THE END NEAR FOR MENSWEAR DEPARTMENT?

Building a retail space around the gender- free clothing concept was until recently seen as financially risky. Now, Pew research has found that 35 per cent of Gen Z knows someone who identifies as non- binary. “I do believe gender- neutral fashion is the future,” Fashion Institute of Technology Professor Dawnn Karen said. Gender-free store The Phluid Project in Manhattan was started by Rob Smith, 54, who spent 30 years as a retail executive. “There is a paradigm shift happening in our society. An unlearning and a relearning,” he said. “Gen- Z ( account) for one- third of the national population, which accounts for 40 per cent of U. S. spending power.” Fifty- six per cent of Gen Z consumers already shop outside of their gender, according to a study by ad agency J. Walter Thompson.