“Gender by Design”, by Emily Stoker

Gender by design. Fashion is a new way into the feminist conversation. With designers such as Timur Kim, and Grace Wales Bonner, furthering the new feminist agenda by creating clothes that unite rather than divide. Their designs elicit a sex-positive strength that reinforces the gradual dissolution of gender binaries in the fashion industry. Supporting their efforts are independent publications such as The Gentlewoman, and Riposte, who encourage the application of feminist thinking in all areas of the arts, both online and offline. The growing support from the editorial industry is crucial, as it motivates artists with similar principles to create enduring, referential and self-explicating work. Moving our culture and communities towards a shared value system based on equality and helping gender bias to dissipate.

The aforementioned designers are in good company, as they work with their teams to ensure equality is maintained throughout the entire design process. Using feminine and masculine reference materials to plan and develop concepts for their collections. Filtered into pattern cutting and construction techniques which give greater flexibility in shape and silhouette. Unisex brand Timur Kim adopts a similar design process, allowing the individual to build their own aesthetic identity around the fabric of the clothes. Technically, this requires an acute awareness of body shapes and an appreciation for diverse physiques; something designer Telfar Clemens uses to inform his collections. He thinks about “both genders when designing and decided what they both have in common to design a genderless uniform of sorts”. Creating purposeful, ’simplex’ clothing that reflects his inclusive approach to people; making pieces that are equally as attractive on male and female forms.

Telfar’s diversity in design is graphically depicted in the promotional video for his SS16 collection, showing CGI animated figures of himself transformed in a variety of gender, race and body types. This is a form of non-gender bias branding, which makes Telfar a new feminist by default. Dressing individuals for their character, rather than their gender; and celebrating strength and weakness in all statures. With garments as his medium, Telfar is able to communicate his vision to a wider audience. Designing with difference in mind and pulling inspiration from diverse disciplines to emerge with objective concepts that naturally overcome binary constructs of gender.

Astrid Andersen is another designer who adopts a similar polymathic way of working. Using masculinity as her mutable topic; she elevates her audience and aesthetic to a place where gender becomes secondary. Balancing out sex-stereotypes with a combination of delicate emotional sensuality and primal sexual energy, or what she calls “masculine attraction with feminine references”. She creates a space for her garments to take on their own identity based on personal preference, rather than didactic gender norms. Inclusive in its nature, the process tunes into the new feminist frequency by transforming our perceptions of masculinity. Astrid believes that this is “the natural progression of guys in the street, when you look at them today, there is no real relevance of gender”.

This encourages us to look at concepts of feminism, gender and masculinity in a new way; slightly shifting our perspectives to make room for change. With clothes that have the potential to cultivate empowered communities; enriched by direct experience of gender design. What makes Astrid and Telfar attractive as designers, is that they create with equal regard and respect for all genders and orientations. Which inspires in us, a greater appreciation for all embodiments of the human form. They do this, not through force or manipulation, but simply by maintaining authenticity in their design process.

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Written by Emily Stoker for Fashion Philosophy, Issue 3. The above photograph is from Timur Kim‘s SS16 collection.

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Anecdotal Luxury: The Fashion Hybrid Complex

The individuals behind brands such as Hood By Air, Nasir Mazhar and Cottweiler are at the frontier of a new fashion format. They each share the artistic inclination to explore deeper facets of our humanity through their work, revealing something subversive about our species. The way they present their collections is also fitting of this new formation. You can find their clothing seeking refuge from the commotion of commerce in sparse exhibition spaces, moving away from the segue of the runway, indicating the need for a change in the way fashion is communicated.

These brands also have a closely connected peer group both online and IRL, which has been described by some fashion critics as “cult” and “tribal”. This description seems banal for an industry which is supposed to encourage collective forms of creativity within communities. The clothing that these brands produce is also more ambiguous and casually constructed than has previously been the norm in traditional fashion circles, leading to their collections being generalised as “streetwear”. This is a term that some designers strongly disagree with. Nasir Mazhar has spoken out about this on numerous occasions and doesn’t understand why critics “can’t just call it fashion?”. When mentioned in an interview with Cottweiler, they were also quick to gloss over the term, and re-frame it as “High-end” or “Luxury”. Although the stereotype of streetwear still carries some stigma, these brands have helped to move it into the mainstream; making it one of the most successful styles of our generation.

Streetwear has gained the luxury status it needs, to show that being casual can also be cool. Shayne Oliver of Hood By Air says, that this new kind of luxury gives “the feel of being rich while looking active”; further highlighting the compelling paradox of this new fashion culture. Part of the reason for the convergence of these styles is that brands are actively taking advantage of the demographic-defying possibilities of our times, and are purposefully cross-correlating “two aesthetically different but emotionally similar categories of lifestyle”. While these brands propel their ideas out into the world, they are also helping to evolve concepts such as “streetwear” and “Luxury” beyond the parameters set by the previous generation, which is a huge triumph.

As a result, these fashion brands and their concepts are appreciating in wealth and value while remaining static; they are active without breaking a sweat, like moving stills in a gallery and users as they move around the internet. Their approach to fashion places more importance on the symbiotic appropriation of “Luxury” and “streetwear”, and by combining these concepts, they have been able to break through multiple social strata at once, while operating from a place of authenticity. In this way, they continue to directly confront the dynamic creativity most visibly found in our culture, on the street. Although this new formation in fashion requires that we dig a little deeper to understand the symbolism behind the clothing, it makes sense that we make this effort to see these brands and their creations as part of a larger concept or continuum; as a feeling which far surpasses any singular fashion cycle.

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Written by Emily Stoker,
featured image is by Studio Boum, of model Leo Topalov in Cottweiler‘s AW15 presentation.