In addition to Love on Tour, Harry Styles performed at Madison Square Garden Saturday, October 30th, and Sunday, October 31st, for “Harryween”. “Harryween” was announced in the Spring of 2020 as a special event during his U.S tour with the description of, “a fancy dress party”. Many fans, including myself, were very unsure of what the description of “fancy dress” entailed. However, through the help of TikTok, I learned that it has the same meaning as the word costume, making “Harryween”, a big costume party. At his regular Love on Tour shows, his fans have collectively created their own dress code: 70’s, colorful, fun, and expressive. Therefore, I was torn on what to wear to his “Harryween” show, as I had tickets for the first night. Not being a huge fan of Halloween, I decided on going with a classic 70’s Love on Tour outfit. I wore a green outfit to reflect my love for his song “Kiwi”. Thankfully, “Harryween” night 1 had an even mix of Halloween costumes and the 70’s style outfits.
Figuring out my outfit was not as difficult as figuring out what Harry would wear. In the past years, Harry Styles has been known for his bold fashion choices. His most famous fashion statement was during his November 2020 Vogue Issue titled, “Harry Styles on Dressing Up, Making Music, and Living in the Moment”. In this issue, Styles modeled in women’s clothing, including various dresses and skirts. Although some people in society weren’t happy about a man dressing in women’s clothing, others, including myself, thought it was amazing and revolutionary. Harry Styles always promotes being your authentic and true self, because why not? He despises these “expectations” that society creates and hopes that people, including his fans, can live the life that they want to live. Therefore, Harry wears whatever he wants to wear. In his Vogue piece he says, “Now I’ll put on something that feels really flamboyant, and I don’t feel crazy wearing it. I think if you get something that you feel amazing in, it’s like a superhero outfit. Clothes are there to have fun with and experiment with and play with” (Bowles, 2020). He has also made powerful fashion statements at the Met Gala, the Grammys, and especially his own concerts.
Since he is well known for his outfits, the mystery behind what he was going to wear for “Harryween” was huge, as it wasn’t your average concert. Many fans thought he was going to dress up as Freddie Mercury or David Bowie, as they are some of his greatest role models. Others thought he would dress up as a fruit because some of his songs are named after specific fruits. Harry Styles dressed up as none of these, but instead came out on stage dressed up as Dorothy Gale from the classic film The Wizard of Oz. Along with Harry, his entire band portrayed Oz characters including the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Wicked Witch, Glinda, and the Wizard with, “We’re Off to See the Wizard”, playing in the background as they entered the stage. Similar to critics’ reactions to his Vogue photoshoot, many people had the same disapproving reaction to Harry Styles dressing up as this female character, along with wearing a dress, a bow, stockings, makeup and ruby red slippers. But, these negative thoughts couldn’t be felt inside Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Everyone inside the arena supported and accepted Harry for what he was wearing and who he wanted to be, just like how Harry inspires us, his own fans, to be their true selves.
Harry started off the concert with his famous song “Golden”. His setlist included:
- “Golden”
- “Carolina”
- “Adore You”
- “Only Angel”
- “To Be So Lonely”
- “Cherry”
- “She”
- “Falling” (with “Two Ghosts” as the introduction)
- “Lights Up”
- ‘Canyon Moon”
- “Treat People with Kindness”
- “What Makes You Beautiful” (One Direction song)
- “Sign of the Times”
- “Over the Rainbow” (From: The Wizard of Oz)
- “Watermelon Sugar”
- “Kiwi”
His setlist was very similar to his prior concerts, minus the addition of, “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz, and the intro of, “Two Ghosts”. I was very pleased with this setlist as “Two Ghosts” is my favorite song of his, and it is rarely performed at his shows. Additionally, I am extremely appreciative that he sang One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful”, as the band helped him become who he is today. His cover of “Over the Rainbow” was also very sentimental and unexpected. He truly was Dorothy Gale when singing it.
“Harryween” was probably one of the best nights of my life. I am an avid Harry Styles fan and have been following him since One Direction was formed on the X-Factor in 2010. Not only is he a great singer, but he is a captivating and magical performer. Additionally, he actively interacts with his fans at his shows and constantly thanks them for coming to see him. Harry has had such a huge impact on the current generation, and is constantly defying the odds of what is “expected” of men. He is changing the narrative of these expectations and is proudly bringing his fans along for the ride. Actress and director Olivia Wilde states, “It’s pretty powerful and kind of extraordinary to see someone in his position redefining what it can mean to be a man with confidence,” applauding Styles and his approach to make an everlasting change in this world (Bowles, 2020).
Whether you agree with what Harry does or not, remember that we should follow Harry Styles’ advice and treat people with kindness, always.
References
- Bowles, H., Mitchell, P. by T., & Nickerson, S. by C. (2020, November 13). Playtime with Harry Styles: “You can never be overdressed”. Vogue. Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://www.vogue.com/article/harry-styles-cover-december-2020.