Let's Keep Fashion Fluid
From a very young age society has indirectly told us what to wear, representing who we are and what we should identify as. From the baby blue blankets that wraps a new-born boy or the extravagant dresses girls are supposed to wear for prom. We explore what it means to not conform to this assumption and dress with gender fluidity- sometimes without even realising!
Shopping spaces, toys and even school uniforms have been gendered for us from birth. For the past few years, however, gender fluidity has become increasingly more mainstream. Regularly public figures and designers remove the separation of “his” and “hers” and have paved the way for not only genderless fashion, but an expression of style that feels comfortable and right for each individual.
It’s 2018 and gender no longer dictates the way people dress. Skirts are not just reserved for girls and women know how to rock a suit. The stigma rarely exists for men to shop in the women’s section or vice versa.
The term gender-neutral clothing is not designed to force someone into a box, it celebrates one’s expression without changing how masculine or feminine they want to be. Women have worn clothes inspired by men’s wardrobe for years now, everything from boyfriend jeans to tailored suits. These are items celebrated in our everyday wardrobe and don’t take away an ounce of femininity.
Progressively we see more change in the industry towards the normalisation and positivity of gender fluid fashion. Fashion houses and designers alike are mixing gender boundaries with brands such as Gucci showcasing models of both sexes wearing the same clothes both shirts and skirts on the catwalk.
The Spring/Summer 2018 menswear fashion shows displayed gender-fluidity on the catwalk showcasing skirts as a piece of clothing enjoyed and worn by both men and women. Take Tom Browne fitting male models in grey skirts inspired by school uniforms of the boys in Exeter as an example and Vivienne Westwood having men in dresses for her stellar catwalk show.
We’ve seen public figures such as Kanye West in a leather Givenchy skirt in 2011, Jaden Smith in a Luis Vuitton spring/summer 2016 female campaign, Zayn Malik in Ladies’ blouses, Ruby Rose in an oversized leather jacket and Kirsten Stewart rocking a men’s blazer. The catwalk has been paved the way for us to dress how we feel without judgement and we are loving it.
To celebrate 30 years River Island has brought together a diverse cast to explore identity and reject the idea of labelling. They have jumped on the gender-fluid fashion trend and have released a ‘100% genderfree’ campaign consisting of t-shirts and hoodies for both genders, accompanied by a statement with the hashtag #LABELSAREFORCLOTHES.
As individuals we define our own ideals of fashion, wearing what we want, how we want it. ‘Gender Fluid’ may be a scary phrase for most and we still have a long way to go but every new trend needs a place to start. We are here for this revolution- are you?
