Men's skirt as a new fashionable norm
A couple of weeks ago, the Internet circled the news: schoolchildren from an Exeter academy in Devonshire came to classes in skirts. The action turned out to be protest: the weather was hot, it was absolutely impossible to walk in trousers, but the school principal did not allow the children to come to the lessons in shorts - they say, does not comply with the uniform regulations.
A few days before this, the British Joey Barge appeared at work in a dress: first he came in shorts, but he was also scolded for the discrepancy between the appearance and the office dress-code - and in response he chose a rather radical gesture. At about the same time, on the other side of the English Channel, in French Nantes, bus drivers staged a strike, going to work in skirts. It is noteworthy that all these events occurred within one week - as if someone decided to launch a kind of flash mob.
Over time, the image of the “real” man became firmly associated with the fact that today we can illustrate with the meme “I'm on a horse”, and pants became an important element of this image
Exactly at the same time, in Paris, men's fashion week was running with might and main, the manifesto of which, by coincidence, was an attempt to legitimize men in skirts. Ray Kavakubo in the Comme des Garçons Homme Plus collection erases the boundaries of gender by presenting his history of men's suit over several eras and ironically over the stereotypes that have become established in modern society. French brand A.P.C. produces an elongated hoodie, which is supposed to be worn with short shorts - or without them. Dries Van Noten and Loewe in their men's collections show shirts, more like dresses, and Balmain - tunics and knee-length T-shirts. Dior has a men's version of a dress-coat and Basques, while Alexander McQueen and Thom Browne have natural dresses. And the debut collection of the long-awaited own brand, Stefano Pilati, is almost entirely composed of variations on the theme "wolf in sheep's clothing" - that is, men in women's clothes.
The very idea of gender differentiated clothing appeared not so long ago. If you delve into history, you can easily recall many examples when men wore women's modern clothing - from Roman tog and ancient Egyptian shepherd loincloths to elements of national costume (in particular, the Scottish kilt). In those days, clothing served as a marker of social rather than gender, and analogues of modern skirts and dresses took root in everyday life for two reasons: firstly, they were simply cut and sewn, and secondly, they were convenient to do things worthy brave men - to fight, build, cultivate the land and participate in religious practices.
But already at the next stage of social development, when men domesticated livestock, in particular horses, they needed a new piece of clothing — one in which it was comfortable to ride. Over time, the image of the "real" man became firmly associated with the fact that today we can illustrate with the me on horseback meme, and pants became an important element of this image - or rather, their prototype at the time.
It is curious that the final differentiation of the "appropriate" men's and women's clothing took shape not so long ago - around the middle of the 19th century. At that time in Europe there was no practice to divide children's clothes into those intended for girls and boys: newborns of both sexes were dressed in similar tunic dresses, and only for 6-7 years old boys were given their first trousers (or rather, breeches) - a tradition called "breeching" served as a kind of act of becoming an adult man. By the way, a little earlier, at the beginning of the century, the traditional men's suit finally took shape, becoming the way it was, with minor modifications, we used to see it today: a jacket, a vest, and certainly pants.
If you summarize all of the above, it turns out that trousers as an attribute of a man’s wardrobe are no more than a convention enshrined in the mind of society first, on the basis of necessity (women did not participate in horse fights, went on horseback a little, which means that they did not need trousers ), and then turned into a stereotype. The brochure for the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art "Bravehearts: Men in Skirts", which was held in 2003-2004, said: "One of the goals of this exhibition is to show that there is no natural connection between the wardrobe item and femininity or masculinity, all this is nothing more than cultural associations imposed. " It is not surprising that for the first time the very essence of the gender division of clothing was called into question in the 1960s, when the younger generation began to look for themselves through subcultures and the denial of traditional social norms.
Hippies imagined an idealistic society, not burdened with worries about what is befitting a man and what about a woman (including appearance issues), and in the 1980s, the image of men in skirts was promoted by genius stylist Ray Petri and inspired by his works Jean -Paul Gauthier. Up to the end of the 20th century, any acts of dressing men into women's outfits were positioned and perceived by society either as a travesty or a revolt against the system - one of the first to come to mind was an example of Kurt Cobain with his collection of flowered dresses, in one of which he appeared on the cover The Face.
Five years from now, if a boy comes to school in a skirt, no one will laugh at him or think that something is wrong with him. What does it matter what he is wearing?
The course, which is chosen by modern designers who produce models-guys in skirts on the catwalk, is another story. They are guided not by the desire to spit in the face of generally accepted morality, but to question accepted stereotypes. When Jonathan Anderson showed skirts, shorts and dresses with ruffles in his men's collection of the fall-winter 2013/2014 season, the public took it as a manifestation of youthful maximalism - the designer himself shrugged and said that he simply thought why not to offer young people such a gender neutral fashion.
If Jaden Smith wears a skirt, he does it not to challenge society, but simply because he likes it that way. In an interview with Nylon magazine, he said: “After five years, if a boy comes to school in a skirt, no one will laugh at him or think that something is wrong with him. Does it matter what he is wearing? I’m sure my children and the next generation will consider things that are unacceptable to us today. "
In the video for the Calvin Klein advertising campaign #mycalvins, rapper Young Thug says: "You can be a gangster in dress and wide pants," and proves it not in word, but in deed, feel free to appear in the cover of a solo designer album. Former Givenchy creative director Ricardo Silence has repeatedly included in his men's collections various variations of "women's" clothing, and you can imagine such a wardrobe item not only on visionaries like Kanye West. And the Australian brand Utilikilts under the slogan “We don’t care about prejudiced restrictions” actively promotes to the masses the idea that, in fact, the ancestors of skirts are kilts - one of the most masculine pieces of clothing that clearly shows through their advertising images.
Of course, one should not expect that in the near future, men will uniformly wear skirts and dresses, or at least feel the courage to do so. Released in the mid-1980s, The Face with a cover styled by Ray Petri, promised a future revolution in men's fashion - its beginnings begin to appear only after more than thirty years. The paradox is that most of us still, having seen some male celebrity in a skirt, consider this to be either an eccentric stage manner or a way to make PR.
Even knowing the whole background of relations between men with skirts, dresses and their analogs, we are still struggling to get rid of the connotations that we unconsciously endow with this or that piece of clothing: women — dresses, men — pants. It is not easy for us to forget the masculine image cultivated for decades by advertising and popular pop culture - we still seem to be tied to how a man should behave and what he should be dressed.
Stereotypes have their own nature: it is important for people to hold on to attitudes, rules, dogmas in order to feel stability (albeit often imaginary). But judge for yourself - did the fact that Vin Diesel came to the EMA ceremony in a leather skirt made him less courageous and attractive? And what did David Bowie take away his love of dresses? In fact, the categorical imposition on men of the idea that they are not supposed to wear skirts is a big soap bubble, which in fact has nothing to do with historical reality.
Just like trousers, a hundred years ago, gradually began to enter the female wardrobe, the appearance of skirts and dresses in men's collections today can be considered a triumph of feminism. Rights and freedoms, for which women continue to fight in the 21st century, lead, as if by chain reaction, to the liberation of all - including in matters of fashion. We are not talking about that cross-dressing should certainly become the norm of life, but the ardent rejection of the new (and in the case of men in skirts, as it turned out, the forgotten old) does not lead to anything except regression.
Photo: Wei Hung Chen, Acne Studios, Staffonly, A.W.A.K.E.
