Model is wearing the adidas Originals’ Magmur Runner.

Boys Will Be Girls

After the SS20 Menswear fashion shows came to an end, we wanted to analyze how the genderless trend was presented for the next summer. We can say that the concept of gender has been diluted more than ever and the “traditional rules” are fading away.

Make no mistake. Like a lab experiment, you and I have been Pavlov-ed into accepting the new SS20 menswear collections — or should we just call them genderless collections? Have you been paying attention to the stimuli designers have been dropping in recent past collections? Male models wearing make-up with their (oh so slight) curved silhouettes, sometimes even wearing nail polish as we’ve seen last fall, and sporting heeled boots. If you have a strong fashion-game, you’ve probably even adopted one of these trends to flex on your (personal?) Instagram page, positively rewarded with likes from others. At this point, as we await our next dose, it almost seems expected that designers would send their male models to strut down the catwalk in skirts, heels, and long overcoats — I mean...dresses.

“When rules are broken
collectively, communities
transform into families”
— John Galliano

The latest Kenzo collection took inspiration from the female free divers in Japan known as ama. They evoked these “mermaids” through many references to the undersea world.
In the latest collection of Alexander Wang, he uses the American iconography to overcome the gender barriers.
Yellow, probably one of the most gender-neutral colors out there. Raf Simons doesn’t beat around the bush, with this statement piece. Is it just me or does this bring you back to primary school art class? Little girls and boys forced to wear a tablier to not dirty their school uniforms...
Rick Owens brings back the matrix aesthetic, with a chic twist. Our long-haired model, wearing platform heeled boots is bound to turn some heads.

After this brief analysis of only a handful of SS20 runway shows, I think it’s safe to say that the genderless look is well represented. And, is this such a bad thing? Let us applaud the great works of the designers who are constantly paving the way to new and exciting fashion statements that speak for the times we live in. Perhaps a genderless society is just what we need. Maybe the acceptance of the LGBT community has broadened the wardrobes of men who aren’t forced to portray the stereotypical idea of a man anymore.

All of this makes me wonder... what’s in store for women?

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