“BLURRED LINES: Gender fluidity in fashion industry”
Gender-free catwalks with models covered in gender-concealing masks, fleet of male models grace the catwalk in grey pleated skirts and finally released Agender space in Selfridges London, a gender-free department with many unisex labels.My project is consisting of four parts, which are separated with different colours to make an accent on incompatible elements. Each colour is related to each interviewee and used in order to highlight the mismatch of internal (emotions) and external (appearance) qualities of each person. I have interviewed three LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) models and one fashion producer who have been implementing the neutralisation of their wardrobes during their whole lives.
Neutral blue- Unknowingness. Images from Alexandra Moura catwalk on London Fashion Week. I have used magic eraser tool to cover public personal belongings and facial expressions, thereby making accent on the loss of identity of the walking models and uncertainty about future of the fashion. Glitter- Revealing. Portraits of Nate Acebal, male gay fashion producer born in Madrid. Glitter as his favourite colour showing his inner sentimentality. Green- Domination. Portraits of Alexander D’Lorenzo, male gay model whose feminine outfits conceal his brutal personality. White- Neutrality. Portraits of Becky K, who will stay anonymous because of the loss of her identity. Becky is on the way to define how she wants to present herself through the wardrobe. The analysis of the interviews helped me to discover the internal emotional aspects of interviewees’ lives and their opinion concerning gender fluidity in fashion. They are unsure of their sexuality and therefore they wear unisex clothes mixing it woman's and man's styles.
Fashion was always a trend. It is also meaning “what’s new?”. I can clearly recognise that in past five years this industry has changed a lot. We could see the difference between genders on the catwalks in the past. Nowadays, “all lines are getting blurred” and we cannot see clear gender difference in the world of fashion. Stereotypes like “girls wear pink; boys wear blue; women wear dresses; men wear pants” are fading out with every year and no one can really guess how the fashion in future will look like.Looking through the most iconic fashion magazines or catwalks, it is noticeable that various high-end designers capitalising gender blur in their collections, which narrowing down the sexual divide eroding the once rigid demarcation between conventionally feminine and, masculine clothes.
This kind of clothing expresses inner misbalance of person’s sexuality. My interviewees are all involved in fashion industry and business what makes their opinions valuable for my main project aim. My project is aimed to find real life examples of gender fluidity in fashion as well as gather and analyse opinions from relevant people.
After spending hours with my participators, I totally agreed with their points of view. Gender fluidity became very popular and it is huge step in terms of fashion industry development. We can see the widening acceptance of a style with no boundaries, one that reflects the way young people dress. Many celebrities are wearing gender-free clothes not because it is their style, but to support designers and movement, which became popular in past couple of years. It can be confused with a fake gender identity. Society is ready for changes and genderless clothes became a trend. Now that trend has a label and it has gained acceptance by a mass audience.
“London Fashion Week 2018. Male model walking down the podium in a coat designed by Alexandra Moura from AW18 fall”
By removing all colours from public personal belongings and their face expressions I am making an accent on models identity. Male model with long curly hair and casual coat looked much more feminine before editing the image with magic eraser tool.
By applying this effect, I am covering the fashion gender divide concept that erodes the once rigid demarcation between conventionally feminine and, masculine clothes. “In terms of fashion I guess gender fluidity is very popular right now and you can confuse it with a fake gender identity, because everyone is using that term so much right now that it is losing its meaning. In my personal opinion, for those who are really queer it is something important because it is part of them. It’s also fashion but their fashion. Not the same fashion as in industry”
“Nate Acebal, BA Fashion Design student form University of the Arts London posing during the interview”
“I had huge changes in my wardrobe, but at the same time, you can see a process if you look at my wardrobe in a timeline.” One year Nate can be very hippy and the next one completely gothic.
Nate states: “It’s very weird. Suddenly I wake up and I hate all my clothes and I need new ones. If I shop, I shop my whole wardrobe basically (laughter).”
Until fourteen years old, Nate had very boring and preppy outfits, because his mom wanted him to be like that. She was the one buying clothes for him.
“I was way more feminine back in the days. I am wearing girl’s skirts and fishnets now as well, but it’s more brutal”.
“Mannequin in leather mask holding minimalistic phone tripod and Selfridges shopping bag in Nate’s living room.”
Nate shops mostly in vintage stores.
“If I could, I would obviously shop in Selfridges. Everyone likes high fashion”. He doesn’t like mass production stores. Nate prefers to customize pieces on the mannequin he bought online to make them look completely different with cutting, adding fabric and extra pieces.
“I am always interested in separate items which are coming from my personal style. I’m quite dark clap kit goth” he states. “I know a lot of subcultures and designers who are making clothes individually for special communities. For me, fashion is something that moves you and develops your style. This is our reflection of how people want to see us. It is like defining yourself.”
“Nate is applying his favourite red eyeshadow by his vintage make up table”
On the question what is the most feminine item in his wardrobe Nate asked me for a minute to have a think.
“It’s very hard to use masculine and feminine terms, because for me it is social expression. Since you have born you see the image of a woman with skirt. You could never see a man or lesbian woman wearing same item, because society imposed that “girls” need to wear skirts and boys should be in the trousers. That’s why one item can look more feminine or masculine than another”. He found that most feminine elements in his wardrobe is his everyday make-up and fishnet tights.
“Making brutal pose right after his cigarette break on the staircase in front of his warehouse flat”
When I asked Nate about his favourite colour and he came back to me with ‘glitter’. I could not be not surprised. Same happened with his self-evaluation. His rated himself with minus one and laughed: “I don’t know. I’m so tragic about everything. I am very self-destructing. I accept myself but at the same time I am challenging myself. “
On the photos on social media he looks always brutal and rebellious. Glitter colour is the only fragile point where I could see his feminine sides of identity. “I like when people like what I am wearing. I combine aim for attention with my mood. I can have mood swings every day. I am changing my outfits but not the way I am dressing. It is the state of mind” he explains.
REBECCA
“Photograph of naked fashion model Becky found on Purple Port website”
This photograph was found on the website which Becky sent to me during our conversation.
Photographers name remains unknown. She is mainly posing on camera being nude and she is totally comfortable with her body despite the fact that she is not recognising herself as a woman.
I have used white colour as a symbol of blankness and neutrality. I made an accent on hands to highlight only the masculine part of her body. I decided to leave her identity anonymous. Becky says: “I am all in favour of gender fluid fashion! As I find my gender very confusing, I guess you could say I’m gender fluid in general. It removes a barrier that clothing or the judgement associated with a woman wearing man’s clothes can create.”
“Becky K. email about her feelings and confusion of her gender identification”
I have received this honest email just couple of hours after uploading my post on the social media about searching for LGBT models. That brave movement evoked my interest to explore her situation. Concerning gender fluidity in fashion Becky states that this is definitely era of enlightenment. People are destroying needless barriers they themselves and society.
“Rebecca posing nude on her armchairs”
“In the last 5 years my wardrobe has alternated male to female, but it has definitely gone from dark to brighter colours. I guess the reason is that my attitude has changed towards gender related issues and it helped me accept myself as a male person in a woman’s body. I feel more comfortable being a man now, or to put it another way, just being myself whatever gender that maybe be”. Becky rates herself 7 out of 10. She would like to change couple things in her body to make it more masculine, but making these changes she would not fit into the "normal" definition of a model. She refuses to take any changes at the moment.
“Clothes rail with gender neutralised pieces”
“I tend to dress depending on my mood. The day I feel more confident I wear less clothes, when I feel shyer I wear baggy men’s clothes and tend to dress to make myself look younger. I’m less attractive this and hopefully no one will look at me.” States Becky. She has a big mixture of different clothes in different sizes and styles. “The thing I wear the most is a black vest; it shows off my arm muscles and my small waist. I just realised how contradictory that is!”
ALEXANDER
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“Alexander D’ Lorenzo. Caribbean Fashion model and singer posing in women’s silky tracksuit “
Alex is a bouquet of everything. As a creative person, he has many sides. He is a make-up artist, singer and freelance photographer. His main job is modelling.
“My relationship with fashion started when I was a young child. My mother worked in a French boutique and I remember going there to try on all the skirts and dresses. Fashion is my key to express my deep feelings” says Alex, who was just confirmed on publication in Vogue Italia.
“Applying golden make-up tape on Alexander’s eyes before photo session for fashion magazine “
Alex is crazy about his make-up. Thick eyebrows, big eyes and plump lips are making his face an amazing platform to experiment with any kind of make-up.
“I am obsessed with extreme looks. I am up for everything you can imagine me in. Purple eyeshadows, bright red lipsticks or women’s dresses. I love to be different every time I am going for a photoshoot.”
Looking through his portfolio it is hard to recognise him as the same person.
“Alex’s brutal look in his favourite Marilyn Manson t-shirt and latex trousers”
Alexander is shopping mainly in vintage stores. He does not like to think forward about the whole outfit. He is just mixing his clothes. “I love the fact that gender fluidity is happening now in fashion industry. I hate when shops are separating every section. This is very boring. I want to believe that the population is changing every day.” He claims.