I was
thrilled when I learnt that Selfridges in Birmingham was opening up a pop-up
department store called "Agender" which featured a collection of
clothes designed with no specific gender being targeted and aiming to help everyone feel free to wear the attire they want with no judgement attached. From the moment we are born, we are already pushed
to conform to social constructs by wearing certain types of clothes according
to our sex. If you simply look at clothing aisles for young girls and boys, the
boys' aisles will be flooded with blue materials plastered with 'manly' slogans
and stereotypical masculine franchises however the girls' will be sickeningly
pink with delicate flowers and the idea of subtlety and grace will be sowed into
the hems of dresses. Even at such a young age kids are placed into moulds-
trying to make their gender identity and appearance mutually exclusive.
Which
is why the 'Agender' clothing has been so well-received. Breaking down these
absurd boundaries is a progressive step for the fashion industry and hopefully
shines a light to a future of less limitations on our clothing. But when I
visited the store earlier this week, there was still room for improvement. Some
people have critiqued the chrome colour scheme that the clothes follow however
I find this understandable as the collection emits a sense of neutrality and
juxtaposes the concept of blue= boy and pink= girls. My main issue
nevertheless, was the fact that most of it still felt stereotypically
masculine. The majority of mannequins I saw had the average male physique and
there were hardly any skirts or dresses- to be honest I wouldn't find it
strange if I saw the collection in a men's department of somewhere like Topman
or Zara.
What
does this mean then? I took it as further evidence of how people find it embarrassing
or devaluing to look "feminine". When
women casually wear baggy male shirts or adopt a subtle 'tom-boy' look,
many say how attractive she looks but if a man is to wear a pink skirt or take
on a more 'girly' style- he is either mocked/harassed or most of us just feel
very uncomfortable. Even though 'Agender' is promoting a positive message and
is trying to push our boundaries in fashion, I hope they go on to recognise how
it is more respected to be 'masculine' than 'feminine' and challenge that idea
so we can destroy even more constrictions we find in our wardrobes.
Fozz.
Recommended links:
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/gender-neutral-clothing-try-out-selfridges-8829333
http://www.brand-e.biz/brande/2015/1/30/innovation/selfridges-launches-ungendered-fashion-retail
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