American Vogue Cover Makes History

Harry Styles, in a Gucci ballgown? American Vogue has it, on the cover no less—the first time a man has graced the 127-year-old magazine's cover all by himself, USA Today reports. "Clothes are there to have fun with and experiment with and play with. What's really exciting is that all of these lines are just kind of crumbling away," the "Watermelon Sugar" singer tells American Vogue. "When you take away 'There's clothes for men and there's clothes for women,' once you remove any barriers, obviously you open up the arena in which you can play." He adds that he'll "go in shops sometimes" and find himself "looking at the women's clothes thinking they're amazing."

"It's like anything—anytime you're putting barriers up in your own life, you're just limiting yourself," he goes on. "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." Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, who made the dress-and-jacket combo, talks about Styles' progression from boy-band looks to experimental styles inspired by the 1970s, People reports. "He's really in touch with his feminine side because it's something natural," says Michele. "And he's a big inspiration to a younger generation— about how you can be in a totally free playground when you feel comfortable. I think that he's a revolutionary." (More fashion stories.)