Here at Fashion North we embrace people for who they are and how they dress, and admire those who challenged the gender conforming roles. Celebrities are people we look to for inspiration and admire, so we have put together a list of the three times they have knocked down the gender walls!
US Vogue has just released their December cover, featuring Harry Styles. He is the first solo male star to grace the cover of US Vogue, and he broke the gender conforming roles by wearing a custom made, lace trimmed Gucci ballgown accompanied with a tuxedo jacket.
Styles said in the Vogue interview: ““When you take away ‘There’s clothes for men and there’s clothes for women,’ once you remove any barriers, obviously you open up the arena in which you can play.”
Many celebrities are embracing wearing gender neutral clothing like Billy Porter. At last year’s Academy Awards, Porter stepped out in a Christian Siriano tuxedo gown. The gown was a black velvet with a tuxedo on the top and flared out into swaying bell of a skirt which covered his six inch heels. Porter’s dress challenged the conventional gender conforming fashion as he does so today.
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Another celebrity that challenged the roles is Jonathan Van Ness, QueerEye star and hairdresser. He is known for his bubbly personality and luscious locks. JVN identifies as non-binary, but prefers he/him pronouns. One of his most iconic looks that challenged the gender conforming role is his gown made by Christian Siriano, which was black strapless midi dress with a turquoise bow that trailed on the floor. The Creative Arts Emmys’ look was paired with platform peep-toe heels by Rick Owens.
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Fashion North spoke to Gender Free World, fashion brand who makes gender neutral clothing. They said: “The company was born from our own experience of shopping I love to wear shirts and was always frustrated by the availability of interesting shirts in ‘menswear’ departments which don’t fit me; and the proliferation of pastel colours, pink things, frills and ruching in ‘womenswear’ departments which I don’t want. As we explored the menswear/womenswear departments on the high street we were struck by so many odd binaries in both the buying experience, such as being forced to turn one way in to the men’s department or the other way for the women’s, and being restricted in which dressing room to use – and also in availability of products. Why should your gender restrict your choice to clothing that you want to wear?
“We think it is important to be true to your individual style – wear the clothes that excite you, ignore what mainstream society might have to say about what is appropriate for your gender (or for that matter what is in / out of fashion). Our boxer shorts slogan is no labels, and I think that sums it up nicely! It is ok to move outside of traditional binaries in clothing and hopefully there will be more and more companies like us designing for those who want more choice outside of rigid gender binaries.”
What do you think about these celebrities looks? Let us know on Twitter and Instagram @Fashion_North!
