Stylesing it out
GEMMA STYLES FINDS HERSELF IN A ‘STRANGE SITUATION’ AS THE SISTER OF ONE DIRECTION STAR HARRY. SHE TELLS SUSAN GRIFFIN HOW SHE’S GONE FROM CLASSROOM TO THE PAGES OF AMERICAN VOGUE
AS FAR as big sisters go, Gemma Styles has every reason to be proud as she talks glowingly about brother Harry. ‘To me, he’s my little brother,’ says Gemma, who recently turned 30. ‘It is amazing to be able to watch him succeed in doing things he loves. I think he’s so talented and he is a wonderful person. And I think he speaks up about a lot of things that are important to him. I’m really proud of him for that. And that’s something I want to do as well, it’s a shared value we have.’
Even if restrictions weren’t in place she wouldn’t have had a big bash because, unlike her 26-year-old brother, the spotlight is Gemma’s ‘idea of hell’ and she delights in the fact she’s recognised ‘once in a blue moon’.
‘I feel fortunate my life is incredibly normal,’ she says. ‘When I schlep down to the supermarket with wet hair I don’t have to think about anyone seeing me. I don’t really like people
looking at me much in general.’
She did make an exception for this month’s American Vogue, though. Harry graces the cover, the first man to do so solo, which in itself is a coup, but it’s the fact he’s wearing a dress that grabbed the headlines.
Gemma appears alongside her brother in the photo shoot but there is no hint of it when we chat before the issue is revealed. Some days later she posts behind-the-scenes shots to her Instagram account.
‘Because how often am I gonna be in @voguemagazine? Almost never @harrystyles’ she comments to her 6.5million followers. Gemma might not crave the limelight but by proxy she’s amassed a huge following in the ten years since One Direction formed on The X Factor.
‘It was something I kind of inherited, however, it’s been a long time now, so I like to think if people were just following me because of Harry they would have got bored a long time ago,’ she notes. ‘It’s a privilege to have so many people on your platforms. I think anyone would enjoy it in the way it’s validating to know that when you’ve got something to say, there are people there for you to say it to. But I definitely do feel a certain weight of responsibility as well.
‘It’s not on me to judge how anyone else uses the platform or lives their life but it would feel like a waste, honestly, to have to have such a big platform and not do anything useful with it.’
It’s why she’s launched her podcast Good Influence ‘as a space to have deeper conversations with people on topics I was already talking about’.
‘I’m definitely not saying, “Hello, I’m Gemma and I’m a good influence”’, she explains, laughing. ‘I’m bringing on guests who have something important or beneficial to say, basically people I want to be able to learn from and that I’d like to share with a wider audience.’
Across the 12 episodes Gemma and her guests, including mental health activist Charly Cox, sustainability advocate Max La Manna and life coach Michelle Elman, discuss topics such as low-waste cooking, therapy, climate change and boundaries.
‘Nothing that I’m an expert in but everything I have an interest in,’ says Gemma. ‘I’m not trying to dictate to people on causes. What I would like to do is give people more information so they can then think about these things for themselves and maybe get a different perspective.
‘This year has been an absolute storm in terms of health and politics and the climate and racial inequality. There’s so much going on, it can feel overwhelming. I find one of the ways to feel less overwhelmed is to arm yourself with a bit more knowledge, to feel like you have some semblance of control.’
It’s almost a decade since Gemma finished a teaching degree. She took a couple of years out after graduating with the intention of returning to the profession ‘but it didn’t happen’.
‘I worked for a charity and did operations and educational resources for a while, then I started writing more and doing online and social media things,’ says Gemma, who’s contributed to Scarlett Curtis’s
It would be a waste to have to this platform and not do anything useful with it
book It’s Not OK To Feel Blue (And Other Lies) as well as designing a sustainable sunglasses line.
She works primarily from her home in south London, which means she’s felt the distance from her family, who still live in the north-west of England.
‘It’s all well and good seeing people through a screen but it just reminds you that you’re not seeing them in real life,’ she says. ‘But I’m conscious of not moaning too much about it because I know people have had it so much worse.’
Gemma might not have kicked off her thirties as planned but she’s eager to embrace a new decade.
‘You do hear 30 and think, “Oh God, like, what am I doing?” but also there are things that have happened to people I know this year where you think, honestly, and it sounds morbid, but not everybody gets to make it to 30. I’m grateful for the life I have and may it continue to 40, 50 and all the rest.’ Good Influence is on Global Player and other podcast platforms every Monday