I went into Harry Styles’ Dazed cover story thinking that he was probably doing some advanced promotion for Don’t Worry Darling, the film where he was directed by now-girlfriend Olivia Wilde. While that movie is mentioned in this piece, his main reason for this cover interview is to promote his brand, Pleasing, which is sort of a beauty/lifestyle catch-all. It started out with nail polish but now Styles is doing different products in a lot of different ways, and trying to make the company completely sustainable and ethical/green. Harry chats with Dazed about all of that and more – you can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
Whether he’s a style icon: “It’s funny because I don’t think of myself that way (as a style icon)… but bringing people together is the thing I’m most proud of. (At the shows) I get kind of a front-row seat to see a bunch of people getting in a room together and just being themselves. Not coming to the front of the stage, because they’re hanging out at the back, dancing like nobody’s watching. Having the most basic version of a good time. Humans interacting and accepting each other. A room full of people just loving each other is so powerful.”
He’s not scared of failure anymore: “There was a time when I was younger, and I was in the band, when I would have been afraid for everything to have stopped. I didn’t necessarily know who I was if I wasn’t in the band. Now, the idea of people going, ‘We don’t like your music any more, go away’ doesn’t scare me. I think there was a time when it did. It gives me the freedom to kind of go, ‘Great!’ I’m not working from a place of fear. I’m working from a place of wanting to work stuff out, and try different things.”
He’s not commenting on Olivia Wilde: “I’ve always tried to compartmentalise my personal life and my working life,” he explains. Paparazzi snaps suggest the two are very much in love, though any assumptions on his love life are curtailed for his Dazed cover story.
What is Pleasing? “It was an idea I’d kind of had for a while. I’d been talking with a couple of people close to me, like Molly (Hawkins, Styles’ creative director). Firstly, I just thought it would be fun but, in actuality, Pleasing is about a couple of things. It’s starting with nail polish, because that was kind of the birth of what it was for. Me seeing a colour on a flower or a wallpaper or something and thinking, ‘Oh, I wanna put that on my nails’. It was a fun little project, but during the pandemic, and when we eventually named it Pleasing, it felt like it was so much more than nail polish. I’ve always found that the moments in my life which have brought me the most joy are the small ones, whether it be, you know, the end of the night under the stars or a bite of food, or sitting with your friends thinking, ‘Oh, I’m never gonna forget this’. It’s always those moments that I find have the longest-lasting effect on me, in terms of sparking something wonderful in me. I really think that the essence of Pleasing is finding those little moments of joy and showing them to people.”
Pleasing has all kinds of products now: A ‘Pearlescent Illuminating’ serum, ‘Pleasing Pen Matte’ lip oil, and ‘Perfect Pearl’ nail polish, all of which have been mindfully and sustainably made. “I don’t think that putting someone’s face on something sells a bad product,” says Styles firmly. “The product has to be good, and I think our product is good.”
Where will Pleasing be in five years? “We’re Pleasing and we’re not perfect, and we are always gonna be trying to learn to do better, Do I have any idea where Pleasing will be in five years? No. Obviously I have an idea of what I would like us to be aiming at, but honestly, I don’t know. That’s what makes it exciting to me.”
I think his little beauty company sounds cool. Obviously, he doesn’t need any of that – it’s not like he’s hustling this side-business because he needs the money. He had time on his hands during the pandemic and he thought it would be cool to develop products which he would like to use and maybe other people would too. Honestly, I’m very curious about his nail polish now, and his under-eye serum! I will try it (if it’s affordable).
Covers & IG courtesy of Dazed.
Those tights are so bold with that green dress.
I love those purple pants. I want a pair myself.