New times, new aesthetics, as today, unisex beauty is sprouting new shoots, the most embodied this aesthetic is the trend of genderless clothing. For young people, whether it is men's or women's clothing, no longer seems so important, what is important is the expression of personality. Because of this, more and more brands are playing with genderlessness. So, what are the brands of genderless clothing? Let's take a look together.
In October 2018, the genderless clothing brand Bosie announced that it had completed a Pre-A round of financing of nearly 10 million yuan, becoming another dark horse in the clothing industry.
If we personify the brand Bosie, it is "a genderless alien with flowers in its ears".
Why do you say so? Actually, the phrase comes from Bosie's Spring/Summer 2018 campaign: In the middle of a forest, genderless aliens with flowers in their ears are dancing freely. An image that crosses gender and race, declaring its 'genderlessness' concept to people.
Bosie, as a brand just recently established at the beginning of 2018, reaped nearly 1 million yuan in brand turnover in just one month of its presence in Tmall. And then, it grew at a steady rate of 50% per month. By November 2018, sales reached $9.7 million.
Both in terms of financing and sales, the outstanding results Bosie has gained illustrate the huge demand for genderless apparel.
01 Learn about genderless apparel
So, what is genderless fashion?
First, let's understand the concept of genderless.
The essential difference between men and women lies in the biological level of "sex". Gender, on the other hand, is a characteristic between men and women. Genderless (unisex), in fact, is the blurring away of the boundaries of gender, and the two sexes can penetrate and participate in each other. As time goes by, the term genderless is more often applied to clothing styles.
Gender-neutral clothing refers to the incorporation of gender-neutral concepts in clothing design. As the name implies, the essence is to break the boundaries of gender. Men wear women's clothes, women wear men's clothes, or perhaps this clothing can be worn by both men and women. As an example, oversize, boyfriend style ... a variety of women's masculine clothing style, in fact, is one of the expressions of genderless clothing.
02 genderless clothing has become a trend
The emergence of genderless is no accident.
Research shows that the male body will secrete estrogen, women will also secrete androgen. Western psychologist Jung pointed out that if the personality to achieve balance and harmony, then the male female personality, and female androgynous personality, should be expressed in the consciousness and behavior.
In this way, unisex beauty, genderless, these novel concepts and phenomena, has been interpreted.
On the other hand, the popularity of genderless clothing is also due to the idol aesthetic of the entertainment era. The flow of young students on the scene, no longer rely on acting, singing, but delicate eye shadow, white foundation, in the twisted flirty dance, the most attention, perhaps the body of shiny clothes, looks like men's clothing, and like women's clothing, but it is precisely this dress, appear to have personality. Of course, in reality, genderless clothing will not be so fancy, only its popularity, to some extent, by the influence of idol aesthetics.
But for women, it's not the same thing.
Women will take genderless clothing, as a symbol, a sign of androgyny, visually sends a signal - she has androgynous desires, independence, equality. At least in her world, there lived only a towering Wu Zetian, not a softer and smaller Xi Shi.
The formation of this idea has also undergone an evolution of almost a century -
In the 1920s, the founder of Chanel - Brière Chanel - was the first to blur the gender of men and women, calling for the emancipation of women through clothing.
The unisex was first introduced in 1960. This was followed by the popularity of denim and workwear, which further narrowed the differences between the male and female genders.
In 2014, the Normcore fashion trend emerged and people's aesthetics began to shift to a minimalist style, but behind its aesthetic shift, it still revolves around 'genderlessness'.
As people's attitudes towards gender shifted, major retailers began to launch their own genderless lines of clothing.
In 2016, zara was the first to add genderless as a section on its official website, including T-shirts and denim.
In February 2018, ASOS and American hipster brand VFILES collaborated to launch a genderless collection, including T-shirts, hoodies, rugby shirts, track and field pants, headwear and more.
In 2018, John Lewis announced the removal of the boys and girls label and the adoption of a genderless label.
In January 2019, H&M also set its eyes on the 'cake' of genderless apparel, collaborating with Swedish street brand Eytys to launch a genderless unisex collection.
The actions of all the clothing majors show that genderless clothing has become a trend in fashion.
03 New brands are also playing fast and loose
In addition to some big players turning to the genderless field, there are also some new genderless clothing brands that have been established not long ago and are growing at a faster pace than we can imagine. But will genderlessness be the end of the trendy culture? The answer is naturally no. The main audience of trendy culture is the young group, and the change of the young group's aesthetics and thinking affects the development direction of trendy culture. In this regard, trendy culture will not remain unchanged, so genderlessness will not always dominate the mainstream trend. However, in recent years, genderless clothing will still be the heart of young people.