, holding-open-doors and not-mentioning-lovers-by-name sort of way. He is astounded to discover that the Atlanta-born Mitchell has yet to experience a traditional British Sunday roast dinner. Assuring him that “it’s basically like Thanksgiving every Sunday,” Styles gives Mitchell the details of his favorite London restaurants in which to enjoy one. “It’s a good thing to be nice,” Mitchell tells me after a morning in Styles’s company.

MITCHELL has Lionel Wendt’s languorously homoerotic 1930s portraits of young Sri Lankan men on his mood board. Nickerson is thinking of Irving Penn’s legendary fall 1950 Paris haute couture collections sitting, where he photographed midcentury supermodels, including his wife, Lisa Fonssagrives, in high-style Dior and Balenciaga creations. Styles is up for all of it, and so, it would seem, is the menswear landscape of 2020: Jonathan Anderson has produced a trapeze coat anchored with a chunky gold martingale; John Galliano at Maison Margiela has fashioned a khaki trench with a portrait neckline in layers of colored tulle; and Harris Reed—a Saint Martins fashion student sleuthed by Lambert who ended up making some looks for Styles’s last tour—has spent a week making a broad-shouldered Smoking jacket with high-waisted, wide-leg pants that have become a Styles signature since he posed for Tim Walker for the cover of Fine Line wearing a Gucci pair—a silhouette that was repeated in the tour wardrobe. (“I liked the idea of having that uniform,” says Styles.) Reed’s version is worn with a hoopskirt draped in festoons of hot-pink satin that somehow suggests Deborah Kerr asking Yul Brynner’s King of Siam, “Shall we dance?”

Styles introduces me to the writer and eyewear designer Gemma Styles, “my sister from the same womb,” he says. She is also here for the fitting: The siblings plan to surprise their mother with the double portrait on these pages.

I ask her whether her brother had always been interested in clothes.

“My mum loved to dress us up,” she remembers. “I always hated it, and Harry was always quite into it. She did some really elaborate papier-mâché outfits: She made a giant mug and then painted an atlas on it, and that was Harry being ‘The World Cup.’ Harry also had a little dalmatian-dog outfit,” she adds, “a hand-me-down from our closest family friends. He would just spend an inordinate amount of time wearing that outfit. But then Mum dressed me up as Cruella de Vil. She was always looking for any opportunity!”

“As a kid I definitely liked fancy dress,” Styles says. There were school plays, the first of which cast him as Barney, a church mouse. “I was really young, and I wore tights for that,” he recalls. “I remember it was crazy to me that I was wearing a pair of tights. And that was maybe where it all kicked off!”

Acting has also remained a fundamental form of expression for Styles. His sister recalls that even on the eve of his life-changing X Factor audition, Styles could sing in public only in an assumed voice. “He used to do quite a good sort of Elvis warble,” she remembers. During the rehearsals in the family home, “he would sing in the bathroom because if it was him singing as himself, he just couldn’t have anyone looking at him! I love his voice now,” she adds. “I’m so glad that he makes music that I actually enjoy listening to.”

Styles’s role-playing continued soon after 1D went on permanent hiatus in 2016, and he was cast in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, beating out dozens of professional actors for the role. “The good part was my character was a young soldier who didn’t really know what he was doing,” says Styles modestly. “The scale of the movie was so big that I was a tiny piece of the puzzle. It was definitely humbling. I just loved being outside of my comfort zone.”

His performance caught the eye of Olivia Wilde, who remembers that it “blew me away—the openness and commitment.” In turn, Styles loved Wilde’s directorial debut, Booksmart, and is “very honored” that she cast him in a leading role for her second feature, a thriller titled Don’t Worry Darling, which went into production this fall. Styles will play the husband to Florence Pugh in what Styles describes as “a 1950s utopia in the California desert.”

Wilde’s movie is costumed by Academy Award nominee Arianne Phillips. “She and I did a little victory dance when we heard that we officially had Harry in the film,” notes Wilde, “because we knew that he has a real appreciation for fashion and style. And this movie is incredibly stylistic. It’s very heightened and opulent, and I’m really grateful that he is so enthusiastic about that element of the process—some actors just don’t care.”

“I like playing dress-up in general,” Styles concurs, in a masterpiece of understatement: This is the man, after all, who cohosted the Met’s 2019 “ Notes on Camp ” gala attired in a nipple-freeing black organza blouse with a lace jabot, and pants so high-waisted that they cupped his pectorals. The ensemble, accessorized with the pearl-drop earring of a dandified Elizabethan courtier, was created for Styles by Gucci’s Alessandro Michele, whom he befriended in 2014. Styles, who has subsequently personified the brand as the face of the Gucci fragrance, finds Michele “fearless with his work and his imagination. It’s really inspiring to be around someone who works like that.”

The two first met in London over a cappuccino. “It was just a kind of PR appointment,” says Michele, “but something magical happened, and Harry is now a friend. He has the aura of an English rock-and-roll star—like a young Greek god with the attitude of James Dean and a little bit of Mick Jagger—but no one is sweeter. He is the image of a new era, of the way that a man can look.”

Styles credits his style trans­formation—from Jack Wills tracksuit-clad boy-band heartthrob to nonpareil fashionisto—to his meeting the droll young stylist Harry Lambert seven years ago. They hit it off at once and have conspired ever since, enjoying a playfully campy rapport and calling each other Sue and Susan as they parse the niceties of the scarlet lace Gucci man-bra that Michele has made for Vogue ’s shoot, for instance, or a pair of Bode pants hand-painted with biographical images (Styles sent Emily Adams Bode images of his family, and a photograph he had found of David Hockney and Joni Mitchell. “The idea of those two being friends, to me, was really beautiful,” Styles explains).

“He just has fun with clothing, and that’s kind of where I’ve got it from,” says Styles of Lambert. “He doesn’t take it too seriously, which means I don’t take it too seriously.” The process has been evolutionary. At his first meeting with Lambert, the stylist proposed “a pair of flares, and I was like, ‘Flares? That’s fucking crazy,’  ” Styles remembers. Now he declares 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. As a kid it was completely mind-blowing. Now I’ll put on something that feels really flamboyant, and I don’t feel crazy wearing it. I think if you get something that you feel amazing in, it’s like a superhero outfit. Clothes are there to have fun with and experiment with and play with. 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. I’ll go in shops sometimes, and I just find myself looking at the women’s clothes thinking they’re amazing. It’s like anything—anytime you’re putting barriers up in your own life, you’re just limiting yourself. There’s so much joy to be had in playing with clothes. I’ve never really thought too much about what it means—it just becomes this extended part of creating something.”

“He’s up for it,” confirms Lambert, who earlier this year, for instance, found a JW Anderson cardigan with the look of a Rubik’s Cube (“on sale at matchesfashion.com !”). Styles wore it, accessorized with his own pearl necklace, for a Today rehearsal in February and it went viral: His fans were soon knitting their own versions and posting the results on TikTok. Jonathan Anderson declared himself “so impressed and incredibly humbled by this trend” that he nimbly made the pattern available (complete with a YouTube tutorial) so that Styles’s fans could copy it for free. Meanwhile, London’s storied Victoria & Albert Museum has requested Styles’s original: an emblematic document of how people got creative during the COVID era. “It’s going to be in their permanent collection,” says Lambert exultantly. “Is that not sick? Is that not the most epic thing?”

“To me, he’s very modern,” says Wilde of Styles, “and I hope that this brand of confidence as a male that Harry has—truly devoid of any traces of toxic masculinity—is indicative of his generation and therefore the future of the world. I think he is in many ways championing that, spearheading that. It’s pretty powerful and kind of extraordinary to see someone in his position redefining what it can mean to be a man with confidence.”

“He’s really in touch with his feminine side because it’s something natural,” notes Michele. “And he’s a big inspiration to a younger generation—about how you can be in a totally free playground when you feel comfortable. I think that he’s a revolutionary.”

STYLES’S confidence is on full display the day after the fitting, which finds us all on the beautiful Sussex dales. Over the summit of the hill, with its trees blown horizontal by the fierce winds, lies the English Channel. Even though it’s a two-hour drive from London, the fresh-faced Styles, who went to bed at 9 p.m., has arrived on set early: He is famously early for everything. The team is installed in a traditional flint-stone barn. The giant doors have been replaced by glass and frame a bucolic view of distant grazing sheep. “Look at that field!” says Styles. “How lucky are we? This is our office! Smell the roses!” Lambert starts to sing “Kumbaya, my Lord.”

Hairdresser Malcolm Edwards is setting Styles’s hair in a Victory roll with silver clips, and until it is combed out he resembles Kathryn Grayson with stubble. His fingers are freighted with rings, and “he has a new army of mini purses,” says Lambert, gesturing to an accessory table heaving with examples including a mini sky-blue Gucci Jackie bag discreetly monogrammed HS. Michele has also made Styles a dress for the shoot that Tissot might have liked to paint—acres of ice-blue ruffles, black Valenciennes lace, and suivez-moi, jeune homme ribbons. Erelong, Styles is gamely racing up a hill in it, dodging sheep scat, thistles, and shards of chalk, and striking a pose for Mitchell that manages to make ruffles a compelling new masculine proposition, just as Mr. Fish’s frothy white cotton dress—equal parts Romantic poet and Greek presidential guard—did for Mick Jagger when he wore it for The Rolling Stones’ free performance in Hyde Park in 1969, or as the suburban-mom floral housedress did for Kurt Cobain as he defined the iconoclastic grunge aesthetic. Styles is mischievously singing ABBA’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” to himself when Mitchell calls him outside to jump up and down on a trampoline in a Comme des Garçons buttoned wool kilt. “How did it look?” asks his sister when he comes in from the cold. “ Divine, ” says her brother in playful Lambert-speak.

As the wide sky is washed in pink, orange, and gray, like a Turner sunset, and Mitchell calls it a successful day, Styles is playing “Cherry” from Fine Line on his Fender acoustic on the hilltop. “He does his own stunts,” says his sister, laughing. The impromptu set is greeted with applause. “Thank you, Antwerp!” says Styles playfully, bowing to the crowd. “Thank you, fashion!”

Want to hear more from our editors? Subscribe to Vogue and receive a limited edition tote. Due to high demand, December issue is not guaranteed.

Watch Harry Styles Sing an Acoustic Rendition of “Cherry” in Vogue’ s Cover Video :

Due to a misunderstanding in an interview, Harry Styles and his sister Gemma Styles were mischaracterized as having different fathers in the print version of this story. Vogue regrets the error.

Harry Styles' Fashion Evolution Through The Years

Harry Styles wears his heart on his pink, ruffled sleeve. At the start of his career, he wore it on his gray, tailored sleeve. But in both cases—and all the sleeves in between—the Styles icon (sorry) has expressed his personal, professional, and even political leanings through the art of fashion. Like his professional identity, the former One Direction member-turned-multi-hyphenate pop culture icon's look is continuously shape-shifting. His stylistic choices have often reflected the chameleonic aspects of his life: his current sonic influences, his lover du jour, his evolving approach to gender and sexuality. 

Styles is a professional leading man, but his current fashion identity is the result of the singer's collaborations with his stylist, Harry Lambert; gender-flouting designers like Harris Reed; and Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele. Styles himself does not underestimate the value and power of his wardrobe: Reed told The Independent that the singer keeps his clothes in a secret archive "somewhere in London" with round-the-clock surveillance. From preppy and boyish to artful and norm-shattering, following Styles' fashion evolution reveals an evolution in what it means to be a boy band member, a contemporary sex symbol, and a "manly man."

If One Direction were the Spice Girls, Harry Styles would've been Preppy Spice

On September 19, 2010, a then-16-year-old Harry Styles wore a gray cardigan, a green skinny scarf, and stacks of bracelets to audition for the British talent show The X Factor . Throughout his time on the competition show , Styles wore unremarkable, neutral looks onstage, and casual sweats and sneakers offstage. One Direction was styled as a fresh take on the boy band, forgoing matchy-matchy uniforms in favor of looks that distinguished each band member from the others without clashing in color. In the band's early days, Styles' trademark look revolved around structured blazers and khaki pants and was, as bandmate Zayn Malik said in Teen Vogue , "quite preppy." As  Glamour noted back in 2012, the guys of 1D wore "Jack Wills, that collegiate-y brand from the UK."

Then, in September 2012, Styles signaled his emerging allegiance to high fashion when he sat in the front row of Burberry's London Fashion Week show ( allegedly to support his rumored then-girlfriend, model Cara Delevingne). Backstage, Styles spoke with  On Demand Entertainment  about what he liked about the classic British fashion house: "The clothes are... nice and subtle," he said. "The colors aren't, like, too much... It's easy to wear." 

Harry Styles' look got more rock 'n' roll

When One Direction's sound got a little more rock 'n' roll with 2013's Midnight Memories , Harry Styles' look followed suit. He went through a phase of keeping his curls in place with Keith Richards-esque hats and headscarves, and cast aside his previous buttoned-up look for unbuttoned, grunge-y shirts that revealed his growing collection of sailor-inspired chest tattoos . The singer also began opting for edgier fashion houses, including Saint Laurent— which was led by rock band outfitter Hedi Slimane at the time —and Alexander McQueen.

The Midnight Memories  era also ushered in a darkening of Styles' color palette as he developed a uniform of black skinny jeans and beaten-up leather Chelsea boots. In the 2017 documentary Harry Styles at the BBC (via Teen Vogue ), Styles revealed that his devotion to the heeled boot began after he was mobbed by Parisian fans who stole his sneakers. But according to a 2019 profile in The Guardian , Styles' experimentation with the footwear began years earlier, pre-fame: His childhood friends greeted him with bewilderment when "little Harry had the gumption to show up in the playground wearing Chelsea boots instead of the approved chunky trainers."

Styles' stylistic shift from pop boy to rock star didn't go unnoticed: He beat out the likes of David Beckham and Kate Middleton to win the  2013 British Style Icon Award  at the British Fashion Awards. 

The Harry Styles award show look that was a 'turning point'

When asked what he looked for in a lady in a November 2014 interview with On Demand Entertainment , Styles said that femaleness was "not that important." The comment may have been said in jest, but it unofficially marked the beginning of Styles' increasing openness about gender and sexuality. It was around this time that Styles began incorporating subtle feminine elements into his looks, such as cheetah-print Saint Laurent jackets , ruffled shirts, and floral prints.

After One Direction announced their plans to take a break in August 2015, Styles began to work more closely with the stylist Harry Lambert. According to  GQ , Styles appeared to be Lambert's "sole celebrity client" at the time (although the stylist now works with  The Crown 's Emma Corrin ). In a 2019 interview with  British Vogue , Lambert called the white floral Gucci suit Styles wore to the 2015 American Music Awards "the turning point" for the singer's style journey. "It was very exciting to see everyone's responses, but also how great he looked in it," he said. "At the time it was a very bold move to make." 

The look was a glimpse of things to come: the genesis of Styles' current  Gucci-centric aesthetic and the close partnership between Lambert and Styles.

After One Direction, Harry Styles became an 'artthrob'

"Heartthrobs are getting weirder—and that's exciting," Anne Donahue wrote in a 2016 The Guardian essay, in reference to Harry Styles. Following the breakup of One Direction, one of Styles' first moves, other than working on his folky Britpop solo debut album, was landing a role in Christopher Nolan's World War II blockbuster Dunkirk . He cut off his trademark long curls for the role, trading them for a pseudo-bowl cut that sent fans into a social media frenzy .

From a public perspective, 2016 was a relatively quiet year for Styles. But when it came time for the singer to make his first press appearance as a solo star, he hand-picked the alternative magazine Another Man as the outlet. He appeared in the magazine's Fall/Winter 2016 issue wearing choker necklaces, a toy-soldier jacket, and a floral suit. "[Harry] was always interested in clothes and spent all of his birthday money and wages on getting the train into Manchester to expand his wardrobe," Gemma Styles, his sister , wrote in the accompanying article. 

Donahue penned her essay for The Guardian in response to the Another Man  editorial. "And we also notice that out of every magazine, he's opted for a niche publication," she wrote, "telegraphing an allegiance to the niche worlds of art and fashion rather than aiming for mainstream notoriety." The essay was aptly titled, "Harry Styles proves the heartthrob is dead: long live the artthrob."

Harry Styles let his solo sound and individual style fly

With the release of Dunkirk and his first solo album, 2017 was a pivotal year in Harry Styles' professional and sartorial evolution. In the cover shoot for his album, he wore a blue velvet suit while soaking in a bath of millennial pink. He was featured in the May 2017 issue of  Rolling Stone in a high-necked, lace-trimmed Victorian blouse that recalled Mick Jagger circa 1969 , as well as a pink pussy-bow blouse under a floral brocade suit. In an NPR feature called "Styles of the Times," Ann Powers wrote that the Rolling Stone spread "officially signaled his coming of age." 

"Styles dresses in the finery of rock's legacies: not just that t-shirt borrowed from grunge, but a Carnaby Street style black suit designed by the late post-punk fashion maverick Alexander McQueen and a punkish ripped-jeans-and-bandana look that makes him look like a youthful Mick Jones of the Clash," Powers wrote. "He also appears in a high-necked lace top that places him within the queer continuum of current trendsetters." In an interview with  ET   that November, Styles revealed that he drew most of his inspiration from a country singer, not a punk-rocker. "My music and fashion main influence was probably Shania Twain," he said.

The many suits of Harry Styles

Throughout 2017 and 2018, Harry Styles began favoring alternative London designers as much as high-fashion giants like Gucci. According to  Vogue , Styles' stylist Harry Lambert connected the singer with the gender-fluid designer Harris Reed  near the end of 2017. While creating looks for Styles, Reed drew inspiration from rock 'n' roll legends like David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, and Mick Jagger. As Reed told Paper ,  they aimed to push the singer in "a glam rock direction." 

"I'm a gender-fluid designer. This community is very important to me," Reed told GQ . "I really want to make a global change in how we look at acceptance and fluidity, and [Styles] really understood that."

At the beginning of 2018, Styles was featured in fourth place on GQ 's annual best dressed men list. The singer's entry was accompanied by a quote from American designer Michael Kors, who called him "the modern embodiment of British rocker style: edgy, flamboyant, and worn with unapologetic swagger." On tour in 2018, Styles showcased his new music as much as his immaculate collection of suits.  Cosmopolitan   rounded up 36 of his gorgeous suits, a list that includes glittery Saint Laurent numbers, purple-and-orange colorblock creations by Calvin Klein, lush ensembles by Alexander McQueen,  bespoke designs by Charles Jeffrey's East London club-kid label LOVERBOY, and, of course, copious Gucci florals. In June 2018, Styles appeared in his first Gucci campaign , marking the official beginning of a fashionable partnership with designer Alessandro Michele.

There's a piece of Camille Rowe in how Harry Styles dresses

"There's a piece of you in how I dress/Take it as a compliment," Harry Styles sings in "Cherry," the fifth track on his 2019 sophomore album Fine Line . The song features a voicemail recording of French-American model-slash-actor Camille Rowe, whom Styles dated from 2017 to 2018. Sartorially, the couple could have been Marianne Faithfull and Mick Jagger 2.0. While Rowe and Styles were together, they often shared clothes, including a striped cardigan that set fans' social media accounts ablaze. But even beyond their breakup, the model's flair left a lasting impact on the singer. 

The pair reportedly began dating in the summer of 2017, and it was around that time that Styles began to wear brighter colors and more Bohemian, bell-bottomed getups. Elements of Rowe's playful, 1970s-inspired vintage style —which revolves around colorful prints and cheeky slogan t-shirts—have permeated Styles' outfits, music videos, and general aesthetic ever since the former lovebirds met. The music video for "Watermelon Sugar" —a song that, as Styles shared on NPR's  Tiny Desk Concert , was partially inspired by Rowe's favorite book , Richard Brautigan's In Watermelon Sugar —was filmed on Super 8 film and featured Styles romping around in sweater vests and candy colors, saturated in Rowe's vibrant vintage aesthetic.

The 2019 Met Gala brought Harry Styles on as a co-chair

"The essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration," Susan Sontag wrote in her 1964 essay "Notes on 'Camp'." Not one to shy away from flamboyance, Harry Styles was a fitting choice to co-chair the 2019 Met Gala, given its theme, Camp: Notes on Fashion. Styles stepped onto the red carpet in gleaming heeled boots; a sheer, nipple-freeing Gucci blouse; and a single pearl earring.

"What women wear. What men wear. For me it's not a question of that," Styles told The Guardian later that year. "If I see a nice shirt and get told, 'But it's for ladies,' I think: 'Okaaaay? Doesn't make me want to wear it less though.'" He continued: "In terms of how I wanna dress... I want things to look a certain way. Not because it makes me look gay, or it makes me look straight, or it makes me look bisexual, but because I think it looks cool... I just think sexuality's something that's fun. Honestly? I can't say I've given it any more thought than that."

Harry Styles was called the 'patron saint of menswear'

"I'm having a year of big pants," Harry Styles told Graham Norton in December 2019. As 2019 faded into 2020, Styles entered the era of his sophomore album, Fine Line . The album's sleeve was branded with fish-eyed photos of Styles in flared trousers, a top hat, and manifold magenta (and the boldest suit of all: his birthday suit). The accompanying music videos also followed an exaggerated, David Bowie-inspired aesthetic: tweed flares, a newsboy cap, and striped pajamas in "Adore You"; a sheer, purple, ruffled tunic blouse in "Falling."

In February 2020, Styles appeared on the BRIT Awards red carpet in a sweater vest, pearl necklace, flared pants, and Mary Jane shoes. (His now-trademark pearl necklace has inspired think-pieces in outlets including W and The Wall Street Journal that contemplate the accessory's cultural impact.) Styles took the BRITs stage to perform his emotional ballad "Falling" while wearing a Gucci lace jumpsuit with matching gloves. Later, while sitting in the audience, he wore his loudest look of the evening: a canary yellow suit with a gauzy purple neck scarf tied in a big bow. Following the event, Esquire deemed Styles the "Patron Saint of Menswear."

Harry Styles made history with his Vogue cover

In November 2020, Harry Styles became American Vogue 's first-ever cover boy . The pop icon appeared on the front of the magazine's December 2020 issue wearing a frothy, lace dress — by Gucci, of course. The cultural moment surfaced in the wake of a particularly polarizing presidential election, and after Styles had endorsed Joe Biden on Twitter . The photos sparked right-wing backlash: In a multi-day Twitter spree, conservative commentator Candace Owens tied the editorial to "the steady feminization of our men" and deemed it "an outright attack," adding, "Bring back manly men." Public figures including Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez , Olivia Wilde , and Elijah Wood all jumped on social media to come to Styles' defense.

Styles'  Vogue cover also drew criticism from members of the LGBTQ+ community. Some questioned why the historic, norm-shattering moment was given to a white, cisgender man who has only publicly dated women rather than, as nonbinary performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon suggested , a "trans femme of color." 

Speaking with  Lorraine , Styles' mother, Anne Twist, likened the shoot to "playing dress-up." In the magazine's accompanying profile, "Playtime with Harry Styles," the singer cited "showmen" including David Bowie, Elvis, Elton John, and Freddy Mercury as inspirations. "You can never be overdressed. There's no such thing," Styles said. "Once you remove any barriers, obviously you open up the arena in which you can play... There's so much joy to be had in playing with clothes. I've never really thought too much about what it means — it just becomes this extended part of creating something."

Articles on Harry Styles

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Where is the legal line between celebrity worship and stalking?

Alexandros Antoniou , University of Essex

The huge fandoms of stars like Harry Styles are underestimated – but these highly creative communities can teach young people useful skills

Kate Pattison , RMIT University

What is a ‘shoey’ and why did Harry Styles do one on stage in Australia?

Liz Giuffre , University of Technology Sydney

Harry Styles is winning big because his music is a breezy pop antidote to our post-pandemic  blues

Jack Williams , University of Bristol

The rise and rise of Harry Styles: how did the former boyband member become the biggest name in pop?

New V&A menswear exhibition: fashion has always been at the heart of gender politics

Richard Hudson-Miles , De Montfort University

Friday essay: will the perfect men’s dress ever exist – and would men wear it?

Lydia Edwards , Edith Cowan University

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Got into UVA with an essay about Harry Styles

Guys. I applied OOS to UVA for early action, and my first essay was about listening to fine line for the first time... I convinced myself the night before decisions that I wasn't gonna get in because of that essay but I did and I can't believe it !!!

Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — One Direction — Harry Styles Career In One Direction

Harry Styles Career in One Direction

• Categories: One Direction

About this sample

Words: 1110 |

Published: May 24, 2022

Words: 1110 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

Works Cited

• Billboard Staff. (2012). One Direction scores historic No. 1 debut on Billboard 200. Billboard.
• Billboard Staff. (2019). Harry Styles' 'Fine Line' debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 albums chart. Billboard.
• Caramanica, J. (2019). Harry Styles is an evolutionist pop survivor. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/13/arts/music/harry-styles-fine-line-review.html
• Kaufman, G. (2018). Harry Styles' world tour to support March for Our Lives. Billboard.
• Parkes, L. (2019). Harry Styles' Met Gala 2019 co-hosting gig with Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, and Gucci's Alessandro Michele. Vogue. https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/harry-styles-met-gala-2019
• Pierson, L. (2017). How Harry Styles is reinventing masculinity. Dazed.
• Thompson, A. (2017). Harry Styles donates $1.2M in concert merch sales to charity. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/12/entertainment/harry-styles-charity-donation/index.html
• Unterberger, A. (2020). Harry Styles becomes his own man on 'Fine Line' album: Review. Billboard.
• Unterberger, A. (2020). Harry Styles is the person of the year (and decade). Billboard.
• Yahr, E. (2017). Harry Styles's first solo tour is an LGBTQ safe space, with an emphasis on 'safe'. The Washington Post.

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Gemma Styles on Growing Up With Her Brother

• Text Gemma Styles
• Photography Alasdair McLellan
• Styling Alister Mackie

To celebrate Harry’s birthday, we revisit Gemma’s essay about her younger brother, thick with nostalgia and pride

Taken from the A/W16 issue of Another Man:

It’s a strange experience having your baby brother run off and become a pop star. One thing Harry ’s ascent has taught me is that suddenly you’re not seen as a normal person any more, but some famous ‘thing’ who simply came into being when a camera was first pointed at you. People scurry to gather tidbits of information about his life, whether they’re readily shared or not, to try and understand where this creature with the hair and the silver boots came from.

Harry Styles by Alasdair McLellan for Another Man Issue 23

I was three when Harry was born. As such, the first memories I have of him are a typically hazy mix. The little things are what stick with me the most: our old house and garden, climbing frame, family dog. Max was a border collie/lurcher cross, the only grey speckled puppy with a curly tail and multicoloured eyes, from a litter of pure black. I chose him out of affection for his weirdness and we adored him. When Harry was probably only one year old he’d be laying on the floor with Max, or join him in his basket, all blond hair and giant blue eyes, then would suddenly take his dummy out and pointedly shove it in the dog’s mouth instead, like something out of The Simpsons . Max looked somewhat puzzled but just sort of let him get on with it. Harry has that way about him.

He was very loud. I think the first time I got in serious trouble was when I pushed him off a chair because he just wouldn’t stop crying. Then there was the time Harry actually tried to get me in trouble, when I told him WWF wrestling was all staged – he took it as a personal insult and as revenge told Mum that I was the worst thing he could think of… a drug dealer.

“No she isn’t, Harry… She’s nine.”

When I started school in Holmes Chapel, on hot days when the school-run cars were lined up outside and the parents were passing the time, Harry – never scared of attracting attention – would be stood up in the back of the car, entertaining everyone through the open window. Even then he had that sort of magnetism that made people just want to watch him. He made people laugh. Babies still tend to stare at him now – it’s kind of weird.

Harry the little boy was boisterous. He didn’t find it difficult to make friends and had his first girlfriend at the age of four or five. He would do what he wanted but often it seemed that what he wanted was to make other people happy. From a young age, I had dreams of being a teacher and Harry would pretend to be my only pupil, dutifully filling out my homemade worksheets and answering all of the names on the register with different voices. Sometimes an imaginary pupil wouldn’t answer so I’d have the undiluted joy of calling out again and asking my ‘class’ where they were. He’d tell me they were on holiday or at the dentist so I could officially mark the absence. There was one birthday, or Mother’s Day, where we were sat giving Mum her present. Harry was beside himself, for the first time he had managed to not blow a surprise early. She’d opened her card and was just about to tear into the wrapping paper when he couldn’t hold it any more and exploded: “It’s a handbag!” So close.

On a family holiday to Cyprus, when Harry must have been about seven, he particularly excelled in the schmoozing game. While I, the introvert, spent mornings stockpiling ham from the breakfast buffet to distribute to the stray cats outside the hotel, he was holding court around the pool with people three times his age. When we left on a shuttle bus back to the airport at the end of our trip there was a crowd of young adult women gathered on the pavement waving him off through the window, shouting their goodbyes. Sometimes I look at him now and wonder how he manages to entrance people, skipping about just being himself, but actually he’s always done it – only now more people get to watch.

Over the first few months of him joining me at secondary school, Holmes Chapel Comprehensive, a few times I had teachers say to me: “So… I met your brother.” For most of my time there I felt painfully shy – speaking in front of the class was my worst nightmare. I was geeky, quiet and, I guess, pretty easy to have in class. When I later trained as a teacher and speaking in front of a class was still a nightmare, I could imagine how Harry may have been a little difficult. I could never picture him being deliberately rude or even particularly disobedient (perhaps rose-tinted glasses), but he’s a joker, talkative and very distracting – not ideal for a productive lesson. Often they wouldn’t instantly realise we were related.

Harry didn’t struggle especially but, three years ahead of him, academics was the one area I was excelling in. He thought he was supposed to match me grade for grade. I think he would get frustrated at times, and Mum would gently push me to help him with science homework and English coursework, to build up his confi dence for looming exams. I could never fathom how he had a confidence problem; he was popular, decent at sports and not a bad student either. I would have traded my A’s for his B’s and charisma in a heartbeat. I don’t say this to point out his flaws but to try and offer some perspective. Everything he does seems to be effortless, even now; watching him leap around a stage in front of thousands of people he seems untroubled and free from self-doubt. It’s easy to be jealous – he’s one of those people who are just good at things, we all know one – but to assume this means he takes it all for granted, or doesn’t worry, or try, would be oversimplifying him unfairly. His bundles of talent are a mixture of natural ability and intense heart.

Mum taught us to be independent. As teenagers she raised us both in what was generally a happy little house. “Latch key kids”, as she called us, we came home from school before she was done with work. While it sometimes caused her maternal guilt, it was never a bad thing, and we learned to coexist as a pair for that daily window, boiling pasta and arguing over the TV remote. When she’d had a bad day, as we all do sometimes, we tried to step up where we could. Harry’s attempts at cheering her up were all the better for their youthful earnestness. A 12-year-old has seen enough romcoms to know that a thoughtful bloke is one who runs a bath, so that’s what she’d get from time to time, with a mismatch of house-gathered candles placed around the bathroom.

As a ‘cool’ kid, Harry stood out but also fi tted in. He was always interested in clothes and spent all of his birthday money and wages on getting the train into Manchester to expand his wardrobe. He had a paper round and then worked in the bakery in the village for a while. I’d barely be eating my cereal by the time he got home from these absurdly early jobs – the pull of new trainers obviously outweighing time in bed. As a wave of emo teenagers took over Holmes Chapel, we both caught the bug with our floppy fringes and studded belts. To get the look he tried stealing my straighteners to attack his curls – and failed, enlisting my help to smooth his hair into submission. Later, he let me cut it as well: I had no idea what I was doing and he’d always hate it for the first 20 minutes before admitting I was right and it did look better. Uh-huh. The skinny jeans never went away… but the chequered pumps did.

When I went to university and moved out of home for the first time, none of us had any idea that a 16-year-old Harry would be following suit a few months later. He was talking about choosing his A Levels and had plans to be a physiotherapist. We mostly got on but, at that time, we weren’t hugely close; he had his friends and I had mine, our interests were very different, except for music – he would often ask me what I was listening to and I’d give him emo and chart indie stuff to try. It was surreal, years later, sat in a Leicester Square cinema watching the premiere of the One Direction film, listening to him speak about the music that drifted down from my attic bedroom. It was only after I’d left home that I realised he would actually miss me. Mum said he slept in my bedroom for about a week after I left. I don’t think it was just because I had the bigger room.

When we found out he had got through to the televised auditions of The X Factor it suddenly felt real. There’s a list of songs that contestants select from and we pored over it to choose ones that he already knew, ones he liked and ones he couldn’t imagine singing. When he had to practice, he suddenly became shy and wouldn’t let us listen. He was constantly singing before and, at first, I didn’t understand why this was any different. After a lot of persuasion, he would stand in the bathroom with the door shut and sing Isn’t She Lovely and Hey, Soul Sister , while Mum and I sat on the landing outside. I’d never experienced a shy Harry, and never honestly appreciated that he could really sing – it was usually hidden behind humour or sarcasm or some silly voice; I’d heard him sing Handbags and Gladrags a million times in his room on a karaoke machine but it was always a performance mixed with swagger and bravado as he pretended to be someone else. When he was little he sang in a primary school play as an Elvis version of the Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat . It was ridiculous. He was funny. As soon as it was serious, and he was being himself, it was like he’d had his shield snatched away. And he was great.

As the weeks rolled on, we kept waiting for the ride to end. It didn’t. Eventually he was summoned down to London, to Wembley, for the infamous ‘boot camp’ stage of the The X Factor competition. He’d never been to London before. I was enjoying the summer after my first year at university and, as Mum was working, I said I’d take him on the journey. We arranged to stay with a friend of our Dad’s and decided to go a couple of days early to make the most of sightseeing in the capital. I dragged him to the Natural History Museum, trying and failing to get him more interested in sloths than sandwiches; I gave up halfway through and we wandered around window-shopping and boggling at how expensive chocolate is in Harrods food hall.

Soon enough the day arrived. We got the Tube all the way to Wembley and walked to the arena, where a small crowd was gathering outside. Everyone looked so much older than him and people were dotted around in small groups, posturing and harmonising, and generally sussing out the competition. He spotted a young guy he’d chatted to at a previous audition and I realised it was time to leave him, 16 years old and in the shadows of a building we’d only seen on TV. I stayed nearby so that when the call came and he was out of the competition, I could go and commiserate, take him home to Cheshire and school, and back to his normal life. None of us wanted him to fail but we never dreamed things would go the way they did. That call never came. He has just kept on winning and winning – maybe not The X Factor , but there’s no denying he’s golden. My baby brother never came home again. He grew up, and all of our memories became his origin story.

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Artist Details How Working with Harry Styles Changed Her Life — and Led to Her Engagement! (Exclusive)

Artist Elena Fiorenza Gatti speaks with PEOPLE about the immense impact Harry Styles had on her career — and relationship with her fiancé John Postlethwait

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; Courtesy Elena Fiorenza Gatti

• Elena Fiorenza Gatti designed the iconic tour visuals and merch used during Styles’ Love on Tour in 2021 — an opportunity that kickstarted her art career 
• Gatti got engaged to her longtime boyfriend John Postlethwait on June 22
• A few days before the proposal, Gatti bought three nail colors from Styles’ beauty brand Pleasing and painted her nails with them

Elena Fiorenza Gatti always dreamed of being an artist, but she never thought her career — and her relationship with her fiancé, John Postlethwait — would flourish because of her work with one of the music's biggest stars.  Gatti, 26, first met Postlethwait, 27, in an art class at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2018. "We needed to make groups for a group project and I wanted to start my own group,” Gatti tells PEOPLE. After she put her name on the board, “John beelined to the board and put his name right under mine and I was like, ‘Who is this guy?' " From there, the two became best friends and “quickly fell in love."

“I've never experienced anything like that,” Gatti says. "Instantly when I met him, I was like, ‘Yep, that's my person.’ Not a doubt in my mind."

With encouragement from Postlethwait, she then started an art page on Instagram in 2019 called Fiorenza Art — a passion project that Gatti worked on in addition to her full-time advertising job. Two years later, Styles' team came across Gatti's Instagram page and asked her to design art for the singer's Love on Tour in 2021.

"[Working with Styles] was my first big music gig,” Gatti says. “[The team] sent me a vague DM and email to set up the call and they told me then it was for Harry."

Gatti designed Styles' now-iconic rabbit artwork — her signature design — that was used in Styles' tour merch and videos during the 2021 leg of his tour. Through the process, she and Postlethwait “dove into the world of Harry Styles together."

"I have a record player in my room and I remember and we bought [ Fine Line] and we'd blast it and just be dancing to it in my room," she says. "We became like really big fans together."

courtesy Elena Fiorenza Gatti

After completing the project, she remembers “watching the TikTok [live of the first Love on Tour show], and John's just crying.”

“He was so happy and he's like, ‘I can't believe you did it,' " she says. "He was very emotional during the entire process, because he knew how hard I've been working to become an artist. It was exciting and surreal for him and it didn't really hit me at all until after the opportunity.” 

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In September 2021, Styles invited Gatti to attend his Love on Tour show in Chicago and she brought her sister and Postlethwait with her.

“[When Harry] did the shout-out on stage at the Chicago show, there are videos of John just crying and holding me,” she says. “It was so cool, being there live, dancing to the music together. It was seriously one of the most fun nights John and I have ever had together, besides our engagement"

Fast-forward to June 2024, when Postlethwait popped the question.

Before the proposal, Gatti and her sister visited the Pleasing Astro Milk Bar — a pop-up store for Styles’ beauty brand in Chicago. “We knew that the pop-up was coming to Chicago and we were so excited,” Gatti explains. “We're like, ‘Yes, we have to [go].’ My sister knew about the proposal for months, so she knew what she was doing and she wanted me to pick a nail polish and paint my nails.” 

Gatti says that her sister was “getting nervous when she saw me pick three colors" — Syrupberry , Sprouting and Bell Boy Blue . But the unique and vibrant choice seemed to be the right one for the big moment.

Postlethwait proposed to Gatti at their favorite spot near Lake Michigan in Chicago, where they would often visit during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. "I would always go there to draw, and John would meet me there, and he would watch me,” she tells PEOPLE. “We’d catch up about the day, and we’d go home to our separate apartments.”  “He picked [the spot to propose at] because it's kind of where my art career started in a way,” she says. “It’s where it really started to blossom because I drew the rabbits there all the time and it was the spot where John and I had a big conversation about leaving my job to pursue art full time.” 

When Gatti looks back over the last few years, she credits Postlethwait with encouraging her to follow her passion, which led to “getting the biggest gig of my entire life with Harry, which completely changed the trajectory of my life and my career.” 

“We never would have thought that us listening to Harry and dancing in my bedroom would turn into us dancing, crying and holding each other at the tour together thinking, ‘This is so crazy that this is actually happening,' " Gatti reflects.  

“This experience gave John and I so many memories that I wouldn't trade for the world. For us, enjoying those little things that brought us closer, and celebrating our wins together is so so special."

Now, the couple is looking ahead at the big day: Sept. 13, 2025. They'll, of course, nod to Styles "1000%," says Gatti. "The bunnies will make an appearance at the wedding for sure," the bride-to-be tells PEOPLE, adding that they also plan on asking their reception band to learn some of Styles' songs.

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Harry styles doubles up on the albums chart.

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 18: Harry Styles visits SiriusXM's 'The Howard Stern Show' on May 18, 2022 ... [+] in New York City. Harry Styles sees two of his three solo albums reach the Billboard 200 this week. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

Harry Styles is in a period of quiet at the moment. He spent much of 2022 and 2023 promoting his album Harry’s House and the several successful singles on the Grammy-winning project. The former One Direction star was also busy on his historic Love On Tour, which spanned several years and is one of the top-grossing concert treks of all time.

As fans wait to hear more from the pop-rocker–not that he’s been teasing new music–those based in the U.S. are still consuming his past projects in droves. The superstar sees two of his three solo albums reach the Billboard 200 this week, as one of his bestsellers returns once again.

Among Styles’ two hits on the Billboard 200–the chart company’s ranking of the most-consumed albums in America–the highest-ranking is his most recent. Harry’s House advances slightly this frame, pushing two slots to No. 127.

Very close to the bottom of the tally comes its predecessor, Fine Line . Styles’ sophomore solo offering reappears on the Billboard 200 this week after not being present on the list lately. This time around, that title is back at No. 197.

In the past tracking period, Harry’s House shifted another 10,300 equivalent units. Fine Line , meanwhile, managed just under 8,000 equivalent units, according to Luminate. Looking only at sales, both titles sold under 1,000 copies, as they’re much more popular on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music these days.

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Both Harry’s House and Fine Line hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Styles has yet to miss the throne with any of his own albums. They’ve also managed hundreds of frames on the tally between them.

Only his debut self-titled affair is missing from the Billboard 200 this week. That set gave Styles his first No. 1 on his own apart from the boy band that made him a star.

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