The rise of gender neutral fashion

Designers  are pushing boundaries with styles and garments that provide scope to move flexibly between both the genders, as a new trend of gender neutral fashion blurs the lines between menswear and womenswear.

Today, fashion is more interchangeable than ever, with men dressing in womenswear and vice versa. As such, a new category has emerged as many designers  are building entire collections based around the concept of gender neutral fashion or unisex garments.

In the first decade of the millennium, girls dressing like boys became a recurring fashion trend, as women continued to ‘borrow’ items from men’s wardrobes, lending to the popularity of items such as ‘boyfriend jeans’ and ‘boyfriend jackets’.

But going forward, a new category of unisex fashion or dressing which does not discriminate and eliminate gender norms, takes over the androgynous look, which sees both sexes mix and match popular items from each other’s wardrobes.

What makes unisex fashion so appealing and relevant today is that it eschews trends completely and is being used as a means of self-expression, which encourages the wearer to experiment with their personal style without being bound by the constraints of gender.

The biggest proponent of unisex fashion in the apparel industry is Paris-based Canadian designer Rad Hourani, who founded the first unisex brand back in 2007. According to Rad Hourani,

it doesn’t make sense to limit things, which is why I studied male and female bodies to create a canvas that can fit both. It has always been relevant for me as it is about the yin and yang in all of us. I’m not interested in trends, as they fade.

 His latest autumn-winter collection features his signature sculptural shapes, including kimono-wrap jackets and multi-collared trenches made from black fabric infused with silver threads and sequins.

Through avant-garde pieces that can be worn both by men and women, such as oversized draped tops, long tunics, cuffed trousers, scarf tops, skinny jeans, embellished ponchos, capes, etc, unisex collections are all set to grow.

Often involving basic, boxy and conceptual pieces in a wider range of sizes to canvas a larger number of bodies, the gender neutral fashion movement signals easier dressing for all and more room for self-expression, where wearers are not bound by gender constraints.

Then there’s the other, perhaps more obvious, pro of gender non-conforming fashion that if you live with someone of the opposite sex, embracing it essentially means doubling your wardrobe. As Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer and businesswoman rightly puts it.