Editor’s Note: This is a guest commentary. The opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board.
Lately, I’ve seen the rise of men wearing women’s clothing in many TikTok and Instagram videos captioned, “Why you have to start cross-dressing.” My first thought when I saw these videos was that I agree; people shouldn’t look at what gender the clothing is made for and if you like it, you should just wear it. After all, what you wear is a form of self-expression. People — including myself — play into society’s construct of how people should dress based on their gender, but hopefully, in the near future, this won’t be the case.
The U.S. pushed gender norms and built them into our laws, policies and practices in the 1800s by creating and enforcing laws forcing people to dress according to their gender. These laws stayed in effect in major cities like San Francisco until 1974. In the grand scheme of things, this is insane considering this was only 49 years ago. The gendering of clothing, much like gender itself, is a social construct. We put on a performance of the way we think society wants us to act.
These recently nullified laws have played such a major factor in the way that we dress and this is why genderless fashion is just now making headway. New clothing is always coming out; however, it’s based on what people think is going to come into the trend cycle. I want to see genderless clothing stay in the trend cycle. Not only will it change the way people dress, but it will also help break gender norms along the way.
When young women wear men’s clothing, they are called “tomboys,” but when men wear women’s clothing, they are most likely going to be called derogatory terms by people who aren’t comfortable in their own sexuality or “stuck in their ways.” On that note, calling a girl a tomboy reinforces the idea that the way they express themselves is boyish and outside of societal norms.
It all relates back to my earlier point that gender norms have been ingrained into our lives through policy-making and cultural expectations. Gen Z is one of the first generations to break out of these norms and advance in the ways we dress.
This is not to say that people haven’t been pushing gender boundaries when it comes to the way they dress. Of course, there were people like David Bowie, Prince and many others who were ahead of their time. However, the people I just named are icons and started a trend that was out of the mainstream light for years until now. Like most trends, they have their moment, die and then sometimes come back. Genderless clothing has done this cycle, except now, I believe it’s here to stay.
Some companies are branching out of gender-constricted clothing and are making gender-neutral clothing. I think there’s a trickle-down effect from the runway to the streets. A prime example that comes to mind is the Rick Owens Kiss Boots. Rick Owens is known as the “godfather of goth glam,” making avant-garde clothing in mostly black. He debuted the boots in the fall/winter 2019 collection. They are his edition of a classic stiletto heel labeled “kiss boots,” made to look like the heels members of the classic rock band Kiss used to wear. Of course, in Rick Owens’ signature style, the boots debuted in black with an extremely chunky platform sole at the ball of the shoe. People gawked at his genderless fashion statement due to the fact the boot’s heel size is 4.5 inches tall and the shoe was only being made in men’s sizing. Many on Twitter were unsure of the boot’s debut. One person even made a 20-minute YouTube video of him purchasing the boots and talked about how it took him a week to feel comfortable not just walking in the boots but also building enough confidence to wear them outside.
I think to most this seems like a splash in the water to genderless clothing; however, when a designer like Rick Owens does something, others will follow. It forces other designers and people to see genderless clothing and the traction it gets. It inspires the next generation. Other designers are seeing that they have to find the next thing in genderless clothing because of how much attention the Rick Owens Kiss boots got or they’re going to be left behind.
For example, Martine Rose recently collaborated with Nike and came out with a mule that had a slight heel. I’d like to think she drew some inspiration from Rick Owens. It’s a step in the right direction for society and hopefully, in the near future, we will stop having gendered clothing.
Rowan Vergopia (he/him) is a junior advertising, public relations, and marketing communications major. Contact him at [email protected].
