Androgynous Fashion Icons

Radclyffe Hall

An original pioneer of androgynous modes of dress, the author Radclyffe Hall inherited a sum of money in her early Twenties. Hall fully embraced this sartorial liberty and used it to visibly declare the respective roles she and her partner Una Troubridge played in their relationship – with Una by far the more feminine of the two – in one of the first open examples of public lesbianism. Her proclivity towards masculine dress was succinctly explored in her renowned novella, The Well of Loneliness, which bore abundant parallels to her own experiences, and explained of her protagonist that "her legs felt so free and comfortable in breeches; she adored pockets too, and these were forbidden – at least really adequate pockets.”

Marlene Dietrich

"I am sincere in my preference for my men's clothes – I do not wear them to be sensational," said Marlene Dietrich of her proclivity for a trouser suit. "I think I am much more alluring in these clothes." And alluring she was; when she attended a 1932 film premiere wearing a tuxedo it made waves throughout Hollywood – and beyond – for breaking gender norms, and doing so with such compelling impact.

Bianca Jagger

When Yves Saint Laurent designed Le Smoking, “it was a radical change for professional women, who could wear a practical suit which also looked elegant,” wrote Bianca Jagger following the death of the master couturier. "It was part of my liberation to be able to wear trouser suits because it makes life so easy." One of the first women to embrace his then-revolutionary designs, Jagger proudly championed the new silhouette for women – and her ease when wearing such pieces makes it hard to believe that such a decision was ever fraught with gender politics.

David Bowie

And then there was Bowie. "I really wanted, more than anything else, to contribute some in way to the culture I was living in," said the musical legend in 2002 – and, of course, he did. What Bowie did for fashion, for queering gender and for performing however you want to, is hard (read: impossible) to summate in a few words but, needless to say, his impact on androgyny lives on long past his death.

Grace Jones

Grace Jones’ ability to seamlessly segue from feminine seductress to executive masculinity means that, not only is she a phenomenal performer on stage, but she has also been responsible for creating some of the most powerfully subversive imagery of our times. "I was outside of race and gender,” she wrote in her 2015 memoirs. “I considered myself energy that had not been classified.” We couldn't put it better ourselves.

Prince

"I'm not a woman. I'm not a man. I am something that you'll never understand." So sings Prince in 'I Would Die 4 U' – a sentiment he explored throughout his life, throughout which he deconstructed conventions of masculinity, transporting queerness and androgyny into the pop culture mainstream. Now, with a Pantone colour in his honour, we will be proudly dressing in his homage.

Kurt Cobain

"There’s nothing more comfortable than a cosy flower pattern," Kurt Cobain once told Melody Maker – and here, on the cover of The Face in September 1993, he certainly looks comfortable. Besides being the founding father of grunge, Cobain was an out-and-proud feminist (before everyone was wearing such a slogan on their T-shirts), wore ballgowns to award shows, and challenged anyone to take issue with his choices. When he looks so completely charming in a tea dress, who would?

Androgynous Fashion

Androgynous Fashion Through the Years

While at Bedales, I researched as part of the Badley Project, one of my favourite subjects ; Androgynous Fashion! The history, the inspiration and the lack of it! Thought I would share.

Androgynous Fashion: How has it become mainstream?

Smashing the gender lines wasn't always as normal as it is today. Back in the 1930s and 40s, when Hollywood starlets such as Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn first pulled on wide-legged trousers and mannish button-down shirts, the look was considered scandalous and decidedly unfeminine. Fast forward to the 1990s, and androgyny officially became mainstream, thanks to the rise of feminism and pioneering designers such as Helmut Lang and Jil Sander. In the first decade of the new millennium, girls dressing like boys became a recurring fashion trend, as women continued to "borrow" items from men's wardrobes, lending to the popularity of items such as "boyfriend jeans" and "boyfriend jackets". 

At the opposite end of the spectrum, designers such as Hedi Slimane at Dior Homme redefined traditional notions of masculinity by creating a new silhouette for men consisting of slim-cut blazers and skinny trousers. Surprisingly, the jackets became a cult favourite among women who claimed that they fitted better. Today, fashion is more interchangeable than ever, with men dressing in womenswear and vice versa. As such, a new category has emerged as many designers build entire brands based around the concept of unisex garments. Unlike the androgynous look, which sees both sexes mix and match popular items from each other's wardrobes, unisex dressing doesn't discriminate, and eliminates gender norms. According to buyers, the concept has become more popular thanks to the re-emergence of minimalism on the fashion scene. "For sure, the minimal trend has led to the rise of more unisex silhouettes. And after a few seasons of prints and feminine touches, it's time to go back to basics, including boxy, less fitted and simpler cuts. 

This generation is more open minded and not concerned so much about gender. Today, both sexes will buy items they like, regardless of whether they are categorised as men's or women’s, citing brands such as Céline, Dries Van Noten and Thom Browne as cross-gender favourites. What makes unisex fashion so appealing and relevant today is that it eschews trends completely. Instead, it is used as a means of self-expression and encourages the wearer to experiment with their personal style without being bound by the constraints of gender. It's also relatively easy to wear.

Usually, unisex brands will do a wider size range in order to accommodate women's and men's sizes. In general, it is easier for customers to wear, as the bulk of the merchandise are usually less fitted, and require a less than perfect body shape. The biggest proponent of unisex fashion in the industry is Paris-based Canadian designer Rad Hourani, who founded the first unisex brand back in 2007.

Another following suit is British designer J.W. Anderson. Anderson's collections are very much rooted in menswear - he started designing men's first in 2008, but launched a women's collection in 2010. In all his collections, the line between menswear and womenswear is never defined, because both feature conceptual, avant-garde pieces that can be worn by both sexes.