Beauty & Fashion
BY RENATA ARON Renata Aron is 2020’s winner of the Fashion category at the Best of Brazil in Europe Awards. She is the founder of Nothing To Wear Image Consultancy and the NTW app, as well as being on the board of AICI Portugal and having created the Impulse Method.
GENDERLESS FASHION Historically, fashion was not always so guided by gender, but as the centuries went by, the Western wardrobe slowly started to adapt to the roles that men and women had in society. If in the 20th century, women were reclaiming the right to wear certain things, in the 21st century humanity appears to be moving towards a future in which everyone dresses the same. Gender is a cultural construction related to what society expects from women and men. Within that concept there is clothing which is traditionally associated with men and other clothing which is associated with women. But that is starting to change! Fashion has always been a way to show your personality and identity to the world. A lot of the time, we don’t feel represented by the norms imposed upon us by society, but luckily there is a new movement surging among modern fashionistas. Big brands and stylists are beginning to adhere to this new movement of genderless fashion. The genderless movement maintains that people are free to dress however they want and however they feel comfortable, free of the social chains around gender. It's the freedom to wear whatever we want without being targets of judgemental norms. Designers like Alessandro Michele for Gucci, Louis 24
Vuitton, Versace, and even department stores, have all started adopting genderless fashion in their collections. A lot of the time you can’t even tell if catwalk models are men or women anymore, which is exactly the intention: gender should be irrelevant. The change in mindset comes from the younger sections of society, and the support of the fashion industry for genderless fashion is essential for battling the injustices and preconceptions related to sexual and gendered options and identities. Fashion without gender has a social appeal and it reinforces the role of fashion as a social instrument of expression. Jaden Smith, son of actor Will Smith, is one of the figureheads of the genderless movements, and has formed part of a spectacular campaign for Louis Vuitton. When we go into the actual design of genderless clothing, it’s not just about making oversized clothing in neutral colours. It’s about creating a garment that was created for people, and not for a man or a woman. Genderless fashion is about choosing clothing which makes you happy and which suits you, irrespective of whether it’s a dress, a skirt, a tuxedo or a tie, for example.