SMART THINKING
Brands are throwing out tradition and embracing gender-neutral clothing.
Brands are throwing out the rule book and embracing gender- neutral fashion.
“Except for the medieval codpiece and the bra, garments have never had a gender,” Jean Paul Gaultier once said. Louis Vuitton’s new Menswear Fall/ Winter collection for 2019 shown at Jardin des Tuileries in Paris offered many designs that appealed to him, her and them. Gender fluidity – where gender expression shifts between both masculine and feminine – is rapidly rising in popularity, as labels such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, Givenchy and Gucci blur the lines between men’s and women’s fashion. Although the concept certainly isn’t new – after all, Jean Paul Gaultier has been dressing men in skirts since 1985
– its huge rise in popularity and acceptance is. And it’s not just highend labels embracing this change. Zara has launched a collection titled “Ungendered”, while online fashion retailer ASOS has a “Collusion” range for the people who don’t want to be categorised as either male or female.
This was the second runway show by Louis Vuitton’s men’s artistic director, Virgil Abloh, who created the presentation in homage to Michael Jackson. Abloh said he marvelled at how Jackson “brought together his audiences around the world in all their diversities” – particularly with his 1985 ‘We Are The World’ project. The grey US flag on the skirt worn over pants references how inclusivity extends to definitions of gender.