Gender-Bender: The Rise of Fashion-Fluidity

With a growing acceptance of non-binary identities or being gender non-conforming, the traditional perception of gender being the same as one's assigned sex at birth is slowly being de-constructed. Owing to these developments, the preconceived notions surrounding gender have undergone a paradigm shift in recent years. As the world is unlearning stereotypes surrounding gender, people are realizing that the concept of gender is man-made. The world is now beginning to view gender as a product of the society rather than a biological construct.

Socio-political movements concerning LGBTQIA rights, civil rights movements, and feminism have raised questions about traditional gender roles. This has further led to an increased understanding of gender non-binaries and their existence as a spectrum. The media we consume reports these changes and the influential people we follow reflect them. Case in point, Caitlyn Jenner, a celebrated Olympics icon formerly known as Bruce Jenner who came out as a trans-woman. Her story stood out as a significant milestone for the transgender community. All of these factors have accelerated the modern understanding of gender identity and paved the way for embracing gender fluidity.

Gender identity often goes hand-in-hand with expression of oneself. While some feel that asserting their individuality is enough, others may want to use an outlet to feel empowered, more confident and in tune with their inner sense of self. Here, fashion acts as a crucial form of self-expression. It is a powerful tool of communicating one's inner state, beliefs and a visual representation of one's persona.

Fashion trends have always been driven by socio-political cultures. Hence, clothing has often reinforced gender stereotypes of masculinity and femininity. A simple yet significant example for this would be how traditionally, pants were worn by men, owing to their functionality. Women on the other hand wore skirts that offered a restricted range of motion as they were expected not to participate in the same physically vigorous activities as men were engaged in. The concept of gender binaries continues to be policed into our systems, from schools maintaining strict dress codes to the use of colors like pink and blue to maintain a strict demarcation for what is meant to be worn by boys and girls.

In a world where gender is gradually gaining acceptance as a non-binary spectrum, the lines that confined fashion with connotations of genders are beginning to blur. As Nick Paget, a senior analyst at World Global Style Network, stated: “The notion that clothing as an expression of our personality belongs to one gender or another is the social construct that needs disassembling.” Fashion is transitioning to be more fluid and inclusive. This doesn't necessarily mean that clothing has to be genderless to be non-restrictive. However, it does loosen the gender constraints surrounding clothing.

There is not one definition for gender fluid fashion. It is essentially understood by its purpose of breaking down the "menswear" and "womenswear" characterization of clothing. It allows one to get rid of the belief that a certain type of clothing isn't meant for them, simply because it is labeled as such. Fluid fashion frees us from the shackles of how society "expects" us to dress with regards to our gender and lets us explore what we like. It lets us experiment with different styles, giving us an outlet to express ourselves without worrying about what's masculine and what's feminine.

Any piece of clothing is gender fluid as long as the wearer chooses it to be. Creative expression in any form of art can never be bound by the rigidity of social norms, so there is nothing wrong with wearing something that you want to, even if the manufacturer's target audience wasn't you!

One cannot talk about Gender fluid fashion, and not touch upon Harry Styles, who in his debut cover of Vogue was featured in a Gucci Ballgown with typically feminine attributes. Over the Years he has continually challenged gender stereotypes in fashion with his experimental choices in fashion and opened up the way for others who wish to break free from the confines of the same. There are many other celebrities who have advocated gender-bending in fashion like Billy Porter, who won the admiration of all in his sparkly Christian Siriano gown at the Academy Awards in 2019 and India's very own Ranveer Singh, who with his wacky sense of style and incorporation of feminine elements in his outfits has tress-passed all boundaries of gendered clothing. Supermodel and actress Cara Delevigne, being gender-fluid herself has done her fair share in breaking gender norms through her fashion choices and statements.

As the world gains awareness and acceptance of gender fluidity, Brands and designers have begun capitalizing on gender-fluid fashion. Big brands like Louis Vuitton came out with unique collections of gender neutral clothes while Marc Jacobs has dived into streetwear with queer models like Cindy Sherman for representation. The Gucci MX collection, with the aim to break gender binaries was brought about in 2020 which was a bold step towards challenging gender norms with a gender-neutral collection of apparel, accessories and footwear. Similar attempts have been made by existing big brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Versace by partnering with non-binary icons and showcasing their range of genderless fashion on the runway. "There is a generation that doesn’t care about gender,” Donatella Versace stated after her successful launch of a gender neutral collection at the Milan Fashion Week in 2020.

In addition to existing brands that have stirred the industry by venturing into this space, there has been a surge of brands that are pre-dominantly gender fluid, like Telfar which hasn't divided their apparel and accessories by gender and Zero Waste Daniel, which has assorted its clothes by style, pattern and prints instead of using gender as the distinguishing criteria.

TomBoyX has made a noteworthy impact in this avenue. The brand is known for having a unique formula for sizing their collection, which is their USP. Instead of using a standard algorithm, the brand brought in real customers with realistic body types, who belonged to different parts of the gender spectrum and did a sizing test. Based on the results they compiled data to set their sizes. By doing so, the brand has stood out as a size and gender inclusive space with a promise to serve a broad range of prospective customers. Their mindfulness has sent across the message that gender inclusivity is their prime focus and sets them apart as the ideal embodiment of a gender-fluid company. “Garments are constructed products. They don’t have genitalia, yet we design, market and make them as if they do”, stated Adam Kassar, a Burlesque performer. Fashion fluidity isn't a mere trend, it's the future.

We love gender fluid fashion because like any other form of art, labeling and categorizing fashion, as well as dictating who it is meant to be consumed by takes away much of its artistic freedom. Fashion fluidity provides the grounds for a visual representation of one's inner sense of self and where they lie on the spectrum. Much like gender non-binaries, fashion knows no boundaries or labels and cannot be contained in one box of definitions and rules. It has an unprecedented power of allowing one to be whatever they want to be - creating change, challenging norms, transcending barriers of traditions and culture. All because one truly only feels their best when they can fully express and not suppress who they really are.