Androgyny in fashion

In the 1900s, starting around World War I traditional gender roles blurred and fashion pioneers such as Paul Poiret and Coco Chanel introduced trousers to women's fashion. The "flapper style" for women of this era included trousers and a chic bob, which gave women an androgynous look.[3] Coco Chanel, who had a love for wearing trousers herself, created trouser designs for women such as beach pajamas and horse-riding attire.[1] During the 1930s, glamorous actresses such as Marlene Dietrich fascinated and shocked many with their strong desire to wear trousers and adopt the androgynous style. Dietrich is remembered as one of the first actresses to wear trousers in a premiere.[4]

Yves Saint Laurent, the tuxedo suit "Le Smoking", created in 1966

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the women's liberation movement is likely to have contributed to ideas and influenced fashion designers, such as Yves Saint Laurent.[5] Yves Saint Laurent designed the Le Smoking suit first introduced in 1966, and Helmut Newton’s erotized androgynous photographs of it made Le Smoking iconic and classic.[6] The Le Smoking tuxedo was a controversial statement of femininity that revolutionized trousers.

Elvis Presley, however, is considered the one who introduced androgynous style to rock'n'roll and made it the standard template for rock'n'roll front-men since the 1950s.[7] His pretty face and use of eye makeup often made people think he was a rather "effeminate guy",[8] but he was considered the prototype for the looks of rock'n'roll.[7] The Rolling Stones, says Mick Jagger, became androgynous "straightaway unconsciously" because of him.[8]

However, the upsurge of androgynous dressing for men really began during the 1960s and 1970s. When the Rolling Stones played London's Hyde Park in 1969, Mick Jagger wore a white 'man's dress' by British designer Mr Fish.[9] Mr Fish, also known as Michael Fish, was the most fashionable shirt-maker in London, the inventor of 'the Kipper tie', and a principal taste-maker of 'the Peacock revolution' in men's fashion.[10] His creation for Mick Jagger was considered to be the epitome of the Swinging Sixties.[11] From then on, androgynous style was adopted by celebrities like Jimi Hendrix, who often wore high heels and blouses.

During the 1970s, David Bowie presented his alter ego Ziggy Stardust, a character that was a symbol of sexual ambiguity when he launched the album 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and Spiders from Mars'.[12] This was when androgyny entered the mainstream in the 1970s and had a big influence in pop culture. Another significant influence during this time included John Travolta, one of the androgynous male heroes of the post-counter-culture disco era, who starred in Grease and Saturday Night Fever.[13]

Annie Lennox was known for her androgyny in the 1980s

Continuing into the 1980s, the rise of avant-garde fashion designers like Yohji Yamamoto,[14] challenged the social constructs around gender. They reinvigorated androgyny in fashion, addressing gender issues. This was also reflected within pop culture icons during the 1980s, such as David Bowie and Annie Lennox.[15]

Power dressing for women became even more prominent within the 1980s which was previously only something done by men in order to look structured and powerful. However, during the 1980s this began to take a turn as women were entering jobs with equal roles to the men. In the article “The Menswear Phenomenon” by Kathleen Beckett written for Vogue in 1984 the concept of power dressing is explored as women entered these jobs they had no choice but to tailor their wardrobes accordingly, eventually leading the ascension of power dressing as a popular style for women.[16] Women begin to find through fashion they can incite men to pay more attention to the seduction of their mental prowess rather, than the physical attraction of their appearance. This influence in the fashion world quickly makes its way to the world of film, with movies like "Working Girl" using power dressing women as their main subject matter.

Androgynous fashion made its most powerful in the 1980s debut through the work of Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo, who brought in a distinct Japanese style that adopted distinctively gender ambiguous theme. These two designers consider themselves to very much a part of the avant-garde, reinvigorating Japanism.[17] Following a more anti-fashion approach and deconstructing garments, in order to move away from the more mundane aspects of current Western fashion. This would end up leading a change in Western fashion in the 1980s that would lead on for more gender friendly garment construction. This is because designers like Yamamoto believe that the idea of androgyny should be celebrated, as it is an unbiased way for an individual to identify with one's self and that fashion is purely a catalyst for this.

Also during the 1980s, Grace Jones's a famous singer and fashion model gender-thwarted appearance in the 1980s which startled the public, but her androgynous style of heavily derivative of power dressing and eccentric personality has inspired many, and has become an androgynous style icon for modern celebrities.[18] This was seen as controversial but from then on, there was a rise of unisex designers later in the 1990s and the androgynous style was widely adopted by many.

In 2016, Louis Vuitton revealed that Jaden Smith would star in their womenswear campaign. Because of events like this, gender fluidity in fashion has been discussed in the media regarding Lady Gaga, Ruby Rose, and in Tom Hooper's film The Danish Girl. Jaden Smith has inspired the movement with his appeal for clothes to be non-gender specific, meaning that men can wear skirts and women can wear boxer shorts if they so wish.[19]