For the past few weeks, the internet has been filled with pictures and statements of pop singer Harry Styles, who is be the first male to be on the cover of American Vogue. In his cover photo shoot, Styles is shown in a grass field wearing more traditionally feminine clothing, which includes a Gucci ball gown and a Wales Bonner skirt.

Through this photoshoot and Vogue issue, Styles wants to show that clothes are gender-fluid, meaning certain types of clothing do not pertain to a certain gender.

Since the start of his solo career after leaving his former band, One Direction, Styles says that he has been able to make more of his own choices in what music he produces and how he presents himself. He has decided that once you destroy the many boundaries that people have set, “obviously you open up the arena in which you can play”, meaning that he can finally embrace himself. He has also stated that he is now in a much better disposition than when he was in the band because he is able to express himself in the way that he wants, without conforming to people’s standards and criteria.

Emily Sawyer, a sophomore student from Wayne Hills, fully supports Harry Styles’ clothing and fashion style. “I think it’s important for him as a celebrity to be expressing himself through his style because it breaks the stigma around men wearing more feminine-type clothes. It allows people across the world to feel more comfortable in their own skin, despite the societal standards we’ve been confined to all our lives,” Sawyer says.

On the other hand, many people who are more conservative disagree with Harry Styles’ clothing choices, like politician, Candace Owens, who took to Instagram and Twitter to express her views. She mentioned her discontent with Styles’ feminine clothing and said that we must  “bring back manly men.” Of course many people defended the pop-star, angrily responding to the politician that clothes do not determine gender, as it is just one’s way of expression and pieces of fabric.

Harry Styles, is not the first man to wear more flamboyant clothing. Elvis Presley, Kurt Cobain, David Bowie, and Freddie Mercury are only a few names of A-list celebrities who have chosen to go against gender stereotypes with their clothing. Many modern K-pop stars have also been seen wearing skirts and blouses to further prove that clothing is genderless.