Unisex clothing isn’t any news to most people, neither it is the current fashion statement, but we can say that the fashion industry is finally starting to discuss the gender division and its impact on what goes into whose closet. Renowned brands such as Prada, Burberry, Versace, Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Vivienne Westwood and J. W. Anderson, have been showing items for him and for her in the fashion weeks around the world for a long time. Miuccia Prada, the Italian fashion designer, recently announced: “I think about people, not about gender.”
Genderless fashion gained a lot of fans in 2015. Gucci’s fashion show signed by Alessandro Michele had pieces made for both men and women, and then the initiative came to the attention of some Brazilian designers, like Alexandre Herchcovitch and Dudu Bertholini (who was already a fan of ungendered clothing).
If you are a girl who loves to wear quirky t-shirts and oversized sweaters, you have probably already visited the male area in stores. If so, you might have also wondered why exactly some clothes were exclusively there or what would happen if you were to walk around wearing something from the male section. Focused on an audience who demands both a nice piece and an innovative design, the ever growing movement of non-separation of genders in the collections and in the way they are presented is gaining a lot of attention of fashion giants, such as Zara.
The Spanish company has launched the “Ungendered” line, composed of a 16-piece collection of unisex items including shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, shorts and jumpers – all in neutral colors (black, white, grey). The range is modeled by men and women, proving the practicality of unisex fashion.
Now, it is the turn of C&A to embrace the trend. The fast fashion chain launched this month the campaign “Tudo Lindo e Misturado” (loosely translated as Everything Beautiful and Mixed), trying to break gender barriers in fashion. The collection is already on stores all over Brazil.
Some smaller brands have also joined the movement, while others are already created without the classic fashion divisions – such as winter/summer and male/female. An example of it is that, since its beginning in 2010, Trendt stands out because of lightweight pieces that work for both men and women. When asked if he was bothered with the genderless label, Renan Serrano, 27, designer of the brand said “I do not pay attention to it. No aesthetic movement defines me, I think that putting a label on yourself nowadays is to put an expiration date on your brand.”
Down South, in the state of Santa Catarina, NO.ID (which stands for no identification), created by Fabio and Rafael Knight, has already gambled with the idea of unisex pieces for years, but only has three collections launched so far.
Korova, a brand that this year completes nearly a decade of existence, also has a line of clothes for everyone, something that went quite viral after being posted on their Facebook page. The video contained as a caption: “’girl clothes’ and ‘boys clothes’ are ideas that are lagging behind. Why not trying on clothes for people?” The label has a really basic line and very neutral colors and wider fitting. Since the prints are unique creations and have many styles, they are very different from what you’d find on a typical store.
Creating genderless clothes brings a lot of new challenges to designers: how to escape from a chart of grey and white? How to make clothing that looks nice both on boys and girls? And most of all, how to make all of that affordable?
Maybe this shift in gender boundaries is more of an evolution than an evolution in the closet, something that is a direct result of a change in the culture as a whole. But for what it seems, it’s here to stay for a while, and it might be a sign that perhaps we are starting to realize we are all human underneath.