Image Source: NPR, Dazed, Wikipedia
According to an interview given by Billy Porter, "Adore You" singer Harry Styles, who became the first man to grace the cover of American Vogue alone a year ago wearing a full-length dress, is not the right face to be on the cover and symbolize a new and more expressive era of men’s fashion.
During an interview with The Sunday Times, Billy Porter mentioned that there was a disconnect between the opportunities that he was offered as a black gay man compared to those offered to Harry Styles. He said, "I feel like the fashion industry has accepted me because they have to. I created the conversation (about non-binary fashion) and yet Vogue still put Harry Styles, a straight white man, in a dress on their cover for the first time."
Billy’s autobiography, "Unprotected: A Memoir", will be released later this month where he candidly spoke about the professional career success that came late to him in his life. After making his Broadway debut in 1991, Billy in the mid-aughts struggled to book acting jobs. By 2007, the actor was forced to declare bankruptcy. But, the Netflix series, "Pose", helped Billy Porter not only shape up his career towards success but also win an Emmy Award in 2019 for his performance of the ballroom MC Pray Tell. He was highly appreciated for his performance by the audience as well as the critics because he portrayed a man who is HIV positive and in real life, Billy Porter revealed that he was diagnosed HIV positive in 2007.
Billy Porter now appears on the red carpet wearing extremely eye-catching looks that have managed to push the conversations around gender and style-forward, making it easy and comfortable for everyone especially men to pick clothes according to their preference and not as society guides. At the 2019 Academy Awards, he wore a voluminous black velvet tuxedo dress and followed it up at the 2020 Grammy Awards with a crystal-encrusted jumpsuit. In his interview, Porter argued that it was him who changed the whole game when it comes to men wearing dresses and skirts.
Billy further quoted, "I was the first one doing it and now everybody is doing it," he said. "I'm not dragging Harry Styles, but... He doesn't care; he's just doing it because it's the thing to do. This is politics for me. This is my life. I had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars," Porter continued. "All (Styles) has to do is being white and straight." The actor also added that Harry is the one everyone is going to try and use to represent this new conversation.
Billy Porter said, "I was the first one doing it and now everybody is doing it". Image Source: Page Six
Harry Styles is also regarded as one of the style icons who have made a statement with his outfits, whether on stage or on the red carpet; the One Direction singer never disappoints his fans. Just like Billy, Harry also has ensembles that transcend clothing trends restricted by the gender binary. He became the first man to land a Vogue cover in December last year when he was photographed in several extravagant skirts and dresses.
It should be noted that Harry Styles has not labeled his sexuality outright and about his fashion choices, he mentioned in his interview with Vogue that gendered clothing norms are "limiting" and "there's so much joy to be had in playing with clothes." I've never really thought too much about what it means—it just becomes this extended part of creating something," he said at the time.
Liam Payne also mentioned in his interview with Roman Kemp on the Capital Breakfast radio show, "I think he’s enjoying himself, and he’s free to do as he wishes. And, you know, I just think that people don’t need to be so bothered about stuff." The statement comes after Harry’s cover was named as ‘not manly enough and how he was wearing ‘women’s clothing.
Harry Styles defended himself during an interview with Variety, stating, "To not wear [something] because it’s women's clothing, you shut out a whole world of great clothes." And I think what’s exciting about right now is you can wear what you like. It doesn’t have to be X or Y. Those lines are becoming more and more blurred. "
Some publications have suggested that even though Harry Styles’ Vogue cover seemed like a valuable step at the time, Billy Porter’s argument over breaking boundaries, authenticity, representation, and especially recognition, is important too.
Billy Porter at the premiere of Cinderella. Image Source: Billboard
Billy Porter recently starred as Fabulous Godmother in Amazon Prime's "Cinderella." In 2019, he made a cameo appearance in Taylor Swift's song video "You Need to Calm Down," which included twenty LGBTQ luminaries. In September 2019, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Pose and went on to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, making him the first openly homosexual black male to be nominated and win in any lead acting category at the Emmys.
