Salva Mubarak Senior Features Writer

With Harry Styles’ 70s-inspired sound and his association with Gucci over the years, it comes as no surprise that the singer has collaborated with the fashion label for a collection that is an ode to the era and his own distinct style.

Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele announced the collaborative collection, called ‘Ha Ha Ha’ based on their initials, at a press conference held, appropriately, in a vintage clothing store in Milan. Michele revealed that they turned their longtime friendship, and countless WhatsApp chats, into a collection that is, in his own words, his “dream wardrobe”.

“We’ve known each other for such a long time, and our shared obsession for fashion is what has drawn us together,” said Michele, “He’s the most courageous person in all the choices he makes, and he’s intuitively attuned to the new ways of self-representation. His repertoire is vast, he has an interesting idea of sexy, and he’s extremely articulate and aware in his eclectic approach.”

The designer said that he was initially dismissive of Styles and was reluctant to even meet him when the singer asked, back in 2015. But he admitted that he changed his mind about the singer instantly when he showed up “dressed in a fabulous fur coat” that he absolutely loved! And this is what kicked off their friendship. The duo walked together at the Met Gala red carpet in 2019 when Michele dressed Styles for that year’s ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’ theme.

“Harry has an incredible sense of fashion. Observing his ability to combine items of clothing in a way that is out of the ordinary. I came to understand that the styling of a look is a generator of differences and of powers, as are his reactions to the designs I have created for him, which he has always made his own; these reactions restore me with a rush of freedom every time.”

Now the two have created ‘Ha Ha Ha’, a collection that is a mishmash of clothes they like to wear. So you can expect it to have a mix of Harry’s British sensibilities and Michele’s Italian flair for luxury. The 25-look collection features colourful wide-legged trousers that have been popularised by the singer, gingham suits with animal graphic prints, several overcoats, blazers, and patchwork leather jackets.

Michele claims that both of them were inspired by ’70s rock idols when they were conceptualising ‘Ha Ha Ha’, “I think that it’s just something natural because we go crazy for jackets and beautiful pieces from that world,” he said. “We were sharing for a long time images of eccentric men from the era. And so we went really close to the things that are very difficult to find in vintage, or things that apparently belong to an era that, in a way, doesn’t exist anymore.”

The Gucci ‘Ha Ha Ha’ collection will be available in October.