Gender in Fashion

Fashion has always been a controversial subject. Whether we like to believe it or not we are constantly judging people based on their fashion choices. Celebrities use fashion to create individual identities and to make themselves unique. Lets take Kim Kardashian for example: her famous nude and dusty rose ensembles have created a worldwide pandemic inspiring brands to develop and encouraging us to keep up with the Kardashians. However, brands and their consumers have not always been as open to developing fashion in order to follow the styles of celebrities. There are many stereotypes in fashion: pink for a girl and blue for a boy; women wear skirts and men wear trousers. However, over the last 5 years in particular I have noticed a great development in androgyny in fashion. The red carpets have displayed many women in gorgeous suits for example the fabulous Julia Roberts in a Dior tux-collared jumpsuit at the SAG Awards 2015 (one of my personal favourites). The transgression of masculinity within female fashion has to be one of my favourite factors of the modern fashion industry. The global acceptance slowly being unfolded for masculinity within femininity and LGBT is being reflected in fashion demonstrating the overwhelming support for the community is not something that has always been shown through fashion and people’s perception someone’s wardrobe.

A great example of the progression and gradual acceptance of personal identity through fashion is the late David Bowie. Known by critics as 'the innovator' in reports of his unfortunate death they had a higher opinion of him now than they did in the seventies. Bowie’s constant struggle for acceptance, due to his incredible creativity in his fashion and exploration of taboo, encouraged his determination to change the way people perceived fashion and judged a book by its cover. As illustrated by the millions of fans paying their respects on the 10th January 2016 Bowie succeeded in changing fashion as we know it and leading the industry to take a more carefree approach to designing. Lady Gaga’s touching tribute to the star at the Grammys 2016 reflected the powerful influence that Bowie had on both the industry and the people. Lady Gaga then further supported the fashion movement Bowie created by stunning in a Marc Jacobs original inspired by the legend. She also walked in the NYFW Marc Jacobs show recently sporting another masculine look. Of course, Bowie is not the only legend to encourage the progression of gender in fashion: Boy George, Elton John, Kanye West, Rihanna to name a few. Kanye’s extraordinary fashion shows in NYFW perfectly demonstrate androgyny in fashion, in my opinion. It is safe to say he is the genius behind the fashion of Kim K. The loose fit styles of his clothing are iconic and are instantly a recognisable feature of his design reflecting his beliefs in equality. His fashion designing and modelling of a brand allows him to express these beliefs in clothing and create a visual display of communication. This is one of my favourite forms of fashion communication, fashion shows, and to see them being used in such an effective way is revolutionary. Being a great fan of social media, I was shocked to discover Kanye’s absence on instagram. I think his brand would only develop further through the visual communication that Instagram provides however, I also admire his commitment to traditional media.

Gender has become a small issue in fashion and our society over the last 5 years, which allows everybody to portray and honest image of their true self. Whether this is through traditional media or social media, Fashion has overcome, for the most part, that invisible boundary set be society of what is acceptable in fashion and I am very proud to be able to write this piece.

#Gender #Fashion #Bowie #Mensfashion