In Defense of Harry Styles and a Better Future for Masculinity
Inside the December 2020 issue of Vogue is something unremarkable and remarkable at the same time. Unremarkably, a cover star speaks candidly about life and self-expression to the magazine’s European editor-at-large, interspersed with gorgeous photography of beautiful clothing against the backdrop of the English countryside. Remarkably, this month’s cover star is the first man to grace the cover solo in the magazine’s 127-year history, a huge honor for a generation-defining fashion icon. The clothing — high-shouldered blazers, kilts, playfully oversized coats and belts, a Gucci dress, and Victoriana crinoline over an exaggerated suit silhouette — is playfully subversive, but neither exceptionally scandalous nor dramatically transgressive.
The interview and profile of Harry Styles, former boy band member now independent and acclaimed solo act and all-around good guy, is well-written and beautifully shot. The clothing itself is faithful to the recent sartorial direction Styles and members of his team have taken. By bucking expectations, swapping out the more boring bread-and-butter-male styling of suits and jeans for the androgynous and the feminine, the shoot showcases its star while staying faithful to the tradition of rich photography and elegant fashion readers have come to expect.
