It’s been a big week for rhinestones: first Dolly Parton joined Instagram, now Harry Styles has taken the Nudie Cohn aesthetic to primetime TV, wearing a highly decorative ensemble that would not have looked out of place in Gram Parsons’ wardrobe.
Styles never seems to be more than five metres away from a piece of elaborate clothing these days, having become so enamoured with new-era Gucci under Alessandro Michele that he is permanently swathed in the brand’s fancy fabric.
A fortnight ago, Twitter decided that a floral white-and-grey ensemble he wore to the American Music awards made him look exactly like Ikea’s Alvine Kvist bedspread (and they had a point). His X Factor final look – number 38 from Gucci’s autumn/winter 2015 catwalk, to be precise – has drawn comparisons with a pair of caravan curtains.
Actually, in fashion terms, Styles is bang on trend – and not just because Gucci is easily the most in-demand label of the moment. By sticking to suits in the Nudie Cohn ilk, he is making quite a statement. To be clear, no rhinestones were actually harmed in the making of Styles’ suit – but its cut, swirl and pattern are pure rocker-cowboy.
After all, Cohn was “the man who made cowboys love rhinestones”, dressing Johnny Cash, John Lennon and Elvis Presley in gold lamé. He created what Jon Ronson described as “the Sistine Chapel ceiling of cowboy attire” – Gram Parsons’ suit of drug references, religious iconography and naked women, worn on the cover of The Gilded Palace of Sin. If this is an early sign of Styles’ bid to become “the rock one” post-One Direction, while Zayn Malik owns R&B, he couldn’t be dropping any more pertinent hints.
