FashionUnited's need-to-know topics today: Genderless fashion
loading...
There are several questions tugging at players in the fashion fashion industry that require answers to stay relevant today. One of which is genderless fashion. FashionUnited has in depth coverage of the rise of genderless fashion, how to enter the market and whats next for the movement. Scroll further to read more of FashionUnited's gender neutral fashion coverage.
Genderless kidswear: how the trend is turning into societal statement
Breaking free from all stereotypes, gender-neutral fashion makes its way into kidswear – and is here to stay. FashionUnited deciphers a societal change driven by millennials.
What started as a trend in women’s and men’s runway collections is not a niche statement anymore. Kidswear is letting go of its outdated cliché of pink versus blue, welcoming unisex clothes that allow for self-expression and a neutral concept of gendered identities.
Womenswear designers are launching men's collections: Will it work?
OPINION - It is a familiar, played out romantic scenario: woman gets out of bed, puts on boyfriend's / husband's / partner's white shirt, instantly looks cool and sexy. Men's blazers, too, are of the covetable borrowable type, as are sweatshirts, tees or anything masculine that can be perfectly oversized for a woman's silhouette without drowning it. The term 'boyfriend fit' was coined from this scenario, presumably led by a slick marketing firm who had a jean or other such products to sell to the opposite sex.
What’s next for the gender fluid fashion movement?
Polysexual: someone attracted to multiple genders and identities. It is the kind of word that someone would expect to hear in a liberal arts college course on gender and sexuality studies. While there are polysexual people in the fashion industry, it’s not the buzzword that comes to mind when it comes to fashion trends. The genderless fashion movement recently found itself a new relative: polysexual fashion.
Isabel Rott started a minimalist, genderless brand without previous fashion experience
You don’t necessarily need a fashion degree or previous fashion experience to start a fashion label as bachelor degrees are no longer a guarantee of success in the industry: self-taught talents can go just as far, if not further. Just look at Virgil Abloh, a graduated architect who currently serves as menswear designer at Louis Vuitton’s menswear division and as Creative Director for his own label, Off-White. Sure, it’s a lot easier to achieve such a level of success when you’re already friends with a famous rapper who also happens to own a fashion label. But that doesn’t mean having high profile connections is the only way for an outsider to enter and achieve success in the fashion industry.
Gender-neutral fashion: fluidity as freedom
A 2018 study by The Advocate found that 33 percent of those in Gen-Z identify as something other than exclusively heterosexual, the highest number of any generation up. A quick search on Tik Tok shows that the hashtag for polysexuality has almost 10,000 views and is still growing as content creators produce more videos surrounding polysexual identity and polysexual people. On Instagram, the hashtag has over 1,000,000 tags.
5 gender neutral brands to watch
The growth of genderless and unisex fashion brands is a sign of the times that the constructs of who-wears-what is evolving. Gen Z especially has embraced wearing clothing they feel comfortable in rather than what has been designated to them based on their sex. Constructs of masculinity and femininity are shifting, blurring the lines between traditional men’s and women’s wear.
In pictures: gender-neutral bridalwear in a campaign by Eva Janssens
Although the fashion world has been working on breaking down gender stereotypes for some time, the bridal wear scene remains remarkably quiet in this area. Time for a change, according to Belgian bridal designer Eva Janssens. Together with content creator Gerrit Elen, she developed a campaign that breaks open the standards surrounding bridal fashion.
Free the body: three New York brands that speak to Gen Z
Launched between 2011 and 2013, New York brands Maryam Nassir Zadeh, Eckhaus Latta and Vaquera have showcased last month their spring-summer 2022 collections at New York Fashion Week. The three of them have been referred to as “emerging designers” over the last few years and now embrace a body positivity that speaks to Gen Z: emancipation and inclusivity. FashionUnited dives into a trend that’s here to stay.
SS22: 5 gender-neutral trends to keep an eye on
Though many brands still present their women’s and men’s wear collections separately at two different shows, a lot of trends tend to overlap and suit both wardrobes. For the Resort and Spring-Summer 2022 seasons, designers offer a large array of trends that do not fit in a gender category, highlighting a growing tendency to let go of labels. FashionUnited analyses five gender-neutral trends that’ll be leading the way next season.