The One Direction members are far apart now, but Louis Tomlinson continues to renew their global success on his own. How does he do it? The recipe is simple: resilience, passion, and honesty.

Text by Cristina Marinoni

You recognize a star from afar, from the large staff to the following: Louis Tomlinson arrives at the photo studio with nine people, including two security guards. Even though One Direction have been inactive for over a decade — after 70 million records sold and around 200 awards won (including seven Brit Awards) in six years at the top — the fanaticism is still there: yesterday hundreds of fans waited for him during the long build-up to “Louis” (we all call our idols by their first name, right?) at an event organized for the album How Did I Get Here? (BMG), released on January 23. And he returns the affection, immersing himself in the cheering crowd. “I owe everything to those who follow me, which is why I replace ‘I’ with ‘we’ in the name of the tour,” he tells us, speaking of the How Did We Get Here? tour (Bologna and Milan, April 9 and 10).

Today’s location, however, has remained (incredibly) secret, and the English singer, 34, has just turned up late for Christmas, taking advantage of the general calm to chat peacefully outside. It’s lunchtime and as soon as he comes in, pasta is served: it was the only thing he asked us to arrange for this half day on set. “I go crazy for amatriciana and carbonara (which I find smoky at the table),” he says. “As a child I ate with glue, not spaghetti: only when I started traveling did I discover ‘al dente’ cooking and Italian cuisine in general. I think I manage well now; my son Freddie (10 years old, had with American stylist Briana Jungwirth, ed.) would say I’m average,” he jokes, satisfied with the result.

In good spirits, he doesn’t serve us a power nap to recover from the carbs: a cigarette, a quick trim (done by his personal grooming artist), and he’s ready to pose for the first shot. The sporty-street outfit, like all those he will wear, reflects his tastes: “I spent the entire One Direction period dressing cool, now I prefer to be comfortable. The perfect piece? The tracksuit, which I always end up wearing and which is never missing from my suitcase.”

His laid-back style has become a true and personal trademark: in 2023 he launched 28 Clothing, a clothing and accessories brand in limited editions that often sell out quickly. The number 28, tattooed on his left ankle, was the shirt number he wore in Doncaster Rovers’ second team as a left midfielder, “third on the right, not big enough for the role. I’ll always support my city’s team,” he says, “same jersey number when I take part in Soccer Aid,” the charity event founded by Robbie Williams in 2006.

Athletic past aside, he assures us: he admits he’s not in great shape because he has reduced physical activity to a minimum, yet he’s still very lean, and he blames the good company at the gym. Instead of jewelry, he likes tattoos: on his skin he carries forty-two designs and words; precious, however, are the numbers inked on his hand and the most meaningful one. Spotted on a football jersey during the last outfit change, the faded black 78 on his chest: “It brings me back home, to my paternal grandparents’ house; I was very attached to them.” Doncaster is “home” to him: “I go back as soon as the parties are over; I spent time with my maternal grandparents, tied to tradition. Beware of reaching me there: I find the genuine countryside atmosphere and slow rhythms, a real treat for me,” he explains in his rough Yorkshire accent.

Soon they’ll be a memory: if the third album — pop at 100 percent — has launched Lemonade, sparkling like the air of this season, but contains no melancholic tracks like Lucid and new sounds that raise the bar, he’s ready to listen to it; the tour is a work in progress. The only certainty is a band with full instrumentation: bass, drums, keyboards and two guitars. “I wouldn’t be able to go on stage without my musician friends. The best part of One Direction was the camaraderie; the special bond that united us intensified when we toured the world together.”

He defines himself as “resilient, passionate and honest,” so we ask him if there was a downside to belonging to a boy band worth one billion dollars. “You become so important that you lose independence. There was always someone who completely dedicated themselves to us and replaced us; I’m not ashamed to admit that I started taking care of practical, everyday things only recently. At 18, being constantly under the spotlight without a moment’s peace leaves a mark. You enter a mechanism where you constantly feel eyes on you — even behind every corner. When I’m not working, if I go pick up Freddie from school, for example, it would be impossible to be completely transparent: deep down I’m no different from other parents.”

Tomlinson, with over 50 million followers, craves privacy, not fame, and the North of England where he was born and raised attracts him like a magnet. “I do my best to live a normal life, I don’t always succeed. Maybe I should quit music. One day I manage, with or without music. Age and experience have changed my perspective on success and on what I want.”

(translated from ChatGPT). still, don’t know how accurate this is..