Diversity means understanding.
But what does diversity in fashion actually mean? And what still needs to change and be improved. These were some of my first few questions I thought about when I started this project. It’s such an interesting topic for me, as a foreign student from Asia, being in Europe and I want to get it right. Fashion always tells us how to look: what to wear, what make up to put on or what colour of hair you should have to be in trend. This is really sad, but it also tells you what size or height you should be. It dictates “everything” to you. And what is even sadder, is the fact that fashion dictates what one’s own “taste” of age, race and gender should be. Like there is a mould that every individual must fit into. But I think it can’t be like this anymore, because we all live in a diverse world. We all know that the fashion world has really strict rules. For example, there is a standard and requirement, that all modelling agencies wanted to see is only tall, European looking, skinny models. They rarely accept models of different race, age and size. 1During my research I found an interview with a supermodel from the past - Bethann Hardison, she was saying that she still remembers the days when, before every single New York Fashion Week, “Casting directors would send out notices to all the modelling agencies in the whole city, saying 'no blacks, no ethnics' — we don’t want to see them.” Back then, the issue of diversity in the fashion industry had “got lost like a splinter,” says Hardison. She organized a press conference in New York in 2007, where Bethann criticised the industry’s lack of diversity. “From that moment on, no one has ever said that again” – she said in the interview. It’s a big progress, but still, the lack of diversity in Fashion continues to be a problem.(1) Also talking about magazine covers, statistics shows us, that in 2014, only 119 of 611 covers of major fashion magazines featured models of colour. An overwhelming majority (what is 78.69 percent) of models walking in New York Fashion Week last year were white. And of the 260 shows appearing at Lincoln Center, only three featured African-American designers. These already sobering statistics become more troubling when looking at the disparities between Latina, Asian and black models. There were more black models walking the runway in Fall-Winter 2014 than Asian models (9.75 percent of all models, as compared to 7.67 percent, respectively), and even fewer Latina models than either of those two groups. People have tried to sort this problem out and we can see more nationalities on catwalks, modelling , but what about other aspects of the Fashion industry? What about a size and age? Nowadays we can see models of different ages and sizes. Plus size models are also becoming more popular and they are modelling just as much as smaller models of size 6 to 8. This is more realistic as the average women in the uk is a size 16.
And my next question is - does gender matter? And this is what I took as my theme for my project. I’m going to do a project about androgyny. I want to research more about it. I saw a TV program about androgyny, just after we started the “Diversity project”. I knew about it, but I have never actually read or watched anything about these types of people, so I thought, why not? It’s going to be very interesting for me. In that program, people were telling their life stories, how sometimes it’s very hard to be not like everyone, to look, feel different and to be a special person. We know, that anything different and unusual makes people think and talk about it. It also makes people feel uncomfortable. Usually these people get a lot of hard pressure from society, because they look different. Androgynous have to “fight” with society every single day. I always think no matter who you are, we are all the same – we are all people, we just look different, but we all the same and we all have the same rights. A little bit of history. Androgyny, as a word, came into use in 1850, nominalizing the adjective androgynous. The adjective use dates from the early 17th century and is itself derived from the older French (14th Century) and English (16th Century) term androgyne. The terms are ultimately derived from Ancient Greek: ἀνδρόγυνος, from ἀνήρ, stem ἀνδρ- (anér, andr-, meaning man) and γυνή (gunē, gyné, meaning woman) through the Latin: androgynous. (2) Androgyn - is a person who does not fit neatly into the typical masculine and feminine gender roles of their society.
Fig.1 A Rebis from 1617.
A History of Androgyny in Fashion
"The ideal of androgyny in contemporary culture represents the breakdown of a healthy social structure...it is a reflection of the inhumanity of contemporary culture and a sign of its possible demise." -- The Rev. Jefferis Kent Peterson in Androgyny in Pop Culture, 1996 (3) Androgyny has always existed in society and in fashion as well. In fact, evidence of androgyny being embraced by society appears everywhere - institutionalized in entertainment and fashion cultures. In the 80s, androgynous musicians - Boy George, David Bowie, and Prince - made headlines as they captured the world's fascination with sexual ambiguity. Perceived as a worldwide idol, Michael Jackson personifies androgyny with his falsetto voice and effeminate manners. Grace Jones and British singer Skin are examples of women embracing the androgynous style, are fans of gender play. Capitalizing on the growing social interest to androgyny, the fashion industry promoted the meteoric rises of fashion designers - Helmut Lang, Giorgio Armani, Pierre Cardin, to name a few - for their unisex-styled clothes. To this day, glamorous male and female models sporting androgynous garments have often been found strutting down catwalks or posing for the covers of fashion magazines. Recently, the cosmetic companies have joined in to lure metrosexuals (aesthetically conscientious straight men) to the lucrative markets of beauty products which once were considered exclusively for women. As reports trickled in, cosmetic surgeries have surged for both women and men in North America, Europe and Asia. The spread of the androgyny movement could also be fuelled by the economic transformation of the workforce in developed countries. As nations became more affluent, greater amounts of resources were required for production, thus businesses demand a larger number of workers (men and women) to the workforce. The economic situations of wealthy western nations as well as feminism, enable women to work with men as 'equals' due to the current elevated women's status in male-oriented societies. In retrospect, women generally do still get paid less than men in many professions. Apparently, the increasing global attraction to androgyny indicates that the modern theory of evolution holds greater sway than the traditional doctrines of Christianity. Some may believe that androgyny is just a passing trend, and others may think that it's part of the evolution of humanity. Whichever it is, one thing seems inevitable - as the world becomes more integrated and complex, society will adapt pervading changes as social norms to move humanity forward in its social evolution.
However, things are changing and people are becoming more open minded and understanding to the differences of others. The fashion industry still has own “rules” but today we have more choice. Less pressure, more opportunities. We all different and that’s amazing! Make your own trend. Market research For my market research, as part of our project, I picked up 3 designers/brands: Y3, St Laurent and Rick Owens. When researching these brand I found that they not only cater to the modern urban woman, but also androgynous women. Both Y-3 and Rick Owens brand aesthetic compliments the androgynous woman with collections that are influenced by sportswear a lot. The both have main range collections and diffusion collections as well. At first I didn’t know what a diffusion collection was. I’m going to research more about the difference between a main line and a diffusion to better understand them. What’s the difference between the collections produced? Is it the prices, the designs, the fabrics used, the customers or all of the above. Why do they produce diffusion collections? Also I’ll look at details such as buttons, elastic, buttonholes and zips, and other general finishing to compare the difference between the two. In fashion, the term “diffusion brand” means a secondary line by a well-known designer. All diffusion brands are quite “young” but they are becoming very popular especially by rich, younger consumers. One of the designers is Yohji Yamamoto. He is one of the best Japanese designers of all time. He is famous for his unique style, his avant-garde tailoring featuring Japanese design aesthetics. His debut collection showed in Paris 1981. In an interview with the New York Times in 1983, Yamamoto said of his designs, "'I think that my men's clothes look as good on women as my women's clothing […] When I started designing, I wanted to make men's clothes for women”.
Technically speaking Y-3 is not a diffusion brand, but rather collaboration between Mr Yamamoto and Adidas. With this being said, people buy Y-3 to have association with Yohji Yamamoto’s brand. Y-3 LUX TRACK DRESS £ 245.00
Fig.2
Elegant summer tunic dress offered in our best-selling summer piqué track fabric. Cutaway back opening with button fastening and rubber-print 3-Stripes detailing. Finished with a rubber-print Y-3 logo • Regular fit; 54% polyester / 46% cotton piqué 140 g; Back opening with button closure; Printed 3-Stripes on back neckline; Printed Y-3 logo • Composition: 54% PES, 46% Cotton
YOHJI YAMAMOTO
'Bone' bustier top £4,167.00 Black cotton and linen 'Bone' bustier top from Yohji Yamamoto. Composition: Cotton 100% Composition:Linen/Flax 100% Composition:Viscose
100%
Fig.3
I begin by comparing Rick Owen’s main line collection with DRKSHDW. His Parisbased line launched in 2008. Mainly made of premium denim, a dark colour-palette and easy-to-wear pieces based on the familiar Rick Owens silhouette, DRKSHDW’s multi-layered aesthetic has gained an international cult following. Found at LNCC in Hackney, I was able to look at some of his pieces. Though the standard of quality is of course, of a luxury standard, his designs and styling are clearly simpler. Not as much details and functionality is put into this diffusion brand as well as the fabrics used being cheaper. This being said there is a huge contrast in price points.
Fig.4
€ 1.364 RICK OWENS SS16 CYCLOPS OFF-THE-RUNWAY SLEEVELESS RIBBED PLAIN PARKA IN BLACK FEATURES A CONCEALED BUTTON CLOSURE WITH A VISIBLE TOP BUTTON, A RAW CUT SHOULDER SEAM AND HEMLINE, TWO SIDE POCKETS A BACK SLIT AND A BACK BELT. * COLOR: BLACK. * BODY: 100% COTTON. * LINING: 53% VISCOSE 47% CUPRO. * BUTTONS: 100% COROZO. * MODEL IS WEARING SIZE 50.+
Fig.5 RICKOWENS £ 9,759 RICK OWENS HUN SLEEVELESS JACKET IN BLACK ALLIGATOR LEATHER FEATURES AN HIGH FUNNEL COLLAR AND KANGAROO LEATHER WAISTBAND AND FINISHING. * THE SIZING OF THIS PRODUCT IS IN FRENCH SIZES. * THIS PRODUCT CAN BE CUSTOM MADE. FOR ANY PERSONAL REQUESTS PLEASE CONTACT CUSTOMERCARE@RICKOWENS.EU. * COLOR: BLACK. * BODY: 100% ALLIGATOR LEATHER. * FINISHINGAND WAISTBAND: 100% KANGAROO LEATHER. * HALF LINING: 100% COTTON.
When thinking of a brand that is designing with androgyny in mind, St Laurent of course comes to mind. From its original smoking tuxedo, menswear for women has always been a part of the St Laurent identity. Their designs empower women, with both glamour and strength in mind, a woman wearing St Laurent knows that it’s ok to wear the trousers.
Bianca Jagger wears a doublebrested white suit as she and her daughter Jade walk across the street in front of a group of policemen in London, May 4, 1979Via pinterest.com
Fig.6
Fig.7
From left: bordeaux wool jersey jumpsuit, Yves Saint Laurent haute couture collection Fall-Winter 1969; tuxedo with pants, Yves Saint Laurent haute couture collection Fall-Winter 1966; tuxedo with short skirt, Yves Saint Laurent haute couture collection SpringSummer 1982. All images © Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, Paris /
I find that working in Zara, a lot of their garments, are replicas of what can be found on the runway. They produce so many styles so that fashionable garments are readily available to all people whatever their spending power. By reproducing cheaper but similar prints, textures, styles and shapes, they are tapping into a market that luxury brands cannot. The founder of Spanish company Inditex, in October 2015 became the richest man in the world for 4 hours. His umbrella brand which contains multiple clothing brands, such as Massimo Dutti and Pull and Bear was founded in June 1985. Today the company which has 8 brands that sells products aimed at various different markets including homeware and lingerie. Inditex mainly produces mainly clothing and has over seven thousand shops worldwide. With so many shops it’s no surprise that Zara is not known for interesting designing. They are a business, rather than a clothing line, so the design process is simplified. By taking from luxury brands, they have made their own formula for success. They are guaranteed customers, producing clothes that even wealthy people enjoy wearing. Most luxury brands produce perfume, and other cosmetics as well as affordable accessories so that they have cheaper products to offer consumers. This leaves them with a very limited market. How many people can really afford to spend hundreds and even thousands of pounds of clothes? Even rich people who can afford to, rarely like to spend their own money. This I think, is why Zara is such a huge success story. By quickly and cheaply producing current seasons trends they appeal to the masses by make fashion attainable to all.
Web sites : (1)https://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/article/bethann-hardison-says-model-agencies-are-holdingback-models-of-colour (2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androgyny (3)https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beautiful-minds/200912/george-and-lennoxgaga-and-lambert-androgyny (4)https://yougov.co.uk/news/2013/11/20/size-12-britains-ideal-dress-size/ (5)http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/10/08/grace_jones_memoir_reveals_though ts_on_gender_expression_and_sexuality.html
Videos : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2B9aepKSgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu9DzwJxs48
Pictures : Fig.1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androgyny Fig.2 https://www.lyst.com/clothing/y-3-lux-track-dress-black-1/ Fig.3 http://www.farfetch.com/uk/shopping/women/Yohji-Yamamoto-Bone-bustier-topitem-11428062.aspx?gclid=CN_UzLes8wCFTAz0wodYO4IYw&storeid=9793&ef_id=VyMjGAAABCtbtCCI:20160429090228:s Fig.4 https://www.rickowens.eu/en/US/products/rr16s3723op-09 Fig.5 https://www.rickowens.eu/en/US/products/hu15s59006sab Fig.6 http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/25429/1/how-yves-saint-laurentchanged-fashion Fig.7http://denverartmuseum.org/sites/default/files/press/kits/YSL%20image%20highlights %20sheet_final.pdf