One Direction’s Stylist Reveals That Zayn Malik Takes the Most Fashion Risks

One Direction's stylist Caroline Watson, aka the woman behind their most iconic looks, sat down for an interview with Jezebel to dish about the boys' growing interest in fashion, fighting with Zayn about a gold belt and just how far they've all come from their X Factor UK days.

And if there's one thing that sets One Direction apart from the boybands of yesteryear, it's their fashion evolution. They've gone from preppy boys in ill-fitting khakis and cowl-neck sweaters to veritable runway models. (What up, Zayn?).

One of our favorite anecdotes from the interview is the time Zayn -- who Caroline cites as taking "the most risks and he'll definitely push it" -- tried to fight Caroline over wearing that gold Alexander McQueen belt at the 2014 AMAs. Caroline said, "I got him this beautiful gold Alexander McQueen belt to wear for the performance. We had a fight backstage and I said to him, 'I don't care if you don't talk to me for a week!' and he was like, 'Fine, but I'm not wearin' it!' I was like, 'I don't care if you don't talk to me! But you're gonna wear it!' And he was like, '…Okay, I'm gonna wear it, but I'm gonna take it off after the performance.'"

After Zayn watched the footage back he realized Caroline was right in her styling decision, and he apologized. She said, "And the next day he came up to me and was like,'I'm so sorry, I watched it back, I looked amazing, thank you so much, I totally love you.' We're like brother and sister, so as much as we may fight about stuff, he still listens and that's what I love about him. He takes fashion risks and it pays off."

The rest of the interview is equally interesting. Caroline goes on to talk about how much she's managed to teach the members about fashion over the years, getting them interested in labels and really caring about the way they dress. Considering the fact that all the boys (minus Niall) made it on the GQ UK readers' style poll last year, she's doing an excellent job. It's an in-depth look into what really differentiates One Direction's clothing choices from the matching velour track suits of boybands before, and certainly something to check out if you want to know just how they transitioned from suspenders and preppy blazers to denim jackets and Yves Saint Laurent.

Be sure to check out the full interview over at Jezebel!

See Photos of One Direction Through the Years!