Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

London catwalks awash with gender bending

24 February 2016 - 08H25


                      

    LONDON - 


             
    Menswear or womenswear -- who cares? Genderless fashion is the buzzword for many of today's top designers, highlighted at London Fashion Week by a string of androgynous touches on the catwalks.
    From Christopher Kane's heavy, dark, asymmetric tailoring to Burberry's parade of male and female models in military overcoats and aviator jackets, masculine styling repeatedly stood out in the women's autumn/winter collections.
    It's not just in London where designers are experimenting with preconceptions about gender and identity.
    Gucci has sent men down the catwalks in pussybows and hot pink suits under new creative director Alessandro Michele while Jaden Smith, son of US actor Will Smith, was unveiled as the face of Louis Vuitton womenswear last month.
    Transgender models such as Andreja Pejic and Lea T are among the most sought after in the industry.
    One of its rising stars is US model Rain Dove, who, standing at six foot two inches with chiselled features, models in both male and female fashion shows.
    She attributes the change to the rise of social media, which mean that "brands are having to be more diverse whether they like it or not".
    "People are realising that they can't dupe people into thinking there's only one way to be, that a size zero is the most common thing in the world, that the only (person) that could ever afford a Chanel purse is white," she told AFP.
    - 'Not just skinny white girls' -
    Dove, who calls herself a "gender capitalist" and came to modelling via firefighting and construction, says she got her big break when she was cast for a Calvin Klein underwear show by a director who thought she was a man.
    She walked in two women's shows in London this season and last year featured in both male and female shows in New York.

    24 February 2016 - 08H25            

    No comments:

    Post a Comment