“I thought I would use this momentous occasion in my career to dress like a rodent.”
This year, Madison Square Garden saw the Knicks win their first championship in however many years. Then, a certain pop star was wed in the arena, details of which are still state secrets. But out of all of the gargantuan events to take place in New York City’s monumental cathedral to culture and sport, on Halloween night, Harry Styles proved the stadium still had some magic left at the historic finale of his 30-date Together, Together residency. And he marked it dressed as, yes, a rat. Pizza Rat, to be precise.
On a day his fervent fans would probably rank above their own birthdays as their favorite special occasion, Harryween, as it's called, has been an annual tradition since 2021; a cosmic occurrence when a Harry concert coincides with Halloween. Since that first iteration (when Styles dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz), his fans have gone all-out to celebrate. As a result, as I make my way into the hottest ticket in town, I’m surrounded by hordes of twenty-something girls showing their undying allegiance to their favorite singer.
That includes Hannah Lucchese; she flew in from Spain especially for the pop extravaganza. “I love this fandom,” she told me while dressed as a Hershey’s Kiss, complete with custom tags that said Harry’s Kiss. Meanwhile, her friend Alana came as a disco ball. Together, the duo were the personification of his most recent album, Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally. “Here everybody’s excited, nobody’s rude and the energy’s good. And he’s just so talented, obviously.”
Other costumes were much more niche: one family had lion tattoos on their legs, apparently because Styles himself flaunts a lion tattoo on his own leg. There were dozens of Loraxes, the creatures from Dr. Seuss, a fan trend that apparently has no connection to Harry aside from its randomness. There were also hundreds of American Girl dolls, a nod to the album track “American Girls.” They included New Jersey natives Serena Nessa and Victoria Bush. “We were inspired by the Harry Styles song,” Bush helpfully pointed out to me. “He’s really open and true to who he is. I have a soft spot for him.” Bush isn’t playing about the openness, right down to the fact that, at one point later during the show, Styles thanked his therapist in the audience.
As opener Jamie xx departed the stage in a flurry of lights, Styles strutted out, dressed as that aforementioned rat holding a huge slice of pizza; a costume he’d quickly abandon after a handful of songs. “I’m freezing,” he said sarcastically, dressed in what looked like thick rat fur as he pranced around his oval stage performing opening numbers “Dance No More” and “Carolina,” visibly drenched in sweat. Later, he emerged wearing shorts, rat ears, a tail and a T-shirt that read I’M A RAT, and asked the crowd if he could be vulnerable. Apparently, he intended to wear the rat fur all night, but his ice packs fell out of the stifling garb, and he abandoned the idea. Styles’ costume was on-theme with his entire band, who dressed as NYC icons, from the Statue of Liberty to Anna Wintour. As for why he chose to dress as a rat among the icons, Styles later shouted a message into the crowd for his therapist: “We’ll unpack the rat thing Monday.”
I once read that on his birthday, during the height of his fame, Styles celebrated by going to a coffee shop alone and reading a book. That checks out, considering his zen attitude during the concert, which kicked off with Styles leading a collective inhale and exhale with the audience. (His therapist was somewhere beaming.) As he roared through a set he’d performed 29 times before, from “Watermelon Sugar” to “As It Was,” the one exception tonight was a Harryween special: a version of the Talking Heads classic “Psycho Killer,” with Styles nailing David Byrne’s singular vocals.
As the proceedings wrapped up, Knicks MVP Jalen Brunson surprised the audience by presenting the singer with a banner that was then hoisted up into the rafters of MSG, marking the historic residency as a teary-eyed Styles looked on. “I hope you remember that when you have nights like tonight, they aren’t just concert shows; they’re about connecting with people, and dancing, and singing with people,” Styles said during his 12-minute-long closing remarks.
“Putting your phone down and dancing with strangers can change your life, and it has certainly changed mine. This community you put together over the years is truly special. I hope you remember it is yours, it does not belong to me.”
The audience was emotional, as was I. I turned to my left, and luckily, a priest was sitting next to me. Or a guy dressed as a priest, that is.
Photography by Chelsea Palatucci
