Picture this: you see a crowd of people dressed in shades of pink, complete with matching cowboy hats, boots and colourful boas that leave a trail of feathers wherever they walk. It can only be one place: a Harry Styles concert. Thanks to TikTok, people can meticulously plan their outfits for their favourite artists’ shows by seeing what other fans have already worn. It might calm the nerves of trying to figure out what to wear, but it also leads to homogeneous outfits seen time and time again across stadium shows.
The TikTokification of concert attire means that for any Love On Tour show (Styles’ current tour), there will be thousands of fans adorned in hot pink and metallic garments, finished with rhinestones or occasional fruit designs (in reference to his song lyrics). The uniform for Styles’ tour is unofficially glittery, 70s-inspired and fun – you can spot someone heading to his concert from a mile away thanks to their cowboy hats and boas. Even vendors have caught onto the hype – at Styles’ Wembley shows in 2022 and on the way to his concerts at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, street vendors sold cowboy hats for fans wanting to join the fashion trend.
It’s not just Styles’ shows that have been TikTokified. Beyoncé recently brought her Renaissance World Tour to the UK and fans were spotted wearing disco ball cowboy hats (which Beyoncé was pictured wearing in the tour announcement), silver fabrics, rhinestones and metallics to represent the Renaissance album.
You may also like
Fans have long worn on-brand outfits to their favourite artists’ concerts – often documented on Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram – but TikTok brings this to a new level, with #concertoutfit reaching more than 589.7 million views.
#HSLOTOutfit (the acronym for Harry Styles Love on Tour) has surpassed 598.7 million views, #RenaissanceTourOutfit has 9.5 million views and the hashtag for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour outfits has more than 743 million views. TikTok is a hub of concert outfit ideas.
Huge TikTok engagement
For fans documenting their outfits on the short-form video app, it can lead to millions of views and high engagement. US TikToker Sabrina Kuo’s video of her asking fellow Swifties to help choose an outfit for the Eras Tour has more than 6.2 million views, while UK creator Sophie Hill’s TikTok of her thrifting her HSLOT outfit has 1.2 million views.
In addition to sharing their final outfits, TikTokers are helping others put together their own looks. Sharing is caring, after all. Lifestyle creator Charlotte Rollin shared ASOS pieces that fit the vibe of Styles’ concert and musician Jay Scott offered six outfit ideas for Beyoncé’s tour. When Primark shared a sneak peek of its sequin butterfly bralette on TikTok, people were quick to comment that it would be the perfect piece for HSLOT.
While seeing outfit inspiration for concerts can help calm nerves about what to wear for the big event, it means that there is less spontaneity overall with fans’ outfits. That’s not to say there’s a lack of creativity – fans continue to design and make niche outfits or recreate artists’ iconic looks – but it does mean there is a known level of commitment to putting together a perfect outfit. After all, these days concerts aren’t just a music event, they’re a fashion show.
Fashion retailers have been taking advantage of the popularity of concerts on socials by inviting creators to shows. Beauty creator Millie McCarthy attended Beyoncé’s show in London with Tanologist, which resulted in an Instagram Carousel with a 6.2% engagement rate.
Looking to take creators to upcoming concerts in London? Here are some shows to have on your radar. In October 2023, Madonna will be playing at the O2 (as well as in December) and Diana Ross is set to perform at the Royal Albert Hall. 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, and Jeremih will be playing a few shows in November, while Anne-Marie and Maisie Peters will both play a show in the big smoke. In March 2024, Niall Horan will be performing at the OVO Arena Wembley and John Mayer and Madison Cunningham are slated to play the O2. It’s also expected that Swift will bring her Eras Tour to the UK soon.
By Caroline Edwards, CORQ news and features writer. Picture credit: Millie McCarthy via Instagram
