By Sanjana Chakraborty
Hello there,
The long preached concepts of masculinity and femininity for defining one’s clothing is getting blurred by the upcoming future fashion “GENDER NEUTRAL” a.k.a “Androgynous Fashion” where both men and women are choosing to redefine themselves on their own terms rather than bound to a specific idea, culture or class.
It is a style that isn't masculine or feminine. People who dress in androgynous clothing try to avoid sticking to one gender stereotype in their style.
// RM
Just like you are what you eat, similarly you are what you wear and fashion has always been a trendy explicit way to express one individuality. So to close the yawning chasm of gender preached fashion , brands like ‘‘Older Brothers”, “Tomboy X”, “Kirrin Finch”, and many others stepped up with the unisex trend.
Other retailers, brands, and designers like Inhabit has also launched its first genderless collection last fall. Designer Norma Kamali changed her brand to a unisex label last year, Umit Benan has also set in motion with unisex line B+ and Equipment is also inclined towards the label’s “Androgynous Aesthetic” to get a rigid grip into the growing segment launching their gender-fluid collection in spring 2020.
Global juggernauts like H&M and Zara have also tied knots for genderless collections with the Denim United line and Ungendered collection, respectively.
THE RISE OF THE GENDER FLUID FASHION
In dresses, the "unisex" factor came into existence in the late sixties to denote clothing suitable for both males and females.
Denim jeans and T-shirts in 1950's cinemas were liked by the majority of people thereby allowing the democratization of clothing.
In the 1960s "youthquake" was not only a factor of consideration but it was also the age of space exploration and it demanded a minimalistic design and geometric construction which was unisex designed by Pierre Cardin, revolutionized fashion by futuristic clothes.
// RM
In the 1970s, pants were accepted as female attire and from this point, gender-neutral fashion came into vast existence with various themes in fashion including androgyny, mass-market retail and conceptual clothing.
The first “gender neutral movement” occurred in the 1960s with a look that was markedly more masculine than today’s version.
For a long time now, women have been wearing men’s clothing. While it may have been acceptable, though not always “normal” for women to wear men’s clothing but there has never really been a time where men wearing women’s clothing has been appreciated.
One of the notable changes is the crossing of gender lines from male to female. In the past, men showing any signs of femininity risked ridicule, exclusion and possibly physical harm. These days, more and more men are willing to push the envelope.
THE FIVE INDIAN BRANDS
Here are a few renowned brands that provide the duality, quality, along with the variety of perfect mixtures of masculinity and femininity.
1. Kallol Datta
The unisex clothing collection of Kallol Datta known for their fluid silhouettes which provides the utmost good quality fabric and material. His passion for working with unexpected materials is irreplaceable.
2. Nor Black Nor White
They have elevated Indian fashion to a whole different level with the modern and refined technique of traditional Indian handicraft. Their unisex designs of silhouettes ceases the conventional thoughts to what society approves as appropriate to wear.
3. Anaam
Anaam's collection Behrupiya (diverse alternatives) is a reclamation of identity through art after the show 'The Last Supper' at Lakme Fashion Week's GenderBender. It was a gender-neutral take on Leonardo Da Vinci's paintings of the same name, where the models he cast struggled with their own identities as trans, androgynous, and gender-fluid people. They were misfits so he wanted to put them as a painting for restoration processes.
// Indulge
4. HUEMN
HUEMN is one of the distinct fashion brands of India. They always put relevant, fresh and exciting designs carving their name on the list of reputed fashion brands. They came up with the unisex collection when discussions and debates on gender in various fields including fashion were at their peak.
// Verve
5. The Pot Plant
Sanya Suri and Resham Karmchandani's creation put a '100% human' tag on their clothes to show that their clothes can be worn by any gender. The vision of The Pot Plant is not to be distinguished by gender.
- The Current Scenario -
The Millennials group and Generation Z are taking the world with their electrifying attitude challenging everything we accept and consider about fashion and clothing.
Well, the current trend shows that it's all about the rapid fading past where people used to consider skirts for women and trousers for men. Now, we're finally normalizing people on seeing a boy redefining pink as their own color and a girl sporting the fresh and crisp male looks thereby creating compact differences every other day narrowing the gender gaps.
Regardless of constant reprimands, many multi-talented renowned B-Town celebs like Ranveer Singh and Kiara Advani also have been spotted heartily accepting the contrasting clothing sense, championing the cause of fluidity and embracing the concept of gender neutral which sets the internet ablaze.
// Nykaa
The future of fashion is changing rapidly and extremely. Our team at The Narration is also gearing up to serve the future generation and millennials the fluidity of fashion blended with the authenticity of our team’s classic cuts, minimal detailing with a touch of geometrical panelling and color-blocking in each silhouette.
The fast evolving technology might erase and replace everything we considered as fashion. The future might surprise us with the most unexpected or expected outcomes. Remodeling the face of fashion into a different dimension in the upcoming years.
Let’s see where our fashion industry leads us with their beautiful minds.
Till then, don’t forget to celebrate the “True You”.
Love,
Sanjana Chakraborty