Earlier this week, a few hours before Harry Styles took the stage at Madison Square Garden for his Together, Together Tour, the exterior of the midtown venue was transformed into what can only be described as a full-on Harry fan-fest.
The Wednesday evening concert marked night 19 of Styles’s 30-day run in New York City, and his fans—known primarily as the Harries or the Stylers—came dressed in their arena-tour finest, all inspired by the pop star. (After all, Styles has been breaking out a lot of epic outfits on tour—from custom Celine to Prada.)
As the corporate crowd streamed out of their skyscrapers in a sea of humdrum suits, the Styles fans brought a bit more fun and flair to 34th Street. “Angle your body a little more,” one friend barked as she snapped photos of another beneath the large electronic billboard reading “HARRY STYLES.” “Tilt your chin down!” Nearby, pedicabs blasted Styles’s “Watermelon Sugar,” hoping to lure some unsuspecting tourists into paying $40 for a five-minute ride after the show.
Many fans sported ties—an accessory that Styles has embraced throughout the tour—either simple, striped, or adorned with his song lyrics. Others went with athletic-style gym shorts (in homage to the daily runs Styles has been doing from Brooklyn to the venue), pairing them with cheeky “I Love Harry” tees.
But it was not only crazed Styles fans being drawn to MSG this week. The following evening, on Thursday night, the very same arena saw the Knicks face off against the Washington Wizards—and with that game rushed in a new wave of DIY fan fashions, now in shades of Knicks blue, orange, and white.
After the team’s historic, championship-clinching summer, Thursday’s preseason matchup hummed with energy. Some fans emerged from the subway in their discreet office garb, only to swiftly pull on a bright-orange jersey bearing their favorite player’s name or a Knicks cape upon arrival. Nearby, bootleg vendors had plenty of other options for anyone in need. “Knicks shirts! Liberty shirts,” you could hear them calling out before the game started. “All sizes, all sizes!”
One attendee was legal assistant Jason Brancato, who has been a Knicks fan his whole life. He wore his Karl-Anthony Towns jersey with Knicks-colored sneakers for the occasion.
“I’ve been going to games with my dad since 2007,” he says. “I was all up in the Knicks summer: I was on top of the buses.
I was everywhere. It’s a great feeling to know that New York basketball is back.
This season’s going to be nuts!”
Elsewhere, Christina Naslund, a Radio City Rockette, turned up in her friend’s Knicks tee. “I don’t know much about basketball—this is our first Knicks game!” she admitted. “We’re here to see the Knicks dancers.”
If the two fandoms—Harry’s disco divas and the Knicks’ fanatics—could hardly seem more different, think again. On both nights, fans spilled out of the venue still high from the thrill of their evening entertainment—and looking good doing it.
Below, see more scenes from the Harry Styles and Knicks crossover this week.