Blurred Lines - Gender in Fashion Today.

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In recent years we have witnessed a huge shift in the distinction between traditionally female and male fashion; celebrities such as Kristen Stewart, Jared Leto, and Rihanna are paving the way for androgynous dress by challenging gender norms by wearing what they want whether it be targeted towards women or men. However, this is not a new trend and had been in existence as early as the 1920s when Coco Chanel popularised the wearing of trousers and loose fitting clothes for women who were used to the binding of corsets. In the 70s men and women lived in harmony with the shared eclectic patterned flare trend paired with platform boots without a care for gender norms. So why the change?

In the early years of this decade, the wearing of feminine items were not something that was normalised and men tended to stick to more masculine shapes such as broad-shouldered suits and loose fitting jeans in order to stick to the normalised societal expectation.

The introduction of gender specific clothing may have stemmed from the following of trends on the runway whereby sticking to a pattern of suits for men and dresses for women was the ‘in’ thing. But in recent years this trend is experiencing a major shift; in the fashion week S/S 16 season Saint Laurent’s ‘Ready to Wear’ collection created waves when their fashion director included a combination of models of different genders and dressed them in similar silhouettes. Many celebrities sport variations of this androgynous fashion such as Janelle Monae who is known for her monochromatic 50s-inspired tailored suits and brogues, Kanye West (remember THAT black heeled boot?), the ethereal Tilda Swinton, and most recently, Matty Healy from the band ‘The 1975’ who is famous for his unruly shoulder length hair and blue eyeshadow which is regularly worn in photoshoots.

As an art form fashion does not require rules and should encourage experimentation, which is a process which beginning to become a more common concept as the 21st century has come into arrival. This is the decade to wear what you want and not let it wear you.