In the summer of 2014, amidst the North American Leg of the Where We Are Tour (WWA), the Bandana Project was born.
Arguably one of the most well-known fan projects done for One Direction. A project that blew up within the fandom and still has significance 10 years later. It was a fan-initiated project and the concept was simple. Fans would wear a bandana signifying their favourite member of the band: Blue for Louis, Green for Harry, Red for Liam, Yellow for Zayn and White for Niall. The colours reflected the colours on each band member’s microphone, except in Niall’s case whose microphone bore the colours of the Irish flag (green, white and orange), so white was chosen so it was easier for fans to wear a bandana for him.
There were no specific rules regarding wearing the bandanas, fans could wear them wherever and however they wanted, and they could also wear as many different coloured bandanas as they wanted in support of different members. It was however encouraged that if a fan wanted to wear ⅘ of the different coloured bandanas, that they should just wear all 5 different coloured bandanas, so no member of the band was left out. After each show, fans were encouraged to send in pictures of themselves wearing their bandana(s) via social media to the people who founded the fan project.
The project quickly gained traction within the fandom and became something more than just a fan project. It became something that bonded and united the fandom, which to the core is what fan projects do. It gives fans a sense of unity and community with each other, and not just at individual shows but around the world as that is how the project grew. Fans were excited to show off their bandanas in support of their favourite member(s). Every single concert from August 1, 2014, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada had participation. In fact, the project was so wildly successful throughout the rest of the 2014 tour that when the Where We Are Tour ended, the project re-started in 2015 for the On The Road Again (OTRA) tour.
The project also has great meaning for Larries. On August 22, 2014, Harry Styles appeared to participate in the bandana project himself by wearing a blue bandana around his neck onstage during their show in Houston, Texas, USA.
This did not go unnoticed by Larries, who quickly saw that Harry’s bandana signified his favourite member of the band was of course, Louis. This moment itself was hugely exciting for the fans as it was not just the first time one of the boys appeared to participate in the project themselves, but furthermore it was a nod to Larry.
However, what happened after that day gave the Bandana Project life and meaning to this day. At the time, the significance of Harry wearing a blue bandana was widely discussed amongst Larries on social media. There has always been a theory that the boys themselves do see at least some of what is discussed within the fandom online, so there is a good chance Harry himself saw the fans discussing him wearing a blue bandana and its connection to Louis. If that was supposed to deter him, it didn’t as Harry continued to wear a blue bandana from that point on which has been clearly documented in photos. In my personal opinion, he is proudly and loudly declaring that Louis is his favourite. But this trend of Harry wearing a blue bandana is not something that has ever stopped. Harry has continued to wear a blue bandana sporadically over the years, with most recent sightings in 2022.
Within the fandom, Harry wearing a blue bandana has always signified his love for Louis, and the fact that he continues to wear it throughout all these years has reinforced their relationship. It’s treated as one of the symbols of their relationship and is therefore sacred to Larries.
Fun Fact: On May 24, 2014, in a concert in Glasgow, Scotland, Zayn wore a red bandana around his neck onstage, which in my opinion makes him the unofficial founder of the bandana project, and of course among Ziam’s signifies him declaring his love for Liam.
