When Harry Styles kicked off his Together, Together tour in Amsterdam in May, he bounded on to the stage in navy pleated trousers and a blue shirt, topped off with a colourful floral printed tie from Celine. Four days later, Styles paused mid-set at the same stadium to take in the crowd. “There’s a lot of ties in the audience tonight. I see you queens, I see you,” he said.
Fast forward to his record-breaking 12 night residency at London’s Wembley Stadium, and as I made my way up the entrance steps on night ten last week, it became clear within minutes – ties are very much the new feather boa. I found myself surrounded by fans wearing shirts paired with neatly knotted ties, and fans wearing sparkly vest tops with ties loosely slung over the top. There were ties used in place of belts, ties teamed with merch T-shirts, ties tied around waists, ties twisted around ponytails, and even dresses and skirts fashioned from ties.
DIY Tie Skirts and Custom Creations
Whitney Jones, an editorial assistant at Grazia, says: “I’m obsessed with concert-themed dressing.” She wore a feather boa to two of Styles’ Love on Tour performances. For his Wembley residency she dialled it up another notch, creating an entire skirt from ties and documenting the process on TikTok. Her skirt uses 18 ties sourced from Vinted and charity shops, each embellished with a “nod to either song titles, feature lyrics or fun moments from live performances”. A polka dot tie features “Satellite” lettering down the centre, in reference to his 2022 song, alongside a zodiac constellation made using glitter. Another of Styles’ hits, Sign of the Times, is marked with stick-on letters and red gems to resemble fireworks, while Fine Line, Jones’s favourite song is celebrated with a pink and blue harlequin tie that she covered in gems, spelling out the song title “as a fine line instead of the bold lettering on the other ties”.
From Office Staple to Concert Statement
Previously dominated by corporate office workers, the tie is enjoying newfound freedom fuelled by celebrity. Bad Bunny kicks off his ongoing DTMF show in a straw-coloured suit and matching tie. At the Schiaparelli couture show in Paris on Monday, he finished his look with a particularly hair-raising version – a tie braided from blond tresses. Meanwhile, similar to Styles, actors Tom Holland and Josh O’Connor are fans of the mono tie, whereby the accessory is barely distinguishable from the shirt of the same colour it’s attached to.
Harry fans are borrowing ties from their corporate dads, digging out their old school ties, and buying them secondhand. According to eBay, searches for retro ties are up 367%. The real bond between fans is DIY-ing their own with a nod towards Styles himself: platforms such as Etsy and Instagram are peppered with sellers offering their own customised takes.
A Side Hustle for Fans
For Amy Frye, a flight attendant based in Utah, customising ties has become an unexpected side hustle. After spotting Styles wearing a tie with “Pop” emblazoned on it (another of his song titles) as he hosted Saturday Night Live in March, she started to thrift ties that she could then glue letters to and started selling them on Etsy. So far she has made 200. “It’s so fun,” she says “because I have so many different patterns and colours and every person wants something different for their outfit.”
Community and Subtle Expression
Jones says that dressing up has become a key part of the Styles fandom. “It feels like being a kid again and that you’re part of a community,” she says. “The best part is being able to spot other concert goers on train platforms on the way to the venue.” For Frye, who has seen Styles three times so far, a tie is a more subtle way of expressing your allegiance. “It says you are a Harry fan without saying you’re a Harry fan. It’s a way of doing it without wearing official merch. It’s more ‘If you know, you know’!”
