Listen Up, Harry Styles Fans: This New Book Reflecting on His Cultural Legacy Is a Must-Read

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Happy Friday, Stylers! It’s time to break out your feather boas and pearl earrings, because we’re here to inform you that a brand-spankin’-new book about Harry Styles (aptly titled Harry Styles) is set to hit retailers in *checks calendar* T-minus one month!

Yep, on October 24, Hearst Books will officially release an exciting project about your fave whimsical suit-wearing musician that’s filled to the brim with amazing pics of Harry throughout his already long career (he’s only 29, but he’s lived, like, seven lives, mmkay?).

It also features three essays about Harry’s cultural legacy—from the outfits he dons onstage and on red carpets to his groundbreaking musical impact—courtesy of the following contributors:

• Alex Bilmes, journalist and editor-in-chief of Esquire UK

• Aya Kanai, head of creative and editorial at Google Shopping and former chief fashion director and editor-in-chief at Hearst Magazines

• Jem Aswad, executive music editor at Variety

TL;DR: Don’t forget to preorder your copy while supplies last because gorgeous, gorgeous girls should own the best song book ever. But until you can get your hands on Harry Styles (the book, that is 😪💔), here’s the official description in the meantime to tide you over.

To preorder the book, click on the retailer of your choice:

Amazon BN.com Bookshop.org

And because we’re feeling really nice this morning, here’s an exclusive excerpt of one of the three essays in the book, which was written by none other than Cosmo alumnus Aya Kanai!

An Excerpt From “Fashion Fluency,” by Aya Kanai in Harry Styles

Harry’s successful music career proves he knows how to make a splash, and he did that again when he became the first man ever to appear solo on the cover of U.S. Vogue. Dressed in a frothy, lace-trimmed periwinkle Gucci gown and black double-breasted tuxedo jacket, he shocked many critics and delighted others, making a statement about gender stereotypes and provoking an important conversation about tolerance, creativity, and freedom of expression.

Harry’s personal style is his essential creative medium, second only to his music, and it has redefined notions of masculinity to include traditionally feminine flourishes. Slick layouts for fashion magazines find him wearing boundary-pushing looks, including a Comme des Garçons Homme Plus blazer and kilt set, a Victorian crinoline by Harris Reed, and a suit with 1980s shoulders and zoot-suit wide leg pants, softly draped. He embraces sequins, lace pussy bow blouses, feather boas, and color-block-knitted cardigans and all the bold colors of the rainbow in his everyday wardrobe. He often accessorizes with his chunky signature rings, nail polish in many colors, pearl necklaces, oversize glasses, and those famous tattoos.

As is often the case in fashion and culture, today’s controversy becomes tomorrow’s norm. Menswear collections now include skirts—both tailored and flouncy—floral and pastel blouses, and knitted or fuzzy cardigans, not to mention the tattoos and jewelry sported by androgynous models stalking the catwalk. Every wardrobe move Harry makes is emulated by fashion fans and eagerly studied and stocked by fashion retailers worldwide. Harry has been very good for both the business of fashion and the business of self-expression.

Another thing is for sure: Harry is a skillful storyteller. Pop stars used to maintain an elusive distance from their fans. Now, most people hold a communication tool in the palm of their hands, with a direct line to the mega-famous. But Harry manages to strike a balance between mystery and accessibility, giving his audience just enough to feel like they have a sense of him and yet not enough to really know him. He dances with his fans on all social platforms, as only a canny professional could. Fans post videos of his every move in concert and, of course, of every new performance outfit. And they’ve adopted his signature boa as their own, sporting them proudly around town.

If fashion is a language, Harry speaks it fluently. Although musicians before him like David Bowie and Prince broke gender norms with personal style, their brazen approach was intended to shock and was part of a revolutionary rallying cry for their generations. Harry is simply Harry; he comes across as happy and at ease in his own skin and fashion choices. But in the new world of viral trends on social media platforms, Harry’s effect permeates pop culture in deep, far-reaching, and immediate ways, most noticeably among the younger generation of his fans. Gen Z fashion questions previously held standards and expectations—from the way clashing colors, patterns, and textures are worn together in new and exciting ways (and also in a throwback to ’70s style) to a shattering of the now seemingly old-fashioned male-female dichotomy. Harry nods to those trends through his outfit choices and reveals a strategic understanding of the psyche of his young fan base. His style is genius in that it’s gorgeous, political, tolerant, and loving, and it’s shrewdly woven into his overarching creative point of view. His fashion, like his songs, takes center stage.

Text copyright © 2023 by Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Hearst Home. All Rights Reserved.

Harry Styles by Alex Bilmes, Aya Kanai, and Jem Aswad will be released on October 24, 2023.

Disclosure: Hearst Magazines is also the parent company of Cosmopolitan.

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