BY: SYDNEY MCINNIS

Last week I went to a Ryerson University fashion show called Fixate. The grand total of eight minutes that the models circled the runway were filled with cutting-edge designs where dudes rocked dresses and girls paraded in box-cut, baggy styles from head to toe. The line between male and female fashion was completely blurred. The binary didn’t exist. It was so fucking cool.

To my surprise, it turns out that androgyny is a big, trendy thing in high fashion right now. In January, Gucci’s menswear runway collection consisted of experimental pieces even more theatrical than Prince or Bowie. Nic Screws from the National Post stated, “Models of both genders—waifish male models and boyish female models alike—were wearing silhouettes, fabrications, and items of clothing that traditionally appear in womenswear collections.”

In January, Gucci’s menswear runway collection consisted of experimental pieces even more theatrical than Prince or Bowie.

Androgyny – the meshing of masculine and feminine characteristics. There are loads of people who heavily identify with this beautiful construction and are finally starting to be able to express their identity as openly as they’d like without having to face the same discrimination that they would have just a decade ago. In the past there has been so much aggressive cisgender pressure, or at least pressure to dress like one gender or the other, but with this new breakthrough in gender blurring, people are able to find fluidity and be confident in that. Perhaps it’s a setback that Gucci and other designers are treating androgyny like a trend.

Androgyny – the meshing of masculine and feminine characteristics.

Georgina Jones from Bustle states, “Essentially, androgyny feels like an easy way to make art, fashion and aesthetic edgier. The politics of androgyny have been lost, and what was meant to be an inclusive celebration of the rainbow of the gender spectrum is now a fashion statement for the bodies that can ‘pull it off’.”

“Essentially, androgyny feels like an easy way to make art, fashion and aesthetic edgier.”

I spoke to Magdalena Kincaid, a fashion communications student at Ryerson University who can “literally go from Barbie to Bieber,” about her personal exploration through androgynous fashion. “I’m seeing [androgynous fashion] more and more on runways which is obviously nice to see, but they’re only doing it because it’s a style that’s in. It’s a trend for them, and every trend dies out.”

For Kincaid, fluidity in style feels comfortable and clicks. Presenting yourself a certain way through style is one of the only ways to communicate a message without words to those around you, which is why she finds such passion in fashion.

“I’m seeing [androgynous fashion] more and more on runways which is obviously nice to see, but they’re only doing it because it’s a style that’s in. It’s a trend for them, and every trend dies out.”

Androgyny is not just a trend that will fade out with the season – it’s a mindset, an identifier and a way of being. “The style, of course, isn’t dominant in ideologies. There’s still the whole: girls should dress like this and boys should dress like that,” Kincaid said. “The thing is, though, that what makes some people uncomfortable about this style, makes people who are into it so comfortable. It feels right for me and looks so good.”

Androgyny is not just a trend that will fade out with the season – it’s a mindset, an identifier and a way of being.

Conventional gender labels simply aren’t relevant anymore. People who actively enforce the gender binary are fucking equality and respect in the ass. Living in a gender-less bubble is really starting to seem like the benevolent thing to support and participate in, so advocating for androgynous fashion just goes along with it. After all, “androgyny is breaking beauty standards and in ways is creating a new name for the fashion industry,” said Kincaid.

Conventional gender labels simply aren’t relevant anymore.

Although I encourage gender blurring in style and generally in most aspects of life, I will not advocate for fashion corporations using androgyny as a way to skyrocket their sales. It’s vital to remember that people dress the way they do for so many reasons – perhaps motivated by their passions, perhaps motivated by their sexuality, and perhaps for some other reason that isn’t any of your business.

Image sources: standard.co.uk,  nationalpost.com,