Almost two decades have passed since David Beckham was described as “the biggest metro𝑠e𝑥ual in Britain”, because he was handsome and softly spoken and put effort into the way he looked.
Ie, he enjoyed frequent haircuts, clipped nails and open-collared shirts that showed a triangle of waxed chest. Throughout the ’90s and ’00s, Becks was as well known for his oiled-up appearances in gay mags as he was for his athletic prowess, softening the tough and affectless stereotype of footballers.
Harry Styles has for obvious reasons – including feather boas, saloon dresses and nail polish – also been credited with liberating men from such staid constraints. The musician was last night photographed at the 2024 Euros in a look reminiscent of Noughties Beckham, featuring wayfarers, a half-buttoned shirt and a delicate chain necklace sitting at just the right point of his clavicles. He whooped and cheered from the terraces alongside James Corden and Formula One driver George Russell. Former One Direction bandmate Louis Tomlinson was sitting in another section of the stadium.
Harry Styles at the Euros.
Crystal Pix / SplashNews.com
Styles earlier this weekend made a surprise performance during Stevie Nicks’s headline gig at the BST Festival, where he announced to thousands of fans in Hyde Park that it would be “coming home”. (It, of course, did not.) He was dressed in a custom Steven Stokey Daley suit, which had been embroidered with an elaborate “Songbird” pin in homage to Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 love song. If there’s one thing football fans love more than screaming profanities in a crowded pub, it’s singing ballads en plein air.
