Photoshoots > Outtakes > Session 077

Zayn covers the July issue of Harper’s Bazaar India! Head to our press archive or their website to read the full interview.

Our July cover star has been in the making for a while now. He talks to us about his refreshed focus on the best things that life has to offer.
Up until this story and cover shoot, the only thing Zayn Malik and I had in common was our birthday. We were born on the exact same day, month, and year, and I always wondered if we had any similarities. After a remote photoshoot and interview—where I powered through a few espresso shots to stay awake for a 4:00 a.m. Zoom call (IST) while Malik effortlessly switched outfits and charmed everyone on set—I realised we do share one trait: we both love being around people as much as we love our me-time.

Malik, known for his chart-topping hits and his quintessential boyish mystique, has over the years morphed from a boy band heartthrob with a winning smile to a solo artist with a sound as sexy as it is sophisticated. He’s traded the bubblegum pop beats for a musical universe that’s daring, soulful, and undeniably Zayn. He is a trendsetter whose effortless demeanour has redefined style just as the perfect Bazaar Man. He is also a philanthropist who uses his platform to champion causes he believes in. And recently, he’s stepped into the beautiful world of fatherhood. Yet Malik, in all his multifaceted brilliance, is only just entering a new era.

The former One Direction member has a new solo album—Room Under the Stairs—in which he has mixed R&B with Americana and folk music while paying homage to his Pakistani roots. This is Malik’s first project under a new label, Mercury and Republic Records. This shift signifies a return to creative control, with Malik taking the lead on production along with collaborator Dave Cobb. This album has been coming for a long time. “It started when I wrote ‘Alienated’ about six years ago. I wrote something I didn’t know I had in me,” the ‘Pillowtalk’ singer says. “Once I unlocked that potential and realised I liked where the sound was headed, I wanted to create more. I think my daily environment helped shape the music I created and made it easy to embrace.”

Leaving behind the cycle of churning out new tracks, Malik has turned to creating slowly and steadily. Back with his fourth studio album after a two-year hiatus, Malik has learnt how to take out more time to live a little, and put more of himself into his work, with a constant fan base that has always been there to support him through thick and thin. There is some sort of a spring in his step, a self-aware tone to his voice. Even on set, there is a sense of contentment and peace radiating from him. He carries a Manish Malhotra as delicately and suavely as a pair of shorts and flannel shirts that he regularly prefers.

Malik has only become more transparent with his followers, taking them with him on a journey. He’s grown up with us, and in a way, we have grown up with him. “My relationship with my fans is ever-changing for the better as is every relationship in my life. I’m growing and learning,” he admits. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.” But Malik is an artist who has mostly had a very private becoming. Even though the 31-year-old believes that the support of his fans has been the biggest ingredient in his making (and he doesn’t forget to mention he’s beyond thankful for them), Malik has been winning a battle to redefine himself without being limited to what people expect of him.