From Left: Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, and Harry Styles. Photo: Getty
During One Direction’s five years at the top of the charts, Liam, Louis, Niall, Zayn and Harry became the undisputed princes of pop. From the release of their very first single, That’s What Makes You Beautiful, in 2011, to their last, post-Zexit album, Made In The AM, One Direction was an unstoppable, constantly touring, record-breaking pop force to be reckoned with.
Yet, just as they avoided choreographed dance routines, the members of One Direction shunned the typical style formula subscribed to by boy bands. A shared color palette was about as close as the quintet ever came to wearing matching outfits on the red carpet.
As they entered their twenties, their stars in the ascendance and their awards cabinets filling up, each member of the band began to find their personal sartorial vibe. Niall added sharp tailoring – often by Paul Smith – to his collection of baseball jackets, Liam and Louis elevated their respective wardrobes with menswear classics, and Harry discovered Gucci just as the group was approaching its now five-year hiatus.
As One Direction marks 10 years since the band was put together, Vogue reflects on their best red-carpet looks.
21 February 2012
Photo: Getty
For their first Brit Awards, the One Direction boys chose a smarter look than fans had seen them in up to this point, and stuck to a tonal grey palette.
20 February 2013
Photo: Getty
A year later, they had further refined their look for the better. Now in top-to-toe monochrome, Liam, Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry were ready to be taken seriously. As if to underscore their point, they walked away with their second Brit Award on the night.
20 August 2013
Photo: Getty
By August 2013, the band was the subject of a documentary charting its already phenomenal success across the globe. At the London premiere of One Direction: This Is Us, Harry wore heart-print Burberry, Niall a baseball jacket, Louis ankle-flashing trousers and a double breasted blazer, Zayn a collarless coat with leather details, and Liam a biker jacket that offset the formality of his shirt and tie.
24 November 2013
Photo: Getty
One Direction arrived at the 2013 American Music Awards in Los Angeles wearing perfectly matching black and grey ensembles. Our research suggests that this was Harry Styles’s first time wearing a floral motif on a red carpet, making it the corsage that launched a thousand blooms.
14 December 2013
Photo: Getty
For a red carpet event in the South of France, the band leaned into the country’s love of chic navy, pairing the shade with russet accents.
18 February 2014
Photo: Getty
By the time of the 2014 Brit Awards, the boys looked more confident still. Note how each member of the band added a personal touch to their complementary looks, like Zayn’s neckerchief, or Louis’s two-tone shoes.
23 November 2014
Photo: Getty
Their clean-cut, boyish days behind them, One Direction opted for a sharper, more directional aesthetic at the 2014 American Music Awards. We’re particularly fond of the way Liam’s shirt matched Harry’s Saint Laurent Wyatt boots.
11 December 2014
Photo: Getty
In London for the BBC Music Awards, the band members all opted for slim-fit black trousers on the bottom, with a little more personality on top. Props to Niall for his modish styling here.
12 December 2014
Photo: Getty
Harry, Liam, Zayn, Louis and Niall arrived at an event in Madrid wearing a mixture of sharp tailoring and longer-length jackets.
13 December 2014
Photo: Getty
With Louis unwell, One Direction took to the red carpet as a foursome for an awards ceremony in France. Harry and Zayn win here, thanks to the former’s satin cummerbund-style trousers, and the latter’s printed shirt.
17 May 2015
Photo: Getty
By the time of the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, One Direction was officially a quartet, following Zayn’s shock departure. Here, Liam, Louis, Niall and Harry introduced a more mature aesthetic.
22 November 2015
Photo: Getty
It’s hard to ignore the red-carpet moment that was Harry Styles stepping out in Alessandro Michele’s Gucci for the first time at the 2015 American Music Awards – not least due to the suit’s spotlight-stealing floral print. His bandmates also served great, if muted by comparison, suiting.
10 December 2015
Photo: Getty
A more laid-back look was the order of the day for the BBC Music Awards in Birmingham, which also marked their final red-carpet appearance together as One Direction. Sob.
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Originally published on Vogue.co.uk
