Gender-fluid fashion: Blurring the lines between men's, women's clothes

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http://www.post-gazette.com/life/fashion/2017/07/31/Gender-f...

What’s the difference between men’s and women’s clothing? These days, the lines are blurred.

On runways around the world, designers are shaking up long-held societal and sartorial views of who should wear what. Take luxury designer Thom Browne. For his spring/summer 2018 men’s collection, the native of Allentown, Pa., re-envisioned the traditional men’s suit with high and low skirts.

“You start one way as a baby, but why shouldn’t you be able to choose your own path as opposed to culturally people telling you which way to go?” the designer told Women’s Wear Daily. “It’s about being open-minded to experience life the way you want it.”

A model presents a creation by US designer Thom Browne, during the Men's Fashion Week for the Spring and Summer 2018 collection in Paris, on June 25, 2017. (AFP/Getty Images)

Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele has infused his collections with pieces for men and women that are a hodgepodge of colors, textures, prints, fits and refreshed silhouettes. The message: Beauty is beauty -— regardless of gender.

Some mall brands and fast-fashion stores have joined the gender-fluid conversation. This spring, Swedish retailer H&M released a 19-piece unisex denim line made with organic and recycled cottons. At HM.com, hoodies, simple shirts, frayed shorts and more are pictured on both a male and female model and sized XS through L. Last year, Spanish clothing retailer Zara rolled out a 16-item gender-neutral collection of T-shirts, sweatshirts, denim basics and Bermuda shorts called Ungendered.

In 2015, Target announced that it would begin phasing out gender-based signage for toys, bedding and other departments. It kept them for size-related items like clothing but aims to offer balanced options for both genders.

In June, Arizona State University professor Kate Hinde sparked a Twitter storm when she moved NASA graphic tees from Target’s boys department to the girls department and tweeted a photo of it, driving home the message that girls can be scientists, too. Target responded by saying that it also sells NASA shirts for girls (although others noted that they were hard to find near the back).

“I don’t think it’s a fad. I think it’s cultural,” says Mary Wilson, assistant chair for fashion design art at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. “I think it’s an evolution of society itself. Look at how we’re almost becoming genderless in terms of identity outside of clothing. So maybe sooner than later we’ll be looking at each other as individuals and not as segmenting who we are by what we’re wearing.”

She’s noticed a gradual shift on campus.

“Students of Generation Z are asking to be allowed to design without being restricted by the traditional rules of gender,” she says. “I think they’re doing what feels good and what feels right to them, and it feels good and it feels right to a larger and larger segment” of consumers.

Even brands that don’t identify collections as gender-fluid see the benefit of offering neutral pieces that invite the customer to choose how they’re styled. The Pittsburgh-based e-commerce brand The Edie Company — a go-to for fuss-free V-neck tees, shirts, sleeved pullovers and casual dresses -— is rooted in three philosophies: to be timeless/neutral, comfortable and a blank canvas.

“These different components mean something different to everyone, based on what they’re looking for,” says Victoria Lopez, who started the company with her mom, Gloria, in 2015. “It’s about creating options for everyone.”

Some gender-fluid fashion statements fall flat. Supermodel Gigi Hadid and her boyfriend, singer/songwriter Zayn Malik, outfitted in print-mixing Gucci suits, appeared on the cover of Vogue’s August issue with the line “Gigi & Zayn shop each other’s closets.” Inside, the pair dished on gender bending.

“It’s not about gender. It’s about, like, shapes, and what feels good on you that day. And anyway, it’s fun to experiment,” Ms. Hadid said.

Her boyfriend added that when he likes a shirt of hers, he just borrows it. “If it’s tight on me, so what? It doesn’t matter if it was made for a girl.”

The magazine experienced a backlash, with many labeling the feature an example of appropriation. Genderqueer writer Jacob Tobia penned an editorial for Cosmopolitan that called it an elitist attempt to be “edgy.”

“What’s so annoying about this new and sanitized ‘gender progressive’ aesthetic is that it curates gender-fluid identities for those in the cultural elite in a way that totally whitewashes the lived experiences of gender-nonconforming people.

“Unlike how this new Vogue cover shoot presents it, the lived experience of being gender-nonconforming is rarely that fun and glamorous.”

Supermodel Gigi Hadid, with her boyfriend singer/songwriter Zayn Malik, appear on the August cover of Vogue dressed in Gucci. The magazine received backlash for not featuring people who identify as gender-fluid in a story about all-gender, or genderless, clothing.

Vogue followed with an apology, stating that it “missed the mark” and looks forward to continuing the conversation — “with greater sensitivity.”

Sara Bauknecht: [email protected] or on Twitter and Instagram @SaraB_PG.

Comments

Most of the runway stuff is just stupid.

Hypatia Littlewings's picture

Or just too extreme and over the top.
But the less extreme stuff may hit the stores.
I have seen Hot Pink, "Men's Sneakers" in the stores.

Lol, A Way too short Faux Skirt, with shirt tails hanging out! *giggles some more*
(sarcasm alert):
Yeah that looks fashionable for going out, and also presents a nice neat Business Image!

There is a blurring going on tho. Is it good? Maybe, depends.

I am seeing a few things around my area:
(note: Men as appear to be primarily presenting as)
- Men in leggings(not sports compression tights)
- High ponytails on men
- Men wearing plastic head bands
- Men carrying what is more of a purse then a briefcase or sports bag
- Men in less extreme women's foot wear, or styled similarly to such

>i<

Plastic head bands

Well, beaded ones were almost de-rigeur in the flower power era.
I went to several festivals in '68, '69' and '70. At the early ones, I wore a kaftan and beaded hair bands. Well, as I had really long hair it looked cool.

The guy with the skinny legs

laika's picture

...looks like he suffered a teleportation accident, which fortunately only affected his clothes.

These kinds of outfits seem to be the fashion equivalent of concept cars (Ooooh! A three wheeled-car that looks like a Plexiglas seashell!), styles that nobody is seriously considering putting into production but is just the designers showing off, for other designers mostly, pulling out all the stops with how wacky they can be. It's their way of having fun + hurts nobody; and some small aspect of it might find its way into next spring's big new trend. Although as a fashion conservative I'll just stick with my zebra-striped lederhosen, rhinestone bedizened cat glasses + Devo flowerpot hat; a classic look for any gender, or none...
~hugz, veronica

.
And sometimes I just feel like a...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm-j6PWNoO0&list=LL&index=4
.

I've seen...

I've seen photos middle-aged men dressed in skirt suits who presented a very professional and tasteful appearance. The outfit shown in the article seems like something kludged together by the U.S. Congress--both houses!

I believe that this photo was selected more for shock value than as a good example of gender fluid fashion.

I thought Jerico was black?

My first thought at seeing that picture was of Jerico a character from the Whateley Academy stories. A blind black student who dressed himself so badly his wardrobe could at times made other students ill.

We the willing, led by the unsure. Have been doing so much with so little for so long,
We are now qualified to do anything with nothing.

Thom Skirt Suits, not impressive

BarbieLee's picture

I couldn't afford anything from this designer no matter how impressed the cats would be. I climbed off the tractor a few minutes ago and had a bath. The dirt in the bottom of the tub is enough to start a garden. The jeans and blouse will take three scoops of laundry soap, one scoop of Borax, half a cup of softener to power out the grease and dirt in them. A $2500 business suit isn't in my life at any stage. A $300 dollar wedding dress was pushing the limits. I haven't had a $100 dollar piece of clothing in my closet at any time in my life. My idea of fashion is a denim skirt, fitted blouse, and heels or boots. Ladies choice of course. I probably don't fit in the in crowd any more..., LOL okay, I never did.

Don't take life too seriously. It's only a training exercise anyway and then we check out.
always,
Barb

Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl

Males In Skirts

This is a comment on a Blog from 2017 that still seems quite relevant. I've still very rarely seen males in skirts, or dresses. After 20 years I do not consider myself a Cross Dresser, being post op and with boobs of my own...

Come on people, stop being such candy asses. Get out there with a skirt... or dress. :)