Bound beneath the barriers of a blue world, I envied my sister’s ability to depart from planet pink, a distant and mysterious microcosm. As a tomboy, my sister possessed a much greater capacity to dabble in the opposing gender by virtue of an exclusive spacecraft. Authorizing explorational access, the USS Tomboy bridged the gap between the two remote spheres of life.
As for myself, there wasn’t a single spacecraft capable of breaking out of the binary solar system. Tomgirls didn’t exist. Confined below the baby blue barricades of boyhood, I longed for an exodus of liberation.
Fashion has no limit, but society does, and its imposing influence is restrictive. Societal norms institute suffocating limitations, and conforming to the gender binary is unquestionably lame. Traditional garments are outdated, and the conservative side effects of heteronormativity are becoming progressively irrelevant in the fashion industry.
Gender blurring amidst the fashion world is no foreign concept as the industry continually redefines standards of society. Fashion has forever been a progressive outlet of artistic expression.
Andre Landeros Michel, a New York-based designer, notes that his Fall 2016 collection “celebrates the destruction of antiquated traditions” in an interview with The Huffington Post.
Designer Telfar Clemens’s states in VOGUE, in regards to his cutting-edge line TELFAR: “This isn’t men’s, it’s not women’s, it’s not just sport, it’s not just streetwear, it’s not just casualwear. It’s clothing.”
In addition, a surge of transgender models such as Laith De La Cruz, Loiza Lamers, Benjamin Melzer, and Arisce Wanzer embody the transforming patterns of the fashion industry, shining light on the vast purple-zone between the binaries of the blue and pink.
However, for many individuals, unisex trends in the industry have solely remained as unattainable possibilities.
Despite the incidental expense of gender neutral fashion trends encompassed in society, a recent millennial influx continues to substantially reduce the distance between the runway and the wardrobe. Increasing social interest in the fluidity and nonconforming values of gender are turning the trending prospects of the fashion industry into tangible trends.
Sticking to the styling standards of society prohibits your potential. And although becoming a gender bender may present an initial series of obstacles (sizing strife, suitable struggles, gendered section suckerfishing, etc… ), gender nonconforning dressing provides a much greater space to express yourself through new self-styling outlets.
As the beginnings or primary stages to any new approach can often be the greatest challenge facing an individual, behold, a compilation of powerful unisex trends to break gender barriers off the bat.
Gender Bender Basics 101:
Athletic Aesthetic
Think urban ninja, sporty sophistication with agility. Athleisure is functional fashion, a perfect portal or first step to gender nonconforming styles. Neutral tones act as safe and stylish solutions. The combination of form fitting and loose fitting materials construct a high-energy look with the comfort of a blanket.
Astro Catastro
Metallics and chromes are runway gold, or silver in this case. Brassy and classy undertones equip one with both the funk of a disco ball and shine of a dime, offering an ideal space-suit to blast out of the binary solar system. Incorporating the shimmering elements of a metallic garment ensure a look that is truly out of this world.
Pink Sync & Blue Hue
Really, of all colors, pink and blue? For the first time Pantone introduced two shades as the PANTONE Color of the Year in 2016. The combination of Rose Quartz and Serenity challenges the traditional perceptions associated with the colors. “This more unilateral approach to color is coinciding with societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity, the consumer’s increased comfort with using color as a form of expression, a generation that has less concern about being typecast or judged and an open exchange of digital information that has opened our eyes to different approaches to color usage.”
Flower Power
Who said flowers are just for girls? Floral textiles are effective statement pieces. The nifty and groovy petal powers planted in styles of the 70’s never perished. Never underestimate delicate dynamics. Flowers empower fashion forward functionalities.
Furrr Real
Massive fur coats are a must. Think Chewbacca chic, a wookiee warrior, combining soft and sweet attributes with rebellious and intimidating features. This look is a forceful battle cry, capable of restoring freedom to galaxy far far away.
Yeezus Take the Wheel
Yeezy and breezy. The craze following Kanye’s continual seasons of style are undoubtedly a fashion revelation. Loose features and neutral tones combine to form apocalyptic urban looks of the future.
Mother/Father Nature
Earth tones in fashion embrace the natural elements of our planet. Earthy colors allow individuals to revisit styling themes of the past, such as the emerald tones of the fig leaves that were fastened into the racy loincloths of Adam and Eve. The function of the leafy loin covering served merely as a shelter for the genitalia. Returning to historical moments by way of earthy trends in fashion act as promising testaments, reminding us of a time when fashion was purely ethical, before gender and fashion were of any pressing concern.
Hardcore Normal
Basic isn’t always boring. The effective styling equation, combining hardcore and normal elements of fashion, produced an iconic fashion movement of neutral blandness. Normal + Hardcore = Normcore… Think Steve Job’s wardrobe, loose and washed 90’s denims accompanying dull and simple colors. The merging of bland elements is certainly compelling, flavorful, like buttered noodles.
Pinky can be stinky and blue ain’t always true, but purple is uniquely safe. Not in a cautious or conservative kinda way though. Think safe zone, limitless with no restrictions, an adventure worth exploring. Unbound and profound.
Don’t let your style conform to the ways of the world, social constructs and standardized normatives are ideas of the past, be transformed within the purple planet beneath the binary solar system.