Is it too early to call Harry Styles an Eyewear Icon? At first we thought that maybe he was too young and that surely it wasn’t that long ago that he first cropped up on TV, but then it dawned on us… it was 16 years ago that The X Factor plucked a young and floppy-haired Styles from his job at a Holmes Chapel bakery to join one of the best-selling boybands of all time.
In the ever-shifting sands of popular culture, that’s practically a lifetime—and although today the waxwork smile of Simon Cowell and One Direction’s penchant for pairing sky-top trainers with suit trousers seem like relics of a distant civilisation, Styles has managed to dodge the ‘washed-up ex-boyband guy’ trope to stay firmly in the now.
And how do you stay in the now? Seemingly by completely ignoring it and looking to the past instead. Bowie… Joni Mitchell… Fleetwood Mac… Yellow Magic Orchestra… Styles’ insanely popular solo-albums are a kaleidoscope of iconic influences from music history, nabbing details from everything from soft-rock to city pop. Just take one look at the promo material for his latest album—Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.—and you'll see exactly what we mean.
His visual style mines a similar vein. Kind of like a slightly more flamboyant equivalent of those ‘inside you there are two wolves’ memes—inside Harry is two peacocks. On stage he’s fully glammed up in some Technicolor Mardi Gras blend of Elton John, Mick Jagger and Blackpool Pleasure Beach—complete with custom Gucci pantaloons, while out on the street heading to the grocery shop, he channels his style in a slightly more subtle, yet equally stylish, manner.
This is where his eyewear really gets time to shine—combining standout frames with French work jackets, vintage t-shirts, washed denim and more low-profile running shoes than a 1978 track-meet. It’s casual, yet considered—which is probably why he’s up there with Jacob Elordi, Austin Butler and the late JFK Jr, on the Instagram Explore page approved Mount Rushmore of everyday menswear style.
Even back in his One Direction days Harry had a sharp eye for eyewear—often snapped in Ray-Ban Aviators or Clubmasters, but things went up a notch when he met stylist Harry Lambert in 2014. Not only is Lambert the man responsible for persuading Styles to wear flares, but he introduced him to a whole host of independent designers—which is maybe why he’s always wearing such interesting specs, not afraid to look beyond the obvious names.
And as you’d expect for a man of taste—Styles likes cult LA brand Jacques Marie Mage almost as much as we do, and is regularly snapped in a pair from his enviable collection. JMM-founder Jerome Mage has a similar magpie-eyed creative sensibility and respect for the classics as Styles—so it’s a perfect match. Music or glasses, they both wear their influences proudly on their sleeves.
Big and bold ‘n’ occasionally bug-eyed seems to be the name of the game for Styles—and while girlfriend Zoë Kravitz (another candidate for Eyewear Icon status) usually opts for more low-profile ‘90s-style shades as they mooch around the swanky neighbourhoods of the world, he throws any chance of the power couple remaining incognito out the window with his instantly eye-catching Jacques Marie Mage frames.
So far we’ve noticed him wearing Richard aviators, Vendome and Leclair sunglasses, and the unashamedly oversized Grand Prix frames. Like his music, there’s a definite ‘70s flavour to his off-duty eyewear choices—and the super-luxurious shades he wears wouldn’t look out of place on any of his radio-rock idols.
As a side-note, we should probably also mention he was wearing JMMs during the Zelig-like moment he was spotted soaking up the atmosphere outside the Vatican when Leo XIV was announced as the new pope last year. Even in a huge crowd, it’s easy to clock someone wearing shades as nice as these (the ‘Techno is my Boyfriend’ baseball cap might have helped a bit too).
Such is Harry’s knack for left-field spectacle style that he even managed to make running a sub-three-hour marathon look casual, ditching the garish garb usually worn by runners for a sharp pair of ‘80s flavoured mirrored wraparounds, a lightweight long-sleeved tee, a bandana and some suitably short shorts to show off those leg tattoos. The Oakley wraparound sunglasses even get their own moment in his Runner's World feature.
He might have been pretty much the only one on stage during his recent Brit Awards performance in Manchester who wasn’t wearing sunglasses—but after nearly two decades of solid eyewear flair, we can let him off. This guy is a true Eyewear Icon.
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