Alessandro Michele and Harry Styles join forces to reinvent the gentleman with capsule collection HA HA HA, with a hint of high-fashion merch.
If there is one thing Harry Styles is known for other than his music and his locks of curly hair, it’s his unpredictable fashion sense. Often donning 70s-inspired colorful garb, which goes against the homogenization of clothing, the British singer has become a fashion icon as much as a musical one. His style played a crucial role in setting him apart and establishing his brand as a solo artist after One Direction split up and garnered him a longstanding role as a face of Gucci. The latest phase of the partnership is a capsule collection created by Styles and Gucci’s Creative Director Alessandro Michele, titled Gucci HA HA HA.
Gucci’s Creative Director and Styles have been friends for years, a relationship described as an “exchange of continuous creative contamination and the drive to explore,” according to the collection’s press release.
Michele details, “the idea of working together came to me one day while we were talking on the phone: I proposed creating a “dream wardrobe” with him, starting from those small oddities that come together in childlike visions. We ended up with a mix of aesthetics from 1970s pop and bohemian to the revision of the image of the gentleman.”
The collection seems like a natural progression in the relationship. Styles was the face of a Gucci campaign in 2018 and has frequently sported the brand in some of his most memorable fashion moments, like on the cover of his Fine Line album. More specifically, it is a true testament to the friendship between two creative people.
The Gucci HA HA HA collection, a repetition of Styles’ and Michele’s initials, debuted at Milan’s Men’s Fashion Week. The lookbook is expectedly filled with bright colors and whimsical patterns, including a full yellow suit decorated with red cherries and blue lambs. The collection’s tailoring screams the ’70s but with a more eccentric Styles-like flare. Prices have not yet been confirmed for Gucci HA HA HA, but the collection will be available for purchase in October.
While the collection has a variety of pieces from jackets, suits, bowling shirts, and even a pleated kilt, there will also be some simpler styles for fans. The collaboration includes a t-shirt and sweater adorned with Harry’s hit single Watermelon Sugar lyrics, turning traditional mech into a high-fashion, high-ticket item.
Artists’ merchandise, which was once made by bands themselves and sold in the streets before a show, is now eagerly anticipated in quick-to-sell online drops. Merchandise tailored for super fans is no longer solely available at concert venues but at the mall via collaborations with high street brands. Billie Eilish’s merchandise could long be found at Urban Outfitters and Ariana Grande; H&M. Styles isn’t the only celebrity to turn merchandise into something more elite. Kanye West’s merchandise can be found on Farfetch for around $300. This kind of high-fashion product allows brands to access musician’s fanbases, and musicians to tap into another income revenue. The luxury fashion industry will likely see more high-fashion items in the future as celebrities continue to join forces with high fashion houses.
