The Future of Gender-Neutral Clothing

The world is a dissonant place. We’ve somehow managed to divide everything, even seemingly innocuous products like tissues, into products designed for men or women. This split is especially apparent in the fashion industry, where we split stores into sections. For adults, it’s men or women. For children, it’s boys or girls, even though we recognize now that gender exists on a broad spectrum. 

Acknowledgment and acceptance of this variety have led to a new fashion trend — gender-neutral clothing. Here’s what started this trend and where we can expect to see it go in the future.

Clothing History Is Backward

Before we can look forward, we need to start by looking back at fashion history. Many things we consider masculine or feminine now are completely backward from how they used to be utilized and accepted.

High heels are now considered the peak of feminine fashion, but did you know men wore them first? Heels date back to 10th-century Persia when soldiers would use them to secure their feet in stirrups. This fashion statement made the Persian cavalry some of the most feared warriors in the ancient world.

Skirts, robes and tunics were worn by people on both sides of the gender spectrum, primarily because they were more comfortable and offered freedom of movement. We didn’t invent pants because of the need to enforce gender norms — they were necessary for cold environments and those who rode horses.

Gendered Colors

Even more recently, we have the dichotomy between pink and blue. Today, pink is considered a feminine color and blue is deemed to be masculine, but it wasn’t always that way. Pastels became popular for babies in the early 19th century. Pink and blue were chosen because they complemented infants’ hair and eye color — blue going well with blonde hair and blue eyes and pink highlighting dark hair and eyes.

Later, blue became a popular color for girls because it was more delicate and dainty than intense pink, which people preferred for boys. In the 1960s, pink became a girls’ color because the population deemed it more romantic and delicate.

So much of what we consider a rule when it comes to gendered fashion — and gender in general — is twisted and backward from what used to be considered normal. Women can join male-dominated fields and thrive, and men can admit they have emotions and might struggle with their mental health. Why does the fashion industry cling so tightly to the gender binary?

The Beginnings of a Trend

The idea of gender-neutral clothing isn’t new, though it fell under a different name. In 1968, fashion designers like Pierre Cardin and Andre Courreges started creating what we understand as unisex fashion. These designs were sleek and simple, often made from synthetic fabrics, and could be worn by either gender. You would see these designs on fashion and pop culture icons like David Bowie and Grace Jones, famous for their refusal to comply with gender norms.

Unisex fashion has evolved over the years, taking on different forms throughout the decades. In the 21st century, celebrities and media started popularizing the androgynous look — fashion choices that didn’t lean toward either end of the gender spectrum.

Today, famous faces are leaning toward a more gender-neutral fashion style. Lady Gaga, Ruby Rose, Harry Styles, Jaden Smith and many others weave seamlessly from one end of the fashion spectrum to the other.

Looking Forward

According to industry experts, the future of fashion is genderless. This movement includes everyone from high fashion designers to retail chain outlets like Old Navy, Nike and Asos, who’ve all recently introduced a gender-neutral clothing section for shoppers to choose from. Designers who previously specialized in menswear find that women also want to buy their collections. 

We’re not suggesting that stores turn to chaos, giving up all organization in favor of offering solely gender-neutral clothing options. It’s easy to reorganize a shop by color or clothing style, rather than by the gender that social constructs determine should wear it.

We’re a long way off from being able to eliminate the gender binary in fashion entirely. Still, there is no reason that we should be categorizing clothing by gender in 2022.

The Future Is Gender-Neutral

Billy Porter looks just as impressive in an evening gown as Angelina Jolie on the red carpet. We’ve started to accept the fact that gender is a spectrum.

Now the fashion industry is fighting against decades of ingrained stereotypes and social norms, but for the most part, it’s winning. The future of fashion is gender-neutral, and we’re lucky enough to watch it happen.