How fashion canceled the concept of gender and age
In the XVIII century, men They wore fluffy, curly wigs, in the 19th century, the handsome Brummel was adorned in tight-fitting breeches, and in the 70s of the 20th century, after Ziggy Stardust, the guys tried on knit tights in glitter, flared pants and boots on high platforms. Girls in the 20s-30s wore wide trousers, androgynous accessories and haircuts "like a boy", in the 60s they got into tuxedos, in the 70s they tied ties in the manner of Diane Keaton from the movie "Annie Hall", and in the 80's After Madonna, they stopped shaving their armpits, put on a basketball net over Crop-tops and heavy sneakers. Compliance with the appearance of sex and age for the time being was a social norm. However, together with the erosion and change of public roles, fashion has also lost its definition.
Of all the epochs, the 70s (the return of the fashion we see today) was a turning point in the history of androgyny. In 1975, David Bowie, dressed in a luxurious tuxedo and flared trousers, handed a Grammy to soul singer Arete Franklin and addressed the public: "Lady, gentlemen and ... others." So the icon of style and the main androgyne of the 70s described a new era in three words. Theatricality and artificiality of glam-rock allowed people to choose any roles and became a harbinger of the free thinking of modern fashion. Gucci creative director Frida Giannini regarded the era of David Bowie, Mark Bolan and Brian Eno as a significant contribution to the androgyny of not men, but women. "The hermaphroditism of Bowie helped women express their masculine essence more clearly," said Giannini. By the 90s, androgyny in fashion turned into a wave of minimalism and unisex in the Helmut Lang and Jil Sander collections.
A year ago, Bowie released a video for the song "The Stars", in which the musician is haunted by his androgynous past in the face of the main androgynes of modern times: Tilda Swinton, Andrei Pezic and Saskia de Brau. Looks like Bowie is again quicker than others about the spirit of the times. What we see in the collections of the current season, returns and touches the topic of gender. In the women's autumn-winter - wide leather pants, aviator jackets with huge rough pockets, men's shoes, massive shoes, and in the men's spring-summer collections of the next year - entirely skirts, dresses and crop tops. For example, the autumn issue of iD is dedicated to the topic of Girls + Boys Issue, The Guardian raises the theme of "gender neutral fashion" suggesting a loss of gender identity, and today the main style icon is considered an adult and advanced Tilda Swinton, which looks equally harmonious in eccentric tuxedos and minimalist dresses in floor.
The issue of blurring gender boundaries cannot be addressed without an understanding of the changes in the nature of modern society, for which the fashion industry works. We have already written that infantilism is spreading around the world with the rate of growth of the dollar, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. This year, the American trend bureau K-Hole (the one that first identified the normcore as the trend of the year) published a report that talks about the death of age in modern society. Socium is no longer divided into age groups. But K-Hole singles out in it a group of people "without age" - the so-called youth mode. The report reads: "Youth is not an age or a stage of life. Youth is a manner, mode of action and thinking."
Simply put, youth is the solution. Same as Kevin Spacey's decision in American Beauty to be young. Youth does not mean to look ridiculous, idiotic or stuck in the first version of yourself. Youth is the ability to be absorbed in everything new. Youth liberates, saves from boredom, frees from social attitudes, norms and traditions. Youth means your right to choose: how to behave, how to learn and understand things around you, readiness to restructure, adapt. Trite - who to be, how to choose a person, career, age and ... gender. Gender affiliation becomes the same inner decision of will as your age. The loss of gender identity is the result of the freedom of youth mode generation.
Androgyny helps modern fashion to form a neutral territory, democratic and one for all, and to offer a cool design based on it. Hood By Air, Kokon To Zai, Nasir Mazhar, Wali Mohammed Barrech, Trapstar, Bazar-14, Agi & Sam, Christopher Shannon view fashion as one of the links in the interests of young people along with music and art. Clothing becomes an identifying mark at the “friend-foe” level, and brands create new subcultures that have always been a powerful engine of fashion. Fans of these brands do not care about gender or age. They are driven by the desire to experiment, to criticize the past, to rebel against the system and to gather in the community. This is the behavior of youth mode.
The founder of Hood By Air, Shane Oliver, sees gender as homogeneity, not division. In his shows, it is absolutely impossible to understand, boys or girls are pacing on the catwalk in bulky sneakers and jeans on the hips. For Oliver, the shape of your looks is more important than the hips. Therefore, transgender and androgynous models run on the catwalk show, who, together with the designer, advocate for a variety of beauty. Eddie Slimane, the creative director of the Saint Laurent house, who publishes androgynous at each of his shows, follows a similar path. The criticism of Kathy Horin, however, recognized the genius and success of Sliman, having specially returned to the The New York Times pages with a column on this topic.
Can a sexless fashion be profitable? Selfridges plans for next year to increase the amount of unisex items. As the male department buyer Eleanor Robinson notes: “Women are increasingly buying their own things in the men's department. They are looking for real men's things: boyfriend-jeans, men's sweaters, T-shirts or shirts — and not variations on the men's theme from women's collections. On the other hand , there are male customers who buy women's clothes and accessories. " Obviously, brands and shops take into account the interests of all and come closer to the LGBT community. Bindle & Keep's New York store offers tailor-made suits not only for men, but also for women. Previously, bespoke tailoring was a privilege for men. Now everyone is equal.
In their report, K-Hole also writes that style is a repetition of things that a person wore the last time with the intention to have sex. Apparently, we absolutely do not care what we are wearing - is this a sign of freedom and our independence? Of course. Those who are concerned about where the obvious sex has gone, will assure you - he is returning here and now. In the new women's collections of 2015 - completely striptease platforms, mini-skirts, mini-dresses, obtyag trousers, microtopes, bare stomachs and breasts, transparent things and obvious emancipation. If you are a part of youth mode - you decide: walk with bare breasts, "under the boy" or combine it all. Do not go to extremes. Suppose we are all different, but we have something in common - and this is normal. The main thing is to decide to be young.
