5 People Challenging Gender Binaries In Fashion And Reminding Us That Clothing Should Be For Everyone
by Stella Hertantyo
As Alok Vaid-Menon so aptly put it in a recent speech on why genderless fashion is the future:
“Gender neutrality is not the death of fashion, it is the renaissance of fashion.”
While every aspect of the fashion system — from mainstream media and fashion weeks to ecommerce and retail spaces — is beholden to the segregated categories of "menswear" and "womenswear", clothing has no inherent gender.
Clothing is only gendered insofar as we've assigned our own binary gender perceptions to specific styles of clothing.
In other words, individual garments have no intrinsic gender to them, but societal conditioning creates the perception that certain clothing is gendered.
And, it's the movement to degender fashion that aims to undo this arbitrary binary in the fashion industry.
What is Degendered Fashion?
Degendered fashion is not an aesthetic, but rather a reinforcement of the idea that clothing is meant for anyone who wants to wear it.
As we begin to understand that gender is much more expansive than the binary, degendering fashion is also the acknowledgment that gender-neutral fashion is not always androgenous. It can be masculine, feminine, neither, or both.
We are realizing that there is no one way to be any gender and that this extends to how we choose to present in our clothing too.
While the Western gender binary has become pervasive across the world, trans, queer, and gender non-conforming people have been calling for — and practicing — degendering fashion for decades.
Now, the term “genderless” and “gender-neutral” fashion are currently in vogue, and very much a hot topic in the world of fashion marketing. But, beyond fashion’s new favorite buzzword, I wanted to deep dive into what makes degendering fashion more than a word, more than a movement, and rather a societal imperative for justice. And, how this justice will influence a more inclusive slow fashion future.
To unpack this topic, below are the thoughts and perspectives of five people who are challenging the gender binary and reminding us that clothing should be for everyone.
Below, I’d like you to meet Alyssa, Emilia, George, Githan, and MI. They are all thought-leaders and change-makers in their own right, and they all share the sentiment that the movement to degender fashion is a movement to reclaim fashion as a source of liberation for a more just, sustainable, and expansive fashion future.
Alyssa Pichardo (they/them/she/her)
In 2016, Alyssa shared a conversation with a close friend about how they both loved certain cuts, but couldn’t find anything that was a notch below classic tailored “menswear” in stores or even by indie fashion designers. Five years later after a few life shifts, the onset of a global pandemic, and years spent teaching herself about design, pattern drafting, garment construction, and slow, circular fashion, Alyssa launched their ethical, zero-waste, degendered fashion brand, LP Mode.
LP Mode is a long-playing fashion brand, meaning that their clothing is made from waste and built to last. From materials to garment construction, the ultimate goal of LP Mode is to create clothing that lives beyond trends and gender.
How does your work play into the movement to degender fashion?
To lay it all out there, I’m a fat, queer, pansexual, masculine of center, cis woman using she/her they/them pronouns. I’ve never lived in any binary fashion box.
I’ve been making clothes for genderqueer and non-binary friends and myself for years. I believe our bodies deserve bright and rich colors, high-quality fabrics, three-dimensional textures, and fitted silhouettes that aren’t hourglasses or triangular. There is more to gender-free clothing than creating flat, neutral blobs floating through space in Ponte knit.
Now, I create clothes without gender from designer deadstock and vintage textiles for my slow fashion line LP Mode. A lot of the clothes I create have bright colors and prints. To be honest, every time I see a degendered collection in solid neutrals I cringe. I cringe because neutrals in shapeless knitwear or linen are not what I, nor my genderqueer and gender non-conforming friends, gravitate towards.
I also refer to myself as a seamster and tailor, which in a way is an intentional shift away from how most people who use she/her and they/them pronouns might describe themselves if they design, fit, and sew clothing.
I think using gender-neutral terms for the profession matters because people often perceive what a seamstress does as being inferior to what tailors do even though, in reality, the job tasks are nearly identical. I specifically call myself a tailor because for LP Mode’s made-to-measure garments, I often do fittings for customers, tailoring the cut and dimensions of the design to each person’s body.
How do you think we can move towards a gender-fluid future of fashion?
Moving towards a gender-fluid future for fashion and slow fashion, in particular, will take cultural change and industry change. The cultural systems informing who gets to wear what, where, and how are slowly being dismantled but it’s not without extreme prejudice.
Industry-wise, we’ve got to get away from gendered marketing. For slow fashion brands, I think the most crucial thing will be people seeing our garments on different bodies, styled by people of differing gender expression and physical size. Like so many things, the perception of the ideal non-binary or genderfluid person in America is still very thin and lithe — a return to 90s androgyny — rather than being typical of most Americans who are fatter and shorter.
Slow fashion also requires alterability - garments that can grow and change with the wearer. One of the biggest changes needed to move slow fashion into the future is that the industry shouldn’t be making garments that cannot be altered with too narrow seam allowances, shallow cover stitched hems, seam finishes that don’t hold or materials that pill or tear easily.
Alterability also plays into the gender fluidity of clothing. Traditional tailored menswear incorporates a lot of details that lend themselves to alterations for different body shapes. Some examples are split back waistbands with additional seam allowances of an inch or more, deeply folded over hems, horizontal buttonholes at the waistline, shoulder darts, and pleating that can be adjusted for different shoulder widths. All of these finishes and garment construction details create a more alterable garment to accommodate people’s changing body weight, height, and gender presentation. These features can be incorporated into any garment regardless of the wearer's gender presentation.
Emilia Bergoglio (they/them)
Emilia Bergoglio is a multitalented neuroscientist, living and working in Tokyo, who is also an expert tailor and well-respected in the sewing community for their eye for detail and ability to tailor to create the most exquisite garments. So, it only makes sense that their Instagram handle – “Emilia to nuno” – means “Emilia and fabric” in Japanese.
Emilia has a series on their blog called #TailoringForThem where they share their tailoring adventures as a non-binary sewing enthusiast. The #TailoringForThem series aims to deconstruct gender when it comes to tailoring and providing gender-inclusive and gender-expansive instructions and tips and tricks.
What does ‘gender-expansive fashion’ mean to you?
Oftentimes folks perceive gender-expansive, gender-neutral, or genderless fashion as a deluge of beige, with sack-like clothes which conceal the wearer, making it impossible to discern whether a human person is even wearing said clothes. That’s not, and I can’t stress this enough, what gender expansion is.
Gender expansive fashion is not a style, it’s possibilities. Very simply, it means allowing people to wear what they want, how they want it, and removing gendered labels from inanimate objects such as clothes. So, for example, an AMAB (assigned male at birth) person wearing a skirt would not be “co-opting women’s dress” but rather just wearing a skirt. A skirt is literally just a fabric rectangle stitched together.
How has gender-expansive fashion influenced your work as a tailor and maker?
As a maker, I have the power to decide to remove any pre-existing label from the garments I make. There’s no “womenswear” and “menswear” in my closet, just “my clothes.” And, I try to help others disentangle themselves from the constrictions of the gender binary via my online presence, chiefly my blog and Instagram.
Unfortunately, we as a society — and especially in the West — have many hangups when it comes to who should wear what, and the violent treatment of gender non-conforming people is a testament to that. While this has many reasons, what is clear is that upholding the status quo serves nobody.
There are as many ways to express one’s personality via clothing as there are people. So, clearly, gender expansivity is not inherently the domain of trans and gender non-conforming people only.
Beyond the buzzword, what do you wish people knew about degendering fashion?
I want to stress this is not a “new trend”, but it’s actually a very old idea. Rather, gendered clothing is a new idea. So, clearly, such dichotomy is not set in stone. On the other hand, it is a product of a certain Western cultural context which, as cultures often do, can evolve into something different. We just need to try.
George Tyrone (they/he)
The first time I had the pleasure of coming across the Instagram profile of George Tyrone – or Triple Minor as they are known online — I was immediately blown away by the range of bold, sculptural, playful, and exquisitely styled outfits that they share. Needless to say, George’s outfits immediately filled up my “fashion inspo” saved folder.
As a non-binary person, George uses their online platforms to share their outfits and advocate for genderless fashion while challenging the Western gaze that has taught us that men wearing skirts is taboo. They are using their TikTok and Instagram presence to build a community that is challenging fashion’s gender constructs and embracing the fact that clothing has no gender. George reminds us that we should all be dressing for ourselves and wearing clothes that make us feel most like ourselves.
Can you tell us a bit about your personal style and what inspires it?
My style is all about my freedom and my happiness and I share it in hopes that people can see more of us gender non-conforming folks and acknowledge the humanity in us. We are just people.
Daily, I see more gender-neutral brands pushing the boundaries and challenging the gender binary. With more people expressing their styles I hope other brands take note and start to create clothing not just for genders, but rather for bodies and make sure they are size inclusive too.
Why is the movement to degender fashion something so close to your heart?
Clothing and fashion are key aspects that society used to ascribe and enforce the concept of gender and put limitations on self-expression. So, I believe the movement to degender fashion is very important as it’s a part of a wider fight to address certain societal issues, starting with the idea of gender and gender norms.
How do you think that degendering fashion makes the future of fashion more inclusive?
The future of fashion is inclusivity! It’s a must. And part of that inclusivity is the showcasing and representation of queer and gender non-conforming folks in the visuals of what brands create. This means not just the mood boards for inspiration, but in the campaigns and runways and brand sponsorships. We need fewer limitations on who can do or wear what and more celebration of the brave queer especially POC and NBPOC cultures and individuals who fearlessly defy the rules to be uniquely them.
Githan Coopoo (he/him)
Based in South Africa, Githan is a multi-faceted artistic being, self-taught jewelry designer, and sculptor. His jewelry work focuses on the medium of clay and creating jewelry as sculptural adornments. More specifically, Githan has always had the intention of making jewelry for queer people so that they could present themselves exactly how they wanted to.
His own sense of style and expression is an extension of his art. I’ve always admired how Githan’s sense of style welcomes others to show up in the world as nothing short of their most genuine selves. Meeting someone for the first time, on Zoom, is always a little bit daunting, but Githan gently welcomed me into his world as we chatted about his thoughts on style and degendered fashion.
When did you start experimenting with challenging the gender binary when it comes to fashion?
I was not an innately gifted or stylish young person. It wasn't in my DNA. Growing up, I shopped at very conventional stores. It was only when I left school and started at university that I got into thrifting.
When I started secondhand clothes shopping, I started buying women's clothes. This is very much because there are often no men's and women's sections in thrift stores. Traditionally when you go to a secondhand shop, you have access to everything that is available.
This meant that I just was naturally gravitating towards things that were appealing and attractive to my eye as opposed to things that were being particularly be sold to me and specifically marketed towards my body. After that, I just never looked back, as cheesy as that sounds. I got confident also about being able to dress in the way that I wanted to.
I suppose I never saw gender as an inhibitor of my personal style and expression. I don't think that's because I'm strong-willed or brave or courageous. What I do think is that I experienced and grew up with a lot of homophobia towards my natural, effeminate expressions of self, and was closeted up to the age of about 18. So, the idea of having a semblance of freedom of that, through what I wore, has been enough to sustain the virtue of being authentic to myself.
I don't think that a single piece of clothing could have a gender, because it is in itself, not a body. And therefore, for me, it does not come with the political negotiation and the complex difficulty of representation. We forget that we have the capacity to be porous and that these artificial labels that we have given clothing are permeable. So many of these erected boundaries do not need to exist.
Can you tell me a bit about how your personal style journey has evolved and become a way to challenge others and encourage people to wear exactly what they want to wear?
As it stands, it's become kind of second nature that how I dress and how I choose to pull from different codes of dressing is very much a way for me to subliminally communicate the way that I actually feel about myself, my gender, my political views and stances, and about so many different imbued messages.
Almost without thought, I compose outfits and pieces that I think, very often, also challenge people in a great way. What I'm aware of is that it's so seldom about what the clothes are, or the outfits that I'm putting together, but rather, how they are presented on my body. There's a big difference between a pink blouse being worn by a body that it was traditionally intended to be made for – specifically, a female body – versus someone that doesn’t necessarily have that body. It immediately feels and looks to the eye as something that is not meant to sit in that way or on that kind of form.
That's really challenging for a lot of people. I think it makes people uncomfortable. I think it makes people have to address and be aware of their own state of being, their own bodies, and their physical manifestation of themselves in the world.
It feels like “degendering fashion” has become a bit of a buzzword in the fashion industry…
What do you wish people understood better about the movement to degender fashion?
I completely agree. The best kind of example is a very simple one: In December of 2020, Harry Styles was the first man to appear solo on the cover of American Vogue, wearing nothing less than a floor-length saloon dress and a double-breasted black tuxedo jacket from Gucci’s F/W collection.
Billy Porter spoke up after the internet went wild about this cover, and said that we need to stop applauding straight, white men for doing something that the queer, trans, and gender non-conforming community has made possible for them to do.
Beyond the vocabulary of degendered fashion, people don't acknowledge, and are unable to take in the reality that, the reason we are able to even think of celebrating a man in a dress, is because queer trans women of color have died in dresses their entire lives and throughout history. Those facts are non-negotiable.
A single straight man wearing a dress in the public sphere, and being praised for being on the vanguard of gender-neutral fashion, is standing upon the graves of millions of trans women of color. And it really is — in my experience and understanding of these politics as a society — trans women of color, who have enabled in almost every capacity and facet, the forwarding of this expression.
In essence, I think that this notion of degendering fashion or the dismantling of gender hierarchies in fashion and dress has become a bit of a gimmick and a bit of an offense to the reality that generations of a single community have been doing this.
They have been challenging these binaries their entire lives as a means of survival, and as a way of being honest, and authentic. I think that these buzzwords do not acknowledge the depth of the violence that has been endured to get to this point.
So, what I wish people would understand better about the movement to degender fashion is that it's one that started a really, really long time ago. And one that people of color have always been at the helm of – never white people. We can’t bring people back to life, but we can at least honor the truth of so many people that have died.
How do you think we can move towards a gender-fluid future of fashion?
I think that we need to acknowledge that we need to move away from gesturing towards specific garments as being gendered, and realize that a garment facilitates our desire to express ourselves as masculine and as feminine on different days and at different points in our lives.
The longing to be masculine and the longing to be feminine are inherently in all of us, in varying quantities. Those desires are then stimulated by nature and nurture, how we grow up in an environment, and how we are directly raised. They both exist.
How do we now cultivate and stimulate a healthy way of approaching both of those desires? And, how do we use clothing as a vehicle and as a tool to help stimulate and support that both of those desires are innately within us? We should acknowledge that there's a driven force to be both masculine and feminine, rather than detaching from the notion of being male or female.
We need to move away from thinking of clothing as an extension of our bodies as gender and rather an extension of our bodies as expression.
MI Leggett (they/them)
MI Leggett is a New York-based artist and founder of the radical, queer, gender-free, anti-waste fashion brand, Official Rebrand.
As a former food justice advocate with a background in sustainable agriculture, video art, and painting, they now transform unwanted materials into unique clothing and sculptures.
Official Rebrand plays with the boundaries of fashion and art and challenges us to consider how a gender-free approach to fashion, and the embracing of fluidity, will result in greater freedom for everyone and the revival of fashion as a democratic art form.
Despite the time differences between South Africa and New York, MI and I found a brief window for a cross-continental phone call that gave me so much food for thought and left me feeling endlessly inspired.
Can you share your thoughts on the intersection of gender-free fashion and sustainability, and how these play into the future of fashion?
For any type of progress that we want to make, if we are not considering the planet at the same time, it’s pretty much pointless. If we are working towards making progress towards a world that is more gender accepting and where queer people are safe everywhere – that is not going to happen if we don’t have a world. So, I think the two are completely tied.
Queerness is about going against the norm, in a lot of ways. We are challenging expectations and challenging what the world can be and this same challenge and motivation to look outside of the status quo is the same sort of attitude that we need to have towards sustainability, because there is a lot of inertia in the global fashion industrial complex that is pushing us to consume, consume, consume.
I think that we often forget to consider that there are queer and gender non-conforming garment workers too. A lot of people seem to be advocating for gender-free fashion in the Global North and worker rights in the Global South, where our clothes are being made. But also, we need to stand in solidarity with the queer and gender non-conforming people that are making our clothes too. These issues are so intersectional. Intersectionality is so important as a lens to talk about these issues.
What do you wish people understood better about gender-free fashion?
Being queer is not a trend. Being gender non-conforming is not a trend. And the way that people choose to express their gender presentation is not going to go away because these are not trends – this can’t go out of style.
But, having these things being represented and being incorporated in popular culture is going to open up peoples’ eyes to the possibilities of living and dressing outside of the gender binary and encourage them to experiment with their gender presentation. Sometimes you need a trend to kickstart a movement.
Clothing can be hugely affirming for someone’s identity. Being gender non-conforming or being trans has a lot of heavy difficulties that come with it, and clothing can be a respite from that and a way to work through that and figure out what works for you. Clothing can be a really important tool for experimenting.
There are also a lot of cis people who are drawn to more androgenous or gender-free presentations. I think that everyone deserves the right to wear whatever feels appropriate for them.
How do you think we can move towards a gender-free future of fashion?
We should be able to normalize shopping across labeled categories. For example, having an e-commerce site where – instead of separating into men's and women’s – you can have the option to search everything.
I don’t necessarily think that we need to end men’s and women’s fashion, I just think that the boundary between these needs to be non-existent. There should be no stigma about crossing between the two and there should be a wider array of options in between. For example, more and more brands are doing all-gender runways or women in the mensweek shows. We need to create a more expansive definition of what we see as menswear and womenswear.
A Final Reflection
Degendering fashion is an important part of working towards a truly inclusive slow fashion future. Unlearning our socialized behaviors isn't easy, and it may cause some discomfort as we acknowledge our complicity in these systems, but this process is essential to work towards a more just fashion future.
My hope is that reading through the thoughts from these five people was a thought-sparker and perspective-shifter for you, as it was for me.
About the Author:
Stella Hertantyo is a slow fashion and slow living enthusiast based in Cape Town, South Africa. Stella finds solace in words as a medium for sharing ideas and encouraging a cultural shift that welcomes systems change and deepens our collective connection to the world around us. She is passionate about encouraging an approach to sustainability, and social and environmental justice, that is inclusive, intersectional, accessible, and fun.
Stella holds a B.A. Multimedia Journalism from the University of Cape Town, and a PGDip in Sustainable Development from the Sustainability Institute. She currently works as a writer, editor, and social media manager. When she is not in front of her laptop, a dip in the ocean, or a walk in the mountains, are the two things that bring her the most peace.
