The styles of Harry Styles

British singer-songwriter Harry Styles, who won the Album of the Year Grammy has been accused of queerbaiting

USA:

Harry Styles at the age of 29 is an extremely successful icon. On Sunday, the British singer-songwriter won two Grammy awards — best album of the year and best pop vocal album — for Harry's House.

With three singles from the 2022 Harry's House and a fourth song, he is the first British solo artist to have four top 10 hits in the US charts, a feat last accomplished by The Beatles in 1964, according to German magazine Musikexpress.

The former One Direction band member is also known for his eye-catching outfits. He doesn't shy away from the occasional feather boa, glittery belt or shiny pink pants on stage either.

A gender-fluid style

Still, Styles, known for his gender-fluid outfits, has been accused by some critics of queerbaiting — when one benefits from appearing as queer without openly claiming an LGBTQ identity. Styles insists that his sexual orientation is nobody's business.

He is not the first male pop superstar to wear bright colors, feathers, rhinestones and painted nails;  Elton John, Marc Bolan, David Bowie and Mick Jagger are also music icons who popularized the style.

On his Instagram account, Styles has posted photos of himself in colorful pearl necklaces, tight-fitting retro underwear, a black feather coat and in a pin-up pose on a motorcycle.

First man on US Vogue cover
Styles was the first man to appear on the cover of Vogue's US edition in its nearly 130-year history. He wore an elegant light gray Gucci dress, with a black jacket. Between his fingers, which are adorned with rings bearing his initials "S" and "H," he held a baby blue balloon that could also be bubble gum.

"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," he told Vogue.

A controversial fashion campaign

Styles is friends with Gucci's former creative director Alessandro Michele. Just before Michele left Gucci in November 2022, they presented a collection entitled 'Gucci HA HA HA'.

The timing was not great. Gucci collaborated with the Balenciaga luxury fashion brand, which faced an extremely unfortunate advertising campaign at almost the same time 'Gucci HA HA HA' launched — ads showing children with teddy bears in bondage gear. The Balenciaga campaign sparked disgust and outrage worldwide. And Styles got caught up in the controversy when he presented himself on Instagram wearing Gucci.

From Louis Vuitton to Yves Saint Laurent, designer labels are Styles' passion. Daring cuts, a wild mix of patterns, frills, glitter and a feather boa, orange or pink, queer or not — the As It Was singers' style certainly muddies the boundaries between male and female fashion.

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