“Look at that smile, look at his wiggle, that dude is just a space punch. In the metro that takes him to the AccordHotel Arena (Bercy for short), Pilou, 21, explains why he loves Harry Styles. The former leader of One direction is in concert this Tuesday evening and Pilou, who has his place in the gold square, is already announcing it: “if he looks at me or if he talks to me, I faint”. Red jumpsuit with sequins and fluorescent green eyes, the young Lille resident “is ready for two hours of madness”. At his side, Ludivine, Sacha and Lyla. Everyone brought out pink, sequins and “diamonds in the hair”. “We are going to pay tribute to Harry who breaks all the codes and without whom we would not assume any of this”, loose Pilou.
After two canceled concerts Harry Styles arrives in Paris for the one and only date of his Love on Tour. On the set listnothing but hits, including the famous As it Waswhich became upon its release in April most streamed song in a day on Spotify. On the esplanade of the AccordHotel Arena which ensures “that tonight’s concert is one of the most anticipated of the year”, the “Harries” don’t have enough adjectives to define, according to Sacha, “the coolest and most woke of his generation”. “Harry, he helped me find my way, I grew up and today I assume who I am thanks to him, says Alexia, 23 years old from Annecy. It shows that we can dare, accept ourselves. I built myself with him, finally. »
Because, yes, Harry Styles is only 27 years old, but already looks great. “He does not speak for nothing, each interview, each appearance is a “fact”, a “statement”, estimates Chloé, 20 years old. He’s a pro-feminist, too. Remember him on the cover of vogue wearing a skirt. A guy like him, there’s only one. »
“Harry spreads openness around him”
Harry, the only one. That each of the “Harries” nevertheless sees as a “big brother”, “an example”, or like Christophe, 48, “a vector of good values”. The father came to raise the average age of the fandom frankly feminine and high school student and, above all, chaperone “without constraint” her two daughters Lilou and Clémentine, 14 and 15 years old: “Harry looks like a nice guy. In any case, we want to believe it. He advocates tolerance and respect. With him, no big, small, straight or gay, man or woman. He is unifying, it shows. When I arrived, my daughter, who had spent the whole day sewing hearts on her clothes, said to me “I belong here”. I’m touched. »
The 19-year-old Auxerroise moved in a band. With her Pauline, Louane or Ludivine and seven other “Harries” met thanks to the “community of social networks”. Tonight, they too pulled out flashy eyes, sequins and crop tops. “Here, it’s Fashion Week when no one is a model [on nous signalera pourtant la présence d’Emrata]. Harry’s concerts are “safe places”, continues Camille. Here “no toxic masculinity, he wears nail polish, what”. Here, “no homophobia, he always waves the rainbow flag during his shows “. Here, “no pretense, we come as we are. Me, I’m gay and frankly spend this moment in complete safety, it’s relaxing, ”slip Sasha.
“Tonight I can be me knowing that no man is going to bother me”
Here, “it’s a miracle, a waking dream,” says Nicola, 22. The young woman came from Manchester to see “her hero, her love of her life “. Fan of Harry since he was 10 years old, Nicola admits having “discovered a completely different universe thanks” to the singer on stylish: “each of his projects carries an idea, a concept. We are far from classic pop. He is certainly sexy, but what I like most about him are his ideas. Since him, I am no longer alone with my galleys or my dark thoughts. He confided to do therapy, me too. He’s a feminist, so am I. And, tonight, I can be me knowing that no man is going to bother me. »
Harry Styles will have delivered a dantesque concert. The “Harries” will have screamed, danced, sweated. And in the subway, no more fluo. All of them put on a T-shirt often bought at the official store and cover their neckline. Pilou took off her “sequined” jumpsuit in the Bercy toilets. “Harry, our guardian angel, is no longer there and we know we can get bored,” explains Lucie. But I keep my bright lipstick and my short skirt on, I’m not going to fade while Harry sings that we are beautiful as we are and that we have the right to exist. “And his friend Lila, 22, to let go out loud before rushing into the metro: “Harry and the right to show our thighs at 11:30 p.m. in the metro, that’s at least that the patriarchy will not have . »