Today, Harry Styles announced the launch of Pleasing, his new brand—and though Pleasing’s first product launch comprises facial serums and nail polishes, it is not, explicitly, a beauty brand. Just check out its mission statement, which is almost ethereal on mission: “We are a life brand that moves to wherever there’s something Pleasing to be found. Founded by Harry Styles in 2021, our mission is to bring joyful experiences and products that excite the senses and blur the boundaries.”
Huh, you might think. That could mean anything! Indeed, as the press release continues, it very well might: “From nail polish and skincare to anything else we find Pleasing, we take inspiration from the way nature adorns itself and the multitude of unique identities in our community,” the first-person plural reads. “We believe by exploring the contradictions around and within us, we dispel the myth of a binary existence.” (Savvy: Maybe the “we” refers to the brand’s staff, but maybe it’s also Styles’s enormous fan base.)
Styles, celebrated for his genderfluid styling, has helped turn nail polish and pearls into coveted menswear moves as of late. The former is among the three products in Pleasing’s inaugural collection, all of which take inspiration from the latter: The drop includes an illuminating serum containing pearlescent spheres filled with “active ingredients,” nail polishes capped with marble-like orbs, and an object called the Pleasing Pen, which is actually a dual-ended rollerball stick of eye and lip serum. In a new Dazed cover story, Styles says the idea for the brand stemmed from “seeing a colour on a flower or a wallpaper or something and thinking, ‘Oh, I wanna put that on my nails.’”
Later on in the Dazed interview, Styles says, “As humans, we are always changing, we’re always learning new stuff and I don’t know why a company can’t operate from that same kind of standpoint.” Styles seems to know that in 2021, companies needn’t fit into a single category, so long as there are things to sell.
Pleasing isn’t the only celeb-driven brand launched this year with a somewhat amorphous premise. Over the summer, the ever-mysterious Frank Ocean launched Homer, his “independent American luxury company,” which thus far has produced a small release of fine jewelry. In a glut of celebrity-founded product lines (Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish both launched beauty ventures last week), many of which offer very similar products, the thing that can distinguish one from another, besides a famous figurehead, is a declaration of brand identity. And Styles has that in spades, even if he doesn’t yet have a crystal-clear vision for Pleasing’s future—or present.
“We’re Pleasing and we’re not perfect, and we are always gonna be trying to learn to do better,” he told the magazine. “Do I have any idea where Pleasing will be in five years? No. Obviously I have an idea of what I would like us to be aiming at, but honestly, I don’t know. That’s what makes it exciting to me.”
Source by www.gq.com
