Existing in the sensory overloaded reality we live in, it’s hard to sort through what has meaning and what doesn’t. Constantly being bombarded with how the “Kardashians wore this” or how “the camouflage revival is real and thriving” can cause you to roll your eyes into the back of your head and continue to label the fashion industry as a trivial element of our society. It’s hard to recognize the significance amongst the meaningless headlines, but if you sort through the “fluff” news, you’ll recognize the monumental importance of what is currently occurring in the fashion world. For years, models strutting down the runway, ad campaigns, street style, and influencers all played their different roles in fashion—their very gendered roles. But times are certainly changing. Gender expression is becoming as fluid as chiffon fabrics down the runway and that movement continues to take shape in endless silhouettes. While there are key pieces that have shaped the more androgynous looks highlighted in high end and streetwear scenes alike, it goes far beyond individual articles of clothing. This movement is more than Caitlin Jenner’s corseted body in the latest magazine spread—this is the combination of fashion and social change and it’s making history. For those who look to their closets and make their selections regardless of binaries and expectations, this is a call to individuality and to blurred boundaries.
Taking pieces out of a man’s wardrobe is not a revolutionary concept—women have been pushing gender boundaries wearing tuxedo-inspired looks to red carpet events for decades. Recently, however, it has infiltrated women’s daily looks and is slowly but surely helping break the gender stigmas found inside the fashion world. Items such as boyfriend jeans, neckties, and even baggy sweaters have been integrated into women’s attire and are sending girls to their father’s closets for pieces. Even looking around Fordham’s campus, looks with tailored trousers and boxier blazers can be spotted on a frequent basis, a nod towards the greater movement brewing in our society. It may not seem to appear as a revolution to have women steering away from typically feminine ensembles, but these small touches have been influenced by much bigger ripples higher up in the fashion world and our society. They represent the decreasing amount of pressure concerning gender and all the expectations that go along with it, a monumental achievement.
High-end couture has embraced the increase in wardrobe fluidity with companies, such as Dolce & Gabbana, featuring ad campaigns of women in suits and with, typically, non feminine styling. Nuances like a less feminine narrative in the Dolce and Gabbana editorial lightly touch on one of the most highly talked about topics of our modern era: gender. While this ad may not seem all that controversial, when compared to the uber feminine ads that highlighted the sweet little girly girls that were plastered on billboards and displayed on glossy magazine pages from the past, we can see just how important this change is. These ads help break the typical stigmas surrounding gender and spread the message that clothing should represent the individual, not their identification or society’s expectations that are attached to these labels.
In addition to women borrowing from the men, vice versa is also becoming a more and more popular commonality. There has been a shift in the physical aesthetic and styling of male models in the industry with models, such as Willy Cartier (if you want to cry, go check out his cheekbones), and Gucci sending their men down the runway in cardigans with pussy bows. And even just scrolling down your Instagram feed, young fashion pioneers like Jaden Smith can be seen donning skirts and dresses on a regular basis, showing that the non-masculine look is not just reserved for couture—it’s street style as well. The fashion world is continuously evolving and the increase in wardrobe flexibility shows just how frivolous all the previously enforced fashion rules are.
While there has been an abundance in crossing gender lines in the fashion world, it is absolutely crucial to recognize that gender nonconformity is more than a trend: it is directly applicable to some individuals identities and lives. It may be appearing more on the runway and on magazine covers, but people, especially LGBTQ+ individuals, have been expressing their identity for years, and often times that meant not identifying as traditionally male or female. Gender nonconformity is not a passing fad; it’s an identity that is often overlooked in our society and while the increase in popularity from the fashion world is helpful in making it more accessible and spreading acceptance, it should never be trivialized to the point of choker necklaces and crushed velvet. From a fashion standpoint, there is a trend aspect to these ideas (boyfriend jeans, blazers, etc.) but the movement as a whole represents a group of people who can not be disregarded, reduced, or capitalized upon.
We are heading towards an age where androgyny is becoming more and more common, helping to shed the rigid confines from yesteryear. We, as a society, are slowly creeping our way towards an open-minded perspective, with milestones such as 17 year-old James Charles becoming the newest face of CoverGirl, to show for our progress. This accepting attitude has also leaked into the fashion world and we now are beginning to see pieces once considered as traditionally gendered, as items worn and embraced by all. People should aim to be as true to themselves as possible and breaking down the confines revolving around gender norms in the fashion world is a commendable achievement. It proves that we, as humans, are finally inching our way to respecting everyone’s desire to express themselves how they please and the importance of gender identification is slowly crumbling.
In theory, clothing is nothing but mere dyed fibers strung together. No matter the style or article, with any piece of clothing, a similarity (a common thread, if you will) can be found that unites them all: they’re all just assembled strips of fabric. Regardless of this commonality, stingy rules have been enforced in society for far too long that constrict countless individuals and, frankly, are useless. Thankfully, we, as a fashionable society, are slowly breaking loose from those shackles and exploring all articles of clothing, regardless of gender or identification. Whether you identify within the gender binary, in between it, or outside of it, clothing can be a useful creative channel through which to express yourself. Explore the boundless options from any wardrobe, wear whatever the hell you want to wear, and embrace everyone’s choice to express themselves accordingly.
childs play 