UNDRESSING THE TREND OF GENDER MERGING RUNWAY IN HIGH FASHION

Impossible to ignore, the idea of gender neutral wear is not a new phenomenon but it has only attained
real traction in the mainstream fashion world recently with the notable movements of large fashion
houses like Burberry and most recently Gucci announcing merged runway shows. Although this isnt
the strongest representation of tolerance and solidarity of gender neutrality in fashion, it does
represent a definitive moment for the way people perceive fashion as a medium of self- expression
and personhood fluid or not.
Gucci recently announced that they were moving towards a mixed runway profile presenting
alongside each other menswear and womenswear. This means only two seasonal shows and whilst
the change in calendar will surely shake up the fashion world, Gucci will still largely be designing
clothes to be worn by men or women. So how progressive is the fashion in keeping up with important
social movements and is this another bandwagon attempt that toes the line of new age, but remain
safely in convention? We take a look at the real game changers and the outlook of the buzz word
gender neutral.
Underground and self-proclaimed Non-fashion brands like denim rebels Sixty-Nine (69), Eckhaus
Latta, Hood By Air, Telfar, Jean Paul Gaultier and Vaquera have been the forerunners in churning out
the non-gender binary fashion. Eckhaus Lattas post-apocalypic AW16 NYFW show was modelled by
New Yorks new generation of diverse models including Barbara Ferreira, India Menuez, and
Alexandra Marzella. Subterraneans street lookers Hood By Air even took home prestigious 2015
CFDA award beside the likes of Tom Ford for their radically queer aesthetic and voguing fashion
shows including their recent Paris fetishistic SS16 show.
The retail experience has also been in renovation with Selfridges and Zara having presented
genderless and agender collections. Notable Selfridges latest initative Agender, a pop up department
that aims to create a genderless shopping experience within the London flagship, aspired to create a
space where men and women could shop together irrespective of gender. The New York
Times described it as a "primeval Tardis".
Surely Gucci cannot be faulted for paying lip service to the idea of gender bending in their own way
and perhaps there is a long way till fashion reaches destination unisex. But if its anything to go my
with Jaden Smith is fronting Louis Vuittons womenswear campaign and John Galliano is casting
androgynous models in his Margiela womenswear shows, at least there are some who are already
evolving fashion in a way that inspires fashion to become a better and more adequate expression of
todays personhood.