The fashion industry is presently an extremely dominant and fast-moving field that is critiqued and praised all over the globe. Whether it’s fast fashion or luxury brands, it’s a very large, complex, and popular industry. Today, influencers and celebrities aren’t just making merchandise shops with their own cheesy catchphrases, or their faces plastered over cheap materials that their fans buy until they sell out. Instead, I’ve noticed an influx of public figures starting their own brands, completely separate from their usual platforms or careers, which is how I fell in love with the brand Pleasing. The famously talented musician Harry Styles is the owner and founder of the brand, while his stylist and friend Harry Lambert, along with Molly Hawkins, are the co-creative directors. The brand’s motto focuses on being “pleasing never perfect” and to, overall, “help facilitate a better future with and for one another.” As a fan of Styles’ music and career over the past decade, I was excited to see him try a new business venture, reaching a larger audience than just his music platform provides. When the next Pleasing drop was announced as a collaboration with Jonathan Anderson, the British-Irish fashion designer, and one of my favorite designers in the fashion industry today, I was exhilarated. Anderson is known for being the founder of the brand J.W. Anderson, and the creative director of the Spanish luxury fashion house Loewe. Here’s a deeper look into the collaboration between J.W. Anderson and Pleasing, titled Precious Metals.Â
This collaboration in and of itself feels fun and vibrant, with the loud colors and recurring theme of balloons. You can feel Styles’ playfulness and see Anderson’s devout understanding of texture and shape through this small release, with only 12 items available both in-store and online. The products range from keychains and sweaters, to Pleasing’s iconic four-set nail polish box sets. Styles and Anderson, who have been friends with each other for years, really made a dream team for creating a collection. The Precious Metals collection is specifically between Anderson’s own brand, J.W. Anderson, which I can only describe as a brand that captures its uniqueness and inventive character with its own simplicity, and Styles’ brand, Pleasing. From abstract silhouettes to pigeon-shaped clutches, J.W. Anderson is an exciting luxury brand for Pleasing to have one of its first large collaborations with. With Pleasing being so new, only having been launched in 2021, it has plenty of time to make a name for itself, work with other luxury houses and brands, and extend its demographic to appeal to more than just fans of Styles; this collection is another way they’ve done this in the past four years.Â
When influencers, celebrities, and public figures do make their own brands, introducing a new passion or hobby that the majority of their supporters might not know of, it can be hard to see their brand as its own entity rather than an extension of the celebrity. When I see Pleasing apparel, skin care, nail polishes, and accessories, I feel as though it’s easily distinguishable as being its own entity versus being another merchandise platform for an easy profit. Of course, Styles’ fans like myself may have learned of the brand through him and know that he’s the founder, but I think that Pleasing really has proven its worth in its sustainability, wide range of products, and extremely well-presented marketing for each launch they’ve dropped. Some fans of the musician may critique prices, the locations of stores, and the marketing aspects of the brand, but I see few that understand Pleasing is a luxury brand that prides itself in not only exceptional materials, but also style. A great way to see Pleasing’s undeniable success and diverse collections in a physical form is through its pop-up shops, located in Los Angeles, New York, and London.Â
As a college student in New York, pop up shops are places I frequent often, simply because there are so many in the area. However, I’ve truly never been to one as transcendent and as conceptually well-executed as the new Pleasing pop-up shop on 140 Wooster Street. Immediately upon walking in, you’re truly transported to a different time and place. From the velvety materials of various curtains and drapes, to the retro subway-station-like chairs for incoming shoppers, to the stairs leading down to the main part of the store, the pop-up is so well done and thought out that it doesn’t have the same temporary essence of most pop-up stores. It feels permanent, as if something so deliberate and aesthetically pleasing could last forever. There are pictures of models in the clothing across the left wall, along with beautiful displays of all the nail polishes and perfume releases that both look and smell inviting. Everywhere you look, you notice something different. Because of the kind, passionate, and extremely helpful workers, I was excited to go shopping, which is a rarity for me. The store truly makes you feel special, as if you walked into something made specifically for you. The feeling of the store due to the decor and atmosphere heightened the experience of seeing the collaboration in person for the first time. The Precious Metals collection’s apparel and accessories were strategically placed in the center of the store, leading your eye and capturing your attention to the new products. The point is that the Pleasing pop-up, specifically with the arrival of the J.W. Anderson x Pleasing collaboration, is not just about the products, but the entire experience. The deliberation and thoughtfulness that you can tell went into not only the stylistic choice of the pop-up’s interior, but also the collection created by the fashion-fueled friendship of Styles and Anderson are notable. Ranging from silly keychains with not-so-subtle innuendos, a delicate yet chic bag on a night out, loud statement shirts plastered with images of vibrantly colored balloons, and simple staple sweatshirts you can wear every day, this collaboration is everything. If Pleasing hasn’t caught your eye before, it definitely will now. I truly think that these collaborations will open doors to new demographics for Pleasing, especially those who are really into the fashion industry. Inventive, new, fun, simple, subtle, loud, and vibrant are all words I’d use to describe this collection. Although Pleasing stands by a mission described as “pleasing never perfect,” this Precious Metals collection is one of the closest things to perfection that they could’ve made.