There are excellent deals at Porta Portese, everyone knows this. And apparently he knows it too Harry Styles, who was caught browsing the stalls of the most famous market in Rome by several passers-by looking for cheap shoes. There are now more videos circulating on social media of the pop star walking around the capital than of her singing on stage. And this because Styles, who bought a house in Italy and he evidently feels very comfortable in our country, he is living the life of a foreigner engaged in his year abroad without hiding it from anyone.
Styles is spending a sabbatical in Italy following the efforts of Love on Tour which ended in Reggio Emilia last July, he is no longer with his girlfriend Taylor Russell and is evidently enjoying a period of tranquility (and as a single) thinking about the music to come. On June 22nd the artist was also filmed in the stands of the Smiles concert in Rome together with a friend: he asked fans not to be photographed so few images of the event are circulating, but it is clear that Styles is living everything without superstructures, star-like airs, vices or excesses.
Do we like stars who do normal things or not?
“It’s moments like this that I realize Harry was born to be famous because he can walk around pretending to be a sexy rich mom,” one TikTok user wrote under a video of Harry Styles walking the streets of Rome in casual attire. as if he wasn’t one of the most loved and pursued super stars in the world. Of course the comparison with rich white lady it’s an excess, but on social media they have well captured the essence of Styles’ Roman period: he is living it as if he were a normal person, therefore behaving like one. But could we ever consider Harry Styles “normal”?
The effect is double: we like watching Styles rummaging through a stall looking for a bargain because the scene confirms to us that he is an easy-going guy, who hasn’t let his success go to his head, capable of wearing big designer labels but also shoes found at the market. There are too many capricious and spoiled celebs, a good guy who is also famous can only please. But here’s the counterpoint: is seeing him come down from the pedestal really what the fans want? And how sustainable is it in the long term? In short, we like seeing Harry Styles in a neon Gucci onesie better while winking from the stage singing “As it was” or catch him in a housewares store choosing pans? Just think of the royals as Kate Middleton: it’s true that we like to observe her when she is photographed while doing simple things like shopping at the country supermarket, but then when she shows up at a diplomatic event without a princess tiara the world turns up its nose. And this is because perhaps for a celebrity it is easy – even saving – to detach from duties for a while and disengage from one’s public image, but for the public it is not so immediate to get used to the opposite. Harry Styles in Rome he’s the living representation of the fact that you can be both (a pop god and a normal guy with your feet on the ground) but how long this bubble of normality can last is an unknown. At least until the next sighting.
