Interest in gender-fluid fashion is driven by younger generations, particularly Gen Z consumers – about half of Gen Z consumers have purchased fashion outside of their gender identity (source: The Business of Fashion). This shift is pushing the fashion industry to adapt as online searches for ‘genderless’ and ‘gender-neutral’ fashion keep increasing year on year.
When it comes to luxury, designers are embracing a new way of dressing that is not dictated by gender, and marketed to the wider public. Off the catwalks, brands are attempting to merchandise gender-neutral collections effectively and to adapt the sizing system.
'When I design things, gender doesn’t come into it. Where we find difficulties is fit,’ says London-based designer Daniel W Fletcher, whose last show featured looks including a mix of tailoring, corsets and dresses worn by models of various gender identities.
Edgy fashion line GCDS is also tackling the sizing issue, with the launch of unisex high heels in EU sizes 36 to 46. The extended size range makes the footwear accessible to various consumers with larger foot sizes, from trans women to artists, drag performers, non-binary individuals and men.
Celebrities are also playing a part in subverting gender norms. The new icons bending conventions include musicians Troye Sivan and Bad Bunny, and Australian actor Jacob Elordi.
Continue the conversation: Have you noticed your clients becoming more playful with how they mix and match feminine and masculine elements in their own style? Would they be open to shop from the opposite gender’s line now that fashion is becoming more fluid?
Images: Bad Bunny wearing Jacquemus
Image: J Balvin and wife Valentina Ferrer wearing Lock bracelet in the Tiffany & Co Ad Campaign
While historically people from all genders have worn jewellery, genderless lines used to be associated with stripped-back, basic and very neutral designs.
Neutral hero pieces such as Boucheron’s Quatre ring, Cartier’s Love bracelet, Bulgari’s B.zero1 or the Gem Dior bracelet are sold to all genders. Tiffany & Co has also just launched a new campaign for its Lock bracelet, hailed as a ‘genderless icon’. The tagline for the range is ‘No rules. All welcome’, as portrayed by singer J Balvin and wife in the Lock with Love campaign.
But high jewellery brands are launching products with character that don’t draw gendered distinctions between product lines.
Launched in 2022, the De Beers RVL collection invites everyone to celebrate who they are and to reveal their individuality through styling and stacking the pieces as they wish. The campaign features rings unconventionally paired and stacked, and a necklace worn on the wrist.
Another brand leading change in this area is Boucheron. The Maison’s Haute Joaillerie presentations include both men and women modelling the same collection.
Likewise, some high jewellery pieces were shown as part of Dior Men’s spring/summer 2024 collection.
Continue the conversation: Genderless jewellery lines mean fewer clients are left coveting pieces meant for the opposite sex and not available in their size. Have your clients ever accidentally or intentionally been in that situation? items?
A few months ago, Chanel named Timothée Chalamet as the new face of its best-selling men’s fragrance Bleu. At the 2022 Venice Film Festival, the actor turned heads with a backless red halter top by Haider Ackermann. In picking Chalamet to advertise an iconic men’s fragrance, Chanel underlines an ongoing shift away from traditional notions of masculinity across the beauty industry.
Besides ideals of beauty, gender-neutral grooming and make-up brands such as Horace and aptly named Fluide are gaining traction, while more famous men, including Jared Leto and Harry Styles – also known for gender-fluid dressing – are bringing their own beauty offerings to the market.
Continue the conversation: Ask your clients whether they own hand-me-down or old Dior pieces they cherish and consider as trusted adventure companions despite visible damage and wear
Images: Timothée Chalamet in the Bleu de Chanel campaign (left) and wearing Haider Ackermann (right)
