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Blue Gucci dress of Harry Styles

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A blue lace gown with a ruffle trim
The blue dress, pictured at the Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in March 2022

English singer Harry Styles wore a blue Gucci dress for Vogue's December 2020 issue, becoming the first man to appear solo on the magazine's cover. Designed by creative director of Gucci, Alessandro Michele, the dress was well received by the general public for challenging toxic masculinity and gender stereotypes.

The dress received reactions from both conservative and progressive public figures. Conservatives condemned the perceived corruption of traditional masculinity, while progressives defended Styles after the criticism. The dress generated a significant amount of conversation about sexuality, race, and privilege. It was featured at Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear, a 2022 exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Background

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Harry Styles has been labelled a fashion icon and one of the most influential men in fashion by several publications.[a] He won the British Style Award at the 2013 British Fashion Awards.[7] In 2014, Styles started to wear Yves Saint-Laurent regularly and met stylist Harry Lambert.[8][9] The following year, his wardrobe was expanded to feature Gucci, as well as small designers such as Daniel W. Fletcher.[10][11] In 2016, Styles did his first solo editorial shoot with Another Man magazine.[12] He modelled for several publications in the following years, including Rolling Stone (twice),[13][14] The Face,[15] L'Officiel Hommes,[16] The Guardian,[17] Music Week,[18] and Beauty Papers.[19] Styles became the face of three Gucci tailoring campaigns throughout 2018 and 2019,[20][21] and also of their gender-neutral fragrance, Mémoire d'une Odeur.[22]

Styles co-chaired the 2019 Met Gala alongside Gucci's creative director, Alessandro Michele.[23][24] In 2019 and 2020, he wore several androgynous fashion pieces, including fishnets in the Beauty Papers shoot,[19] a black dress in The Guardian shoot,[17][25] a tutu on Saturday Night Live,[26] and Mary Janes at the 2020 Brit Awards.[27] On November 13, 2020, Vogue announced that Styles would be featured on the cover of their December issue as their first solo male cover star.[28][24]

Design and photography

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The dress, worn by Styles on Vogue's cover, is a periwinkle blue-coloured lace gown with a ruffle trim and suivez-moi-jeune-homme [fr] ribbons; it was paired with a black double-breasted tuxedo jacket.[29][25][30] Eliza Huber from Refinery29 drew similarities between the dress and other gowns in the Gucci Fall 2020 collection.[31] The outfit was constructed by Michele, and the Vogue shoot was photographed by Tyler Mitchell.[29][24] The creative vision for the shoot was rooted in androgynous fashion, with Lionel Wendt's 1930s homoerotic portraits of Sri Lankan men and Irving Penn's 1950s photographs of Dior and Balenciaga supermodels both serving as inspirations. Other items of clothing featured in the shoot included a Harris Reed dress-and-trousers combination, a Comme des Garçons kilt, a Gucci pussy bow blouse, a Wales Bonner skirt, and a Maison Margiela trench coat.[29]

Reception

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The dress was met with mixed reception.[32] According to Grazia's Isabelle Truman, "thousands of people worldwide" praised Styles for challenging toxic masculinity and gender roles, emulating other musicians such as David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and Prince.[33] Huber praised the shoot and thought that the dress was a natural progression of his tendency to buck gender norms in fashion; she wrote although he was not the first male celebrity to wear a dress, he was among the first to do it on a global level.[31] In response to the commotion caused by the dress, The Daily Telegraph's Chris Harvey highlighted other male celebrities who donned gowns before Styles, including Bowie, Brad Pitt, Kurt Cobain, Young Thug, and Iggy Pop.[34]

Candace Owens in 2022
Ben Shapiro in 2016
Conservative commentators Candace Owens (left) and Ben Shapiro (right) criticised Styles for wearing a dress.

Several conservative political commentators criticised the outfit for lacking masculinity. Ben Shapiro said it was "a referendum on masculinity for men to wear floofy dresses",[35] and Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain called the dress "a bit weird" and asked, "why do men need to wear dresses?"[36] Politician Ted Cruz compared the Vogue cover to a portrait of Bill Clinton in a dress that sex offender Jeffrey Epstein displayed on his wall.[35] Candace Owens expressed her disapproval of the cover in a tweet: "There is no society that can survive without strong men. The East knows this. In the west, the steady feminization of our men at the same time that Marxism is being taught to our children is not a coincidence. It is an outright attack. Bring back manly men."[35] Styles responded one month later by sharing an image of himself eating a banana and wearing a baby blue suit with a ruffled blouse, accompanied by the caption "bring back manly men", referencing Owens's tweet.[37] Several progressive public figures defended Styles following the conservative criticism, including politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,[38] actress Olivia Wilde,[39] activist Jameela Jamil,[40] and actor Elijah Wood.[39]

Black gay actor Billy Porter and non-binary performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon both expressed mixed feelings about the Vogue cover. The latter conveyed their happiness at witnessing Styles being honoured for openly defying gendered fashion standards, but believed that "white men should [not] be upheld as the face of gender neutral fashion" because "trans femmes of color started this and continue to face the backlash from it".[33] In an interview in October 2021, Porter offered a more scathing critique of Styles and the cover. According to Porter, "he doesn't care, he's just doing it because it's the thing to do. This is politics for me. This is my life. I had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars [...] All he has to do is be white and straight."[41] He later apologized for centering Styles in the conversation: "It's not about you. The conversation is not about you."[42]

Legacy

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The dress cemented Styles's status as a fashion icon,[b] and he was voted GQ's "Most Stylish Man of the Year" in 2020.[47] He was inducted as part of The Business of Fashion's Class of 2022, an index of people that shaped the global fashion industry.[48] Following the dress controversy, Lambert garnered significant media attention for being the man who "put Harry Styles in a dress"[9] and his "secret style weapon".[49] Singer Charlotte Sands wrote a song called "Dress", inspired by the Vogue cover look; it went viral on TikTok and has been added to over 37,000 Spotify playlists.[50]

In March 2022, the blue dress was featured at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London as part of their Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear exhibition.[51] It was displayed with a wedding dress worn by drag queen Bimini Bon-Boulash on the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK and a black dress worn by Porter at the 91st Academy Awards.[52] A portrait of Styles wearing the dress was included in the 2024 History Makers exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, honouring individuals who have influenced contemporary culture.[53][54]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Attributed to multiple references:[1][2][3][4][5][6]
  2. ^ Attributed to multiple references:[43][44][45][46]

References

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  2. ^ Badasie, Charlene (27 July 2017). "Harry Styles: Musician, Actor and Fashion Icon". Glamour South Africa. Archived from the original on 4 July 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  3. ^ Gour, Juliette (2 February 2020). "5 Times Harry Styles Reminded Us of Mick Jagger". L'Officiel Singapore. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  4. ^ Elan, Priya (17 November 2020). "How Harry Styles Became the Face of Gender-Neutral Fashion". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  5. ^ Yotka, Steff (29 September 2017). "Can Harry Styles Make Dressing Up Cool Again?". Vogue. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  6. ^ Bugler, Daphne (1 February 2020). "Why the World Doesn't Deserve Harry Styles". British GQ. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  7. ^ Fernandez, Julia (1 December 2014). "British Fashion Awards 2013: Harry Styles Wins The British Style Award". Grazia UK. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  8. ^ Amey, Kathryn (3 February 2015). "All of Harry Styles's Coolest (and Craziest!) Fashion Moments Over the Last 12 Months". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  9. ^ a b Ferrier, Morwenna (26 May 2022). "When Harry Met Harry! The Man Who Put Harry Styles in a Dress". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  10. ^ Maoui, Zak (27 November 2020). "Daniel W Fletcher: 'Harry Styles Had a Huge Impact on My Career'". British GQ. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  11. ^ McCall, Tyler (14 December 2015). "In Defense of Harry Styles's Wild Suits". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  12. ^ Harwood, Erika (7 October 2016). "Harry Styles Showed Off His Perfectly Painted Nails Last Night". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  13. ^ Sheffield, Rob (26 August 2019). "The Eternal Sunshine of Harry Styles". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
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  19. ^ a b Abad, Mario (17 March 2020). "Harry Styles in Fishnets Will Save Us All". Paper. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  20. ^ Fisher, Lauren Alexis (4 June 2018). "The Harry Styles Gucci Campaign We've All Been Waiting for Is Finally Here". Harper's Bazaar. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  21. ^ Pike, Naomi (21 May 2019). "A Pig, A Swan, A Statue, A Headscarf – Harry Styles's New Gucci Campaign Is Even More Extra Than The Last". British Vogue. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  22. ^ Kinney, Bunny (1 August 2019). "Exclusive: Harry Styles Tells All on Gucci's New Fragrance, Memoire". Dazed. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  23. ^ Pike, Naomi (18 April 2019). "Harry Styles Will Co-Host The Met Gala, But What Does That Actually Mean?". British Vogue. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  24. ^ a b c Nguyen, Andrew (13 November 2020). "The First Solo Male on the Cover of Vogue". The Cut. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  25. ^ a b Wheeler, André (16 November 2020). "Harry Styles Wore a Dress on the Cover of Vogue – and US Rightwingers Lost It". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  26. ^ Hunt, Elle (18 November 2019). "Tutu Good: How Harry Styles Suddenly Became Britain's Greatest Export". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  27. ^ Okwudu, Janelle (18 February 2020). "Harry Styles Debuts the Mary Jane for Men". Vogue. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  28. ^ Aniftos, Rania (23 November 2020). "Everyone Who Has Defended Harry Styles' Vogue Cover". Billboard. Archived from the original on 14 April 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  29. ^ a b c Bowles, Hamish (13 November 2020). "Playtime With Harry Styles: "You Can Never Be Overdressed"". Vogue. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  30. ^ Tuccillo, Andrea (13 November 2020). "Harry Styles Dons Lace Gucci Gown As Vogue's First Solo Male Cover Star". WRMF. ABC Audio. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  31. ^ a b Huber, Eliza (13 November 2020). "Harry Styles' Dress on the Cover of Vogue Is a Sign of the Times". Refinery29. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  32. ^ Lowe, Lindsay (5 November 2021). "Billy Porter Apologizes to Harry Styles for Vogue Cover Remark: 'Not About You'". Today. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  33. ^ a b Truman, Isabelle (15 November 2020). "Should Harry Styles Be Celebrated for Wearing a Dress?". Grazia. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  34. ^ Harvey, Chris (3 December 2020). "Shocked by Harry Styles's Dress? Take a Lesson in Pop History". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  35. ^ a b c Tannenbaum, Emily (16 November 2020). "Harry Styles Expertly Fired Back at Candace Owens's Tweet—But She Can't Let It Go". Glamour. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  36. ^ Young, Sarah (18 November 2020). "Piers Morgan Says Harry Styles Wearing a Dress Is 'A Bit Weird'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  37. ^ Carras, Christi (2 December 2020). "Harry Styles Sends a Message to His Vogue Fashion Haters: 'Bring Back Manly Men'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  38. ^ Schild, Darcy (22 November 2020). "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Shut Down Critics of Harry Styles' Vogue Cover and Said the Musician 'Looks Bomb' in His Photos". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  39. ^ a b West, Rachel (16 November 2020). "Olivia Wilde, Zach Braff, Elijah Wood And More Defend Harry Styles' Gender-Blurring Looks In Vogue". Entertainment Tonight Canada. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  40. ^ Kocharekar, Sangeeta (18 November 2020). "Harry Styles Wore a Dress on the Cover of Vogue. So What?". MTV. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  41. ^ Deng, Jireh (20 October 2021). "Harry Styles isn't the leader of a fashion revolution, but neither is Billy Porter". NPR. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  42. ^ Longo, Joseph (9 November 2021). "Billy Porter Apologizes to Harry Styles Over Vogue Cover Criticism". Them. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  43. ^ Gallagher, Jacob (3 December 2020). "How Harry Styles Became 2020's Biggest Fashion Icon". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  44. ^ Singh, Olivia (13 November 2020). "Harry Styles Opens Up About His Fluid Sense of Style and Why He Doesn't Like 'Limiting' Himself to Only Men's Clothing". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  45. ^ Tuccillo, Andrea (30 November 2021). "Harry Styles Named Most Popular Fashion Icon of 2021". iHeartRadio Canada. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  46. ^ Poliziani, Karli (15 December 2021). "Recreate These 3 Iconic Harry Styles Outfits with Similar Looks from H&M — Shop Now". Grazia. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  47. ^ "See Who GQ Readers Voted the Most Stylish Man of the Year". GQ. 14 December 2020. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  48. ^ "Harry Styles | BoF 500 – The Business of Fashion". The Business of Fashion. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  49. ^ Wise, Louis (20 June 2021). "Meet Harry Lambert, the A-List's Secret Style Weapon". The Times. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  50. ^ Norris, Rebecca (25 February 2021). "Charlotte Sands Thinks You Look Great in That Dress". Allure. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  51. ^ Mower, Sarah (19 March 2022). "Fashioning Masculinities, the V&A's New Show, Proves That Gender Has Always Been a Construct". Vogue. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  52. ^ Elan, Priya (16 March 2022). "Death of the Suit: V&A Exhibition Explores Evolution of Menswear". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  53. ^ "New Portrait of Sam Smith from the Singer's Own Art Collection Unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery Today" (PDF). National Portrait Gallery. 31 July 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 July 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  54. ^ "History Makers: Room 33 – Portraits". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
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