Harry Styles is The Face of Androgynous Fashion ... But Why?

By Secretary, Maxine An

Photo Credits of Vogue

Cosmopolitan Magazine defines androgyny as the practice of dressing and presenting in a way that makes it difficult to assign masculinity or femininity to a person. The term androgyny comes from the 14th century and is a combination of andr, for man, and gyne, for woman. Harry Styles is someone who has recently been idolized as an androgynous figure within the public eye. This title was reinforced as he became the first solo male star to grace the cover of U.S. Vogue’s December issue, wearing a Gucci dress while doing so. Before that, he was a member of One Direction, one of the most well-known boy bands of all time. After the breakup of the band, he went on as a successful solo artist, even performing at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show in 2017. 

During Harry Styles’ solo career, he began to embrace unconventional clothing. When he attended the BRIT Awards in February of 2020, he wore a bright yellow three-piece suit from Marc Jacobs’ Spring 2020 womenswear collection. Styles even tied a lilac bow around his neck to follow how it was styled on the runway. In an interview with The Guardian, Styles said:

What women wear. What men wear. For me it’s not a question of that. 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.

He believes that this is a very freeing time and that there has been a moment of self-reflection and self-acceptance. He loves being comfortable enough in his own skin to express who he is through fashion. Harry Styles adds that his fashion choices do not point to his sexuality in any way and that he doesn’t do it just to make himself more interesting to the public. 

Styles’ most drastic change in style was evident after the release of his second solo album in 2017. He started experimenting with different fabrics, prints, and silhouettes in his performances and public events. Fans waited for the next wardrobe evolution that would come with this new album tour. Harry Lambert, Harry Styles’ long-time stylist, mentioned that “it’s time to try something new and hopefully shock and inspire in a different way.” Harry Styles became known for his distinct and bold fashion choices because they served as a reminder that clothing is an expressive factor, not something bound to gender constructs. 

The public’s acceptance of Harry Styles’ fashion decisions has reflected how clothing and footwear designers have become increasingly gender-fluid in recent years, especially with Gen Z leading the way. This leadership will allow brands to break gender norms within the fashion industry. 

However, there have been some questions and concerns about why Harry Styles earned this title when there have been other androgynous figures, such as David Bowie, Jaden Smith, and Janelle Monáe, who did not receive the same recognition. Harry Styles did not invent androgynous fashion, but his dominant social identities such as being a white, cisgender male has impacted how society views his androgyny, masculinity, and gender fluidity in fashion. He is not the first person to break the norms of fashion, but he is receiving the most praise for it because he is the most recent white male to do so. 

Photo Credits of Vogue

Throughout history and up until now, people of color such as Billy Porter, Lenny Kravtiz, and Prince have experimented with androgyny, but they received much more criticism and hatred than Harry Styles for their fashion decisions. This is another opportunity where race is inherently rendered invisible, and justice needs to be served for that. However, this does not take away from Harry Styles’ accomplishments as a pop star and an androgynous icon; it is simply to point out that society does not rate everyone with the same scale, especially in regards to race and gender identity. 

I believe that Styles’ status as an androgynous fashion icon came from his popularity with millennials and Gen Z, when teenage girls all over the world gushed over him when he was part of One Direction and stood by him when he began his solo career afterwards. He has power in his name, and he probably attracts more media coverage for his outfits than any other androgynous celebrity because of that. This is not to undermine the significance of race in how this situation played out. It has become something that we gloss over, but we must retrain our brains to identify that factor and understand how it is being used against those who identify with it. While we have all heard of David Bowie and Prince, we did not grow up during the peak of their fame and perhaps that has contributed to the lack of acknowledgement to their androgynous fashion decisions. They may have made a statement with the clothing they wore, but in the 21st century Harry Styles is the person to notice. 

Androgynous fashion is not a new concept that was developed this century, but the impact of it clearly depends on the person representing that idea. Race and gender identity are important factors that have led the public to disregard and criticize people of color and those who identify outside traditional binaries who defy gender norms. Meanwhile white, cisgender men are applauded for breaking those barriers. Regardless of how Harry Styles became the icon of androgyny, he has used his fame and power to spread the idea that clothing knows no gender and no one should be afraid of wearing what they love, especially to a generation that is told by the media everyday how they should act, think, and behave in order for society to accept them.