Why Women Are Walking the Men’s Runways This Season
What’s the point of showing women’s clothes to men? I generalize, of course—not everyone in the audience at the men’s shows is male—but, look! Lots and lots of girls have been walking runways in London and Milan these past couple of weeks, in the round of collections that are (ostensibly) aimed at showing the chaps of the menswear industry what they might like to wear, come spring 2016. Regard! Miuccia Prada liberally studded her men’s collection with female models yesterday afternoon. Out of 51 looks, 20 were a compilation of super-compelling, wacky, girls’ outfits—a layered pile-up of sweaters with rocket and rabbit motifs, short sequin shifts, vintage-y sport stripes, skirts with collaged panels going this way and that: in all, Mrs. I also spotted women insurgents on London runways: Nasir Mazhar’s total-black looks, Burberry girls in lace dresses and trench coats, Binx Walton walking in Stuart Vevers’s Coach men’s show, Craig Green putting out his first examples of female attire.
Should there be gender in the beauty industry?
The world of beauty is a big and diverse one. There are many lotions, potions, beauty brands, up and coming cosmetic lines and the industry is simply getting bigger and bigger. Over the past decade or so, it seems that more men have become open about using and purchasing beauty products. So much so that many beauty brands and companies have made sections featuring products solely targeted towards men. In a society that’s said to be open-minded and equal, is this a step to equality or a step back? (MALIN+GOETZ) is one beauty company that do not believe in stereotyping genders and basing their products on gender. Speaking about their customer base, they then go on to say that their customers ‘are smart, savvy, sophisticated consumers that seek quality and results. Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics is another company which strives to have no gender attachment to its product range. Some men will only buy products labelled ‘men’ or ‘male’, and for them those products might be all they need.
Gender-neutral Cosmetics
Following the creation of unisex collections in the fashion industry, the cosmetics sector has also begun to blur the concept of gender. Like fashion and its trends, beauty—a gender-specific sector if there ever was one—is now redefining its borders to expand its offer. Some brands, however, didn’t wait for the question of gender to become a social phenomenon before exploring it. The most obvious of these is Calvin Klein with its iconic fragrance ”CK One” that shook up the gender codes in the Nineties, followed by others like Kiehl’s, Byredo, Aesop (with its Marrakech and Tacit fragrances), Verso, Absolution and Malin Goetz. This “gender-less” trend as applied to beauty is expressed in many ways and can take on many forms: Gender-neutral Packaging The time has come to celebrate aesthetics that transcend gender differences: neutral and minimalist packaging doesn’t target either sex and promotes a more mixed offer. S.W. Benefits First Toward Plural Retailing?
Inside Selfridges' radical, gender-neutral department store
We live in a world where Facebook and Google+ have introduced "infinite" gender options for users, trans models like Andreja Pejic and Hari Nef are burning up the runway; and designers like Hood By Air and Telfar break new ground in fashion every day. Is it any wonder that walking into a store and only heading for your gender-assigned aisle is starting to feel a little passé? Enter Selfridges latest initiative, Agender, a pop-up department that aims to create a "genderless shopping experience" within the London department store. I went down to visit Agender on the opening day to see what a gender-neutral store actually looks like. Is it lightly watered by the tears of queer unicorns; adorned with the statues of LGBT heroes and feminist icons who sought to destroy gender stereotypes at every turn? Does a giant, kindly bust of Judith Butler look over you and your gender non-conforming boyfriend as you peruse unisex Stan Smiths and HBA sweatshirts?
Zara Genderless Clothing Line 2016 - Non Binary
It's not the first time Zara's parent company, Inditex, has added genderless clothing to its inventory: Inditex-ownedPull&Bear has offered unisex apparel in past seasons, according to Harper's Bazaar Spain. Recently, more and more retailers have dabbled in gender-free offerings. Last year, British department store Selfridges introduced a pop-up called Agender at both its London flagship and online. Stateside, Target announced a few months later that it would remove any gender-specific signage and colours from its children's bedding and toy sections. (Also, let's not forget that American Apparel has stocked unisex inventory for quite some time.) Zara's announcement represents a huge step in the mainstream fashion space.
