A SEXLESS SOCIETY IS HERE

A SEXLESS SOCIETY IS HERE

Fashion rides the gender blending trend  

by Maria Raposo

Boys will be girls, and girls will be boys. No longer defined by masculine blues and feminine pinks, the gender spectrum is being re-designed by the millennials. Known as Generation Z, they are paving the way  towards a more blended concept of gender: caring less about the traditions that formerly defined sexual identity, today’s youth are circumventing the out-dated binary gender system and are creating a new unisex establishment.

Androgy_sexless society_kidsofdda

Evolving from the early glory days of the 70’s and 80’s; the unisex trend rode on the back of the cultural androgyny revolution. Think Boy George with his geisha beauty, and David Bowie with his lithe hips and hyper sexual make-up lighting up the trans world-stage. It was during this period that fashion began to embrace this slick new look, designers like Rei Kawakubo of Comme de Garcons, began early prototypes of genderless fashion. Her first woman’s wear collection was designed with the message “dress like a boy”.

Bowie_androgynous_sexless_kidsofdada

And yet, the gender blending of today is by no means yesterday’s news. ‘Unisex’ has transcended the androgynous concept of the “boyfriend jean”, and instead now has blossomed into sexual ambivalence; the revolution we experience today is built from the ruins of gender identity. The whole perception of sexual orientation is being challenged by the millennials, not only are gender roles switching, but the world is coming to terms with what “Genderqueer” actually means. The Protein ‘Gender report’, states that 79% of millennials have woken up to this new world order, agreeing that gender roles and identity have indefinitely blurred.

Unisex was the dress de jour during fashion week. Take gender-neutral street wear brand ‘Hood by Air’ or label ‘Baja East’, who deconstructed traditional silhouettes and played with gender conventions of style and design in their recent collections. Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s new creative director, even sent his male models out in chiffon and lace. As fashion superpower Vogue UK, put it “Fashion is moving beyond the straightforward notion of borrowing from the boys towards a freewheeling, fabulously grey area where clothes are now gender-neutral.”

Androgy_sexless_600a_kidsofdada 

The runway has had a knock-on effect on retail, which is also tapping into this cultural trend. Selfridges is launching “Agender’ a unisex store, which intends to “sweep aside the boundaries of gender in retail.” A project that was initiated when it was noticed that shoppers kept wandering off into each other’s assigned gender aisles. Ed Burstell, the managing director of Liberty of London stated, “Stores are discussing all the time how they can figure out a gender common denominator for their fashion assortments,”

Much of advertising has abandoned the sexist cliches it relied on for so long. Busty babes in sleazy commercials selling everything from Sofaworld’s unsellable leather settees to double window glazing have vanished off our TV’s.  Even American Apparel, has rid itself of sex letch Dov Charney and his perverse legacy of teenage porn stars in high-school socks, instead opting for Buttercup, the 23-year old sloth who is the new face of the clothing label.

androgy_sexlesssociety_kidsofdada

Gender fluid branding is steadily becoming more obvious, just flip through the pages of leading fashion magazines and you’ll find transgender models are the stars of ICEBERG’s latest campaign. Last November, Brazilian model and muse Lea T, fronted Riccardo Tisci’s AW10 campaign for Givenchy. And noted androgynous male model Andrej Pejic has recently made the transition into a woman. This will make her the second transgender model to land a major beauty campaign in the past six months.

As we move in a new direction, is the gender shift acting as a cultural mirror, reflecting societies distaste for stereotypes? Look at Bruce Jenner for example, who recently come out as a woman, the fact he has had no death threats – is a positive outlook for the future of trans men and woman. The realisation has finally dawned on 21st century that your sex is something you’re born with and that your gender is a prescribed condition implicated by society. In the future, just as you change your outfit, you will be able to change your gender to express your true identity as you wish.

Androgy_sexless3_kidsofdada

Leave a comment

Please note: comments must be approved before they are published.

MEET THE ARTISTS CHINA CAN'T KEEP CONTAINED

Artists Sun Yuan & Peng Yu display dead babies & live animals at Guggenheim Museum Exhibition

Peter Yeung

Read more »
Share »

JOSEPH BEUYS: I LIKE AMERICA AND AMERICA LIKES ME

What we can learn from artist about race relations and how to heal a nation    

Peter Yeung

Read more »
Share »

A SEXLESS SOCIETY IS HERE

Fashion rides the gender blending trend  

Maria Raposo

Read more »
Share »

NAN GOLDIN: THE BALLAD OF SEXUAL DEPENDENCY

The artist captures the essence of humanity and life on the edge

Ellie Howard

Read more »
Share »

THE HEDI SLIMANE EFFECT ON YVES SAINT LAURENT

How the designer remade the house of Yves Saint Laurent

Maria Raposo

Read more »
Share »

SYNCHRODOGS: “I must be dreaming”

We speak to the photography duo about synchronicity & the power of dreams

Ellie Howard

Read more »
Share »

THE COLLAGE RENAISSANCE

Contemporary collage is the new Pop Art collectors are buying into

Harriet Baker

Read more »
Share »

DAVID BOWIE PUSHED THE LIMITS OF MUSIC, ART & FASHION

Bowie was an artist and an explorer that embodied true individuality that our generation craves

Fiona Ma

Read more »
Share »

MEET THE ARTISTS CHINA CAN'T KEEP CONTAINED

Artists Sun Yuan & Peng Yu display dead babies & live animals at Guggenheim Museum Exhibition

Peter Yeung

Read more »
Share »

JOSEPH BEUYS: I LIKE AMERICA AND AMERICA LIKES ME

What we can learn from artist about race relations and how to heal a nation    

Peter Yeung

Read more »
Share »

A SEXLESS SOCIETY IS HERE

Fashion rides the gender blending trend  

Maria Raposo

Read more »
Share »

NAN GOLDIN: THE BALLAD OF SEXUAL DEPENDENCY

The artist captures the essence of humanity and life on the edge

Ellie Howard

Read more »
Share »

THE HEDI SLIMANE EFFECT ON YVES SAINT LAURENT

How the designer remade the house of Yves Saint Laurent

Maria Raposo

Read more »
Share »

SYNCHRODOGS: “I must be dreaming”

We speak to the photography duo about synchronicity & the power of dreams

Ellie Howard

Read more »
Share »

THE COLLAGE RENAISSANCE

Contemporary collage is the new Pop Art collectors are buying into

Harriet Baker

Read more »
Share »

DAVID BOWIE PUSHED THE LIMITS OF MUSIC, ART & FASHION

Bowie was an artist and an explorer that embodied true individuality that our generation craves

Fiona Ma

Read more »
Share »

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY GETS HYPER-REAL

From Erwin Blumenfeld to Nick Knight, fashion constructs fantastical images

Greg French

Read more »
Share »

THE EVOCATIVE IMAGES OF STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

Eminent street photographers find beauty in the ordinary

Leah Sinclair

Read more »
Share »

THE ZINE SCENE IS BACK

Self-Publishing is Having a Moment and It’s Redefining Youth and Self Expression

Leah Sinclair

Read more »
Share »

PLASTIC PURGERY – BARBIE IN BONDAGE BREAKS THE INTERNET

Photographer Mariel Clayton Reinvents the Stereotype of the Female Form

Fiona Ma

Read more »
Share »

LOUIS VUITTON - SERIES 3 EXHIBITION

Nicolas Ghesquière: less mask, more man

Maria Raposo

Read more »
Share »

REGENERATION OR GENTRIFICATION?

The changing face of London’s artistic communities

Peter Yeung

Read more »
Share »

INSIDE THE CHELSEA HOTEL

The legendary New York hangout of rockstars and Hollywood royalty

Ellie Howard

Read more »
Share »

IN CONVERSATION WITH OLAF BREUNING

The artist talks about the endless interpretations of his work and life

Ellie Howard

Read more »
Share »

REVEALED: KURT COBAIN'S ORIGINAL ARTWORK

A dark look into the mind of Nirvana’s tortured frontman

Daryl Mersom

Read more »
Share »

ABOUT A GIRL: TEENAGERS IN POP CULTURE

Exploring media fantasies from saints to bad-ass sinners of female youth

Leah Sinclair

Read more »
Share »

ART GONE VIRAL

Performance art videos are paving the way for activism through social media

Leah Sinclair

Read more »
Share »

IN CONVERSATION WITH ARTIST TOM LEAMON

The ritual experiments of painting and poetry

Ellie Howard

Read more »
Share »

COLLAGE ARTIST HOLLY-ANNE BUCK/COLLAGISM

We talk to the artist about playing with abstraction & reconstructing reality

Ellie Howard

Read more »
Share »

FROM UNISEX TO ANTI-FASHION

Meet Rudi Gernreich, the first gender blender fashion activist

Alessandro Esculapio

Read more »
Share »

THE REVIVAL OF WARP N’ WEFT

From artisan to art; the lost craft of tapestry is making a comeback

KOD Staff

Read more »
Share »

THE ALCHEMY OF COLLAGE: ARTISTS IRINA & SILVIU SZEKELY

Art is not art if it doesn’t generate misrepresentation, confusion, anger or sarcasm

Ellie Howard

Read more »
Share »

THE CREATIVE CLASS: MAKING IT THEIR WAY

Photographer Francesca Allen captures the talented, genuine and real

Maria Raposo

Read more »
Share »

'80S ICON KEITH HARING’S POP SHOP

The Art and Commerce of Giving Back

Alessandro Esculapio

Read more »
Share »

THE DEATH OF BRONSON

The art and literature of "Charles Bronson"; Britain's most notorious prisoner

KOD Staff

Read more »
Share »

THE PSYCHEDELIC LOVE-IN OF THE FABULOUS COCKETTES

San Francisco’s original underground glitter troupe

KOD Staff

Read more »
Share »

THE MODERN DAY DANDY CULT

Old fashioned values and classic sartorial style returns to mens fashion

Ellie Howard

Read more »
Share »
Top