'Hey Girl, Hey Boy'

Hey Girl, Hey Boy.

Autumn/Winter 2016 Issue 1

The Gender Issue Written by Erin Bush-O’Brien

(Moodboard, Own Sources)

Editor’s Note Editor in Chief, ERIN BUSH-O’BRIEN

Gender. A word traditionally used to differentiate a male from a female. As human beings, we enter the world with an assigned gender in which we feel almost obliged to live up to. This is reflected in the words we speak, the choices we make and the clothes we wear. This essay will aim to outline and discuss how gender is represented in current fashion trends and how gender ‘norms’ are used within the retail environment whilst challenging why we, as the consumer, feel pressured to shop in specific departments of retail stores depending on our gender.

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Brown Redefined: The Colour Report

(Image taken at The Infinite Mix Exhibition, 180 Strand. Own Sources) 2

On the 25th October 2016, I was fortu-

nate enough to be invited by Peclers Paris to attend a viewing at Holbrook Studios.

Peclers Paris are one of the UK’s leading trend forecasting companies who provide inspirational colour and fabric books for both high end and high street brands as well as a bespoke consultancy service. For instance, high profile fashion retailer Zara purchase said books in order to provide their customer with the latest trends quicker than their competitors. Moreover, as Peclers Paris caters for the high end market, companies such as Zara are inclusive in the trends forecasted to the designer labels making them instantly more commercial and profitable. My aim for this viewing was to identify which colours would be appearing in the next few years and understand how these colours would affect both men and women’s fashion trends.

After viewing the colour books for A/ W18 there was a definite theme which stood out with the representation of colour for these colder seasons. Moodboards entitled ‘Everyday Riches’ and ‘Brown Re-loaded’ suggested a focus on the colour brown. It begs the questions of “Is the colour brown merely an overlooked colour on the wheel and it’s due a comeback?” or “Is there a significant reason why in this day and age there is a new focus on the colour brown?” After viewing the moodboards myself, I predict that the colour brown will be in the forefront of numerous colour palettes for A/W18 due to the rise of gender neutral clothing.

Brown as a staple colour, is never questioned depending on gender. Think about it, when was the last time you heard someone say, “But you’re a girl, you can’t wear brown!”? This makes it an exciting colour to develop for AW18 as it is inclusive for both men and women.

(Images, Own Sources.)

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The Textile Report : Unisex Denim A/W 17/18

Looking at future trends in terms of

textiles, I wanted to find trends which cater for both the male and female markets. In recent years, designers such as Vetements and Off-White have been in the forefront of the denim trends with both design houses collaborating with the infamous denim label, Levi Strauss.

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Denim has always been a textile which is undoubtedly classified as unisex. After looking at textile reports from WGSN and Denim Premiére Vision, it is clear that there are emerging trends for A/W 17/18 which will be used equally in both men and women’s fashion.

For example, customisation and distressing of denim is updated from the 2016 denim trends and the focus is on seam detailing with fraying

with vintage inspired washes.

A trend for denim which will play a massive role in the next few years is the menswear denim kimono.

The kimono was in every womenswear store possible over the summer of 2014 but now it has been translated to menswear. It’s refreshing to see a more feminine silhouette used in menswear and it’s a garment women can wear too. Perhaps the birth of a new ‘boyfriend’ jacket?

Moreover, Zara Man have designed a denim kimono meaning that when this trend hits the high street, other retailers will follow suit. This could potentially be a key item for menswear for A/W 17/18. Other influences would come from the street style and the bubble up effect. Looking at Asia Fashion Week, denim was worn as a statement by both men and women but overall their looks were very androgynous.

ASIA FASHION WEEK: STREET STYLE DENIM LOOKS S/S 17

SHANGHAI (All Images, WGSN)

SEOUL

SHANGHAI 5

Product Direction: “Agender”

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Retail departments and layouts

have a massive role in how a customer shops. It’s standard practice from childhood that women shop in the women’s department and men shop in the men’s department. But what if we can change that for good? Last year Faye Toogood founded a pop-up named ‘Agender’ shop in Selfridges in London to raise awareness of the importance of removing gender identity from retail. Toogood explains her motive behind the pop-up as,

“I chose to give the space the feel of an archive to reflect the curatorial decisions that go into any fashion edit. By removing branding, gender differences and merchandising, we allow the garments to speak for themselves.”

I think this pop-up brand is a step in the right direction however I feel the actual garments within the collection are quite limited in the sense that the pieces are oversized, minimal and utilitarian-esque. I think it’s great concept, especially the idea of not using visual merchandising to highlight male and female roles through the use of mannequins but I feel that if you are someone who likes to experiment with fashion, it’s a bit of a safe option.

(Faye Toogood, 2015) (Images, Style Bubble) 7

The Exhibition Review: On the 27th September I went to see

the ‘The New Craftsmen’ exhibition in partnership with Burberry at Maker’s House in Soho, London. Not only was this a chance for exhibition goers to have a first hand look at Burberry’s coveted A/W 16 collection but it offered an abundance of original work hand selected by The New Craftsmen for an overall immersive experience. Christopher Bailey, Burberry Chief Creative and Chief Executive Officer described it as

“This week long exhibition aims to nod both to the design heritage that is so integral to Burberry’s identity, and to some of Britain’s most exciting creators, and the innovation and inspiration behind their work.”

(Christopher Bailey, 2016) 8

The Burberry A/W 16 collection was based on the “sexually ambiguous” themes of Virginia Woolf ’s novel Orlando: A Biography and was Christopher Bailey’s first runway-to-retail collection, featuring both men and womenswear collections together. This is something that I believe to be a game-changer in the industry and something that many more designers should take inspiration from. Why should men and women only follow fashion trends from their own gender?

Why should men not be included in the main fashion weeks? These are just some of the many questions that sprung to mind after viewing this innovative collection. The combination of making this collection mixed gender and instantly available online in 100 countries means that customers can simply buy whatever the hell they want, male or female. This instantly eliminates the prejudice some customers may feel walking into a luxury brand brick and mortar store and feeling pressured into buying garments assigned to their gender.

This exhibition was inspirational because it included absolutely everyone. The entire collection was showcased upstairs, without any rails or ‘do not touch’ signs, meaning that you could actually feel the craftsmanship with your own hands. For people like myself, who don’t necessarily have the salary to afford these wonderful pieces still felt involved. Oftentimes, walking into a designer store feels almost like you reverted back to being a toddler and your parents are following you around making sure you don’t touch anything. However ‘The New Craftsmen’ allowed people to get up close and personal to both the A/W 16 collection and also chat to the artists about their original works. I believe more designers should create an exhibition like this as it enables existing and future customers an informative and sensory experience beyond the clothes.

(Photos, Own Sources) 9

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Youth Culture: Charles Jeffrey’s Loverboy

One of the most inspirational things about fashion is having the ability and resources to delve into fashion subcultures. Enter Charles Jeffrey. A Central Saint Martins MA graduate, whose vision came to life by merging his fashion designs with youth club culture to form the brand ‘Loverboy’. ‘Loverboy’ the club night, was held at VF Dalston, the stopping ground for this generation’s twenty something trendsetters. The club night was started to fund Jeffrey’s final graduate collection which was showcased in 2015. This night represented something that was organic and exciting, a community was quickly being formed through fashion and dance.

“It’s gender-queer, it’s powerful, it’s misfit, it’s angry, it’s sweaty” – (Charles Jeffrey, 2015)

His S/S 17 men’s collection is something that can only be described as decadent. The pieces on the catwalk were elegant with an air of chaos. Historical influences were apparent and the use of tailoring was a key feature. This collection is great because the pieces could be worn by a female in a completely different way. Jeffrey’s designs are clearly well calculated and this particular collection oozes class as well as rebellion. Designers like Charles Jeffrey should be celebrated and given more credit because they are inviting a customer into a community not just offering them a piece of clothing. Every garment in his collection tells a story and is made with the motive that you’re probably going to dance your socks off whilst wearing it; you might even drunkenly stack it and fall on your arse. But do you know what? The idea is that you are wearing ‘Loverboy’, and you’re still fabulous.

(Images, Charles Jeffrey via Dazed)

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The Street Style Report Street style has a massive part to play in gender representation in men and women’s fashion trends. Yes, designers set the trends on the runway but it is how the consumer uses their own identity to bring innovation to those key trends. The power of Street Style and bloggers has been crucial in the past few years due to the rise of the social media presence and general members of the public having a ‘voice’ which can be heard from people all over the world. This is very important for gender neutral fashion because it creates a buzz of acceptance and giving people the message that you should never doubt your own personal style and you should be proud of the clothes you put on your back no matter your gender.

Rich Jones, 20.

Musician and Music Student. @richijonesmusic

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I asked a three students from the University of Westminster what gender representation means in current fashion trends and although they all shared the same view, Jason Kundi (right) put it in simple terms of

“whatever you want it to mean”.

All three had similar views when it came to their own personal style, in that they dress for themselves and are confident in their own skin. Rich Jones, a music student at the University of Westminster describes his style as “eclectic viking’. He said, “Two years ago I looked like an Essex boy, the typical lad-short-back-and-sides-tight-tshirt type. Now I’m wearing what I want to wear, I’m growing my hair as long as I can and don’t care what people think”.

Rich (left) is wearing a vintage shirt from Camden Market, Levi’s and a knitted beanie, made for him at one of his recent gigs (lucky guy).

Erin Bush-O’Brien a fashion student and blogger spoke about her own personal style, “I get told my style is very androgynous, which I take as a massive compliment”. She goes on to say the idea of dressing to an assigned gender is limiting, “wear what works for you, people might insinuate that you’re a Erin Bush-O’Brien, 22. lesbian but we don’t listen to the crit- Fashion Student and ics”. Erin is wearing a vintage Levi’s Blogger @eighteenohtwo jacket, ASOS top, Topshop culottes and Adidas trainers. Finally, Jason Kundi (right) who is currently studying Radio says his style is mainly influenced

by Morrissey and the music from The Smiths. His look is sharp, elegant and daring, wearing various vintage items.

“What can I say, I’m a straight man who wears eyeliner?”. Jason continued to speak about his life before university and says people are very accepting here in London. “At home, I stood out like a sore thumb and people would make remarks about my clothes. Whereas here, no one bats an eyelid - It’s great”.

(Photos, Own Sources)

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Jason Kundi, 20.

Radio Student @kingkundi

Spotlight: “Gender Neutral” (Image via Pinterest)

For this part of the essay, I wanted to use my own work as a feature. I believe strongly that the future of fashion should be unisex, therefore I designed my own collection entitled ‘Gender Neutral’. The stimulus for this collection was focused around childhood and how children are almost programmed into differentiating gender from a young age. I looked into children’s toys and themes such as Barbie and Disney characters. Parents would limit their children into playing with feminine or masculine toys, for example girls are given Barbie Dolls and young boys are given Action Man to spend their time with.

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(Photos, Own Sources)

I wanted to show that this mentality should be eliminated as it is an unhealthy outlook for any young person growing up. I used a colour palette of pastel pink and blue; two colours which are associated with male and female gender roles. By using both colours together it shows unison and represents a sense of equality missing from children’s entertainment.

The entire collection can be worn by everyone and are designed to be statement pieces. The idea is target people of my generation, particularly men who as children secretly wanted to wear a Disney Princess costume but their parents told them they couldn’t because ‘boys don’t wear dresses’.

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Conclusion: In terms of gender roles in current fashion trends, I feel that these past few years have been a turning point in that society are starting to wake up to gender identity issues and are more sensitive to how it affects the people around them. We still have a long way to go, but with designers such as Burberry showcasing a collection with men and women walking the runway together, I feel others will follow in their footsteps. It’s important that we create a positive outlook for future generations where men and women feel they can be their authentic selves, wearing exactly what they want to wear and eliminating any fear of looking different. In retail shops, womenswear is merchandised with priority and often menswear is on another floor completely, out of sight or tucked around a corner. We’ve entered a time where equal rights are being spoken about on a daily basis but is the retail industry demonstrating equality?

The answer - Not at the moment, but I am hopeful. I am also hopeful of a time where in Britain we have mixed gender fitting rooms.

From my own experience working in retail, there have been countless times where I have been told by retail management or head office that I cannot allow a man into the ladies fitting room, even though he quite clearly identifies as a female and is trying on womenswear to purchase. Why should people be made to feel ashamed of who they are? It’s something that I hope changes in the future and that the fashion industry makes drastic commercial changes to provide an ungendered shopping environment which is inspiring to all consumers.

(Photos, Own Sources) 16

References 2016 (2016) Makers house - the new craftsmen & Burberry partnership | the new craftsmen Blog. Available at: https://www.thenewcraftsmen.com/makers-house-new-craftsmen-burberry-partnership/ (Accessed: 11 December 2016).

Burberry autumn/winter 2016 ready-to-wear show report (2016) Available at: http://www. vogue.co.uk/shows/autumn-winter-2016-ready-to-wear/burberry/ (Accessed: 11 December 2016).

Susie Bubble, (2015) Agendering. Available at: http://stylebubble.co.uk/style_bubble/2015/04/ agendering.html (Accessed: 12 December 2016).

Create tomorrow | trend forecasting & Analytics (no date) Available at: http://www.wgsn.com (Accessed: 14 December 2016).

Allwood, E.H. and Dazed (2015) Meet the ringleader of London’s next-generation club kids.

Available at: http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/25087/1/meet-the-ringleader-oflondon-s-next-generation-club-kids (Accessed: 15 December 2016).

Image References Introduction Harpers Bazaar, (2014). Image available at: http://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/lip-shadesmakeup-for-summer-nights-0513 i-D Magazine, (2015). Image Available at: http://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/article/tear-up-the-gender-rulebook-and-break-down-the-binaries?utm_source=idtwitter Author Unknown, (No date). Image Available at: http://japan.digitaldj-network.com/archives/51817207.html The Textile Report Various Images from www.wgsn.com Product Direction Various Images Susie Bubble, (2015). Agendering. Available at: http://stylebubble.co.uk/style_bubble/2015/04/agendering.html

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Youth Culture Charles Jeffrey, Dazed Digital, (2015). Images available at: http://www.dazeddigital.com/photography/article/27119/1/the-photographers-who-captured-the-best-of-uk-subculture Design Scene, (2016). Images Available at: http://www.designscene.net/2016/06/lcm-manss17-collections-per-go%CC%88tesson-fengchen-wang-charles-jeffrey-loverboy.html A&P Fashion Memories, (2016). Image available at: http://ap-fashionmemories.tumblr.com/ post/145799372439/runway-ss17-charles-jeffrey-loverboy-man Gender Neutral Pattern Base, (No Date). Image available at: http://patternbase.tumblr.com/ post/134828914639/a-fun-and-playful-take-the-floral-pattern-by