His & Hers Ambiguous Gender Dressing Launched in Harvey Nichols

His & Hers Ambiguous Gender Dressing Launched in Harvey Nichols

His & Hers Ambiguous Gender Dressing Launched in Harvey Nichols

The fashion world has been moving towards a more ambiguous way of dressing, seen across the industry from Givenchy’s use of campaign images and Saint Laurent’s unisex collection, to the rise of transgender model Andrej Pejic.
This trend is now hitting the streets of the UK, according to research released today from the luxury retailer Harvey Nichols which reveals that almost half of all Britons regularly wear items of their partners clothing (48%).
Not surprisingly the trend is more prevalent amongst women with 40% raiding their boyfriend’s wardrobe but, even so, a third of men (34%) admit to wearing their partner’s clothes. The trend is particularly popular amongst the young with more than three quarters (77%) of 18-25 year olds and 61% of 25-35 year olds admitting to frequently ‘cross- dressing’.
Boyfriend jeans are now a common denim style but perhaps retailers should consider ’boyfriend knickers’, according the survey 1 in 10 Brits are wearing each other’s underwear!  And it is more men than are wearing the knickers than women (10% v 8%).  This figure rises amongst the young with 18% of 18-24 year olds wearing their partner’s pants.
To capitalise on this trend Harvey Nichols is launching an ‘his&her wear’ section on its website featuring a wide range of gender neutral clothes and accessories.
The trend has also been showcased in the retailer’s latest shoot, featuring male model Travis Smith.  The shoot identifies key elements of this trend, which moves away from the traditional androgynous themes giving men and women a new merged style.
Androgyny vs Ambiguity
Androgyny has been the dominant theme in fashion over the years, as a form of sexualised masculinity for women, it was concerned with breaking down traditional roles and played on the contrast of wearing clothing specifically not intended for your gender, such as the classic YSL ‘Le Smoking’ look of women in tuxedos, it was meant to be impactful, making a strong statement on gender roles.  
However the new wave of Ambiguity is different, those marked divisions between the sexes have been blurred and it is instead morphing both genders into a new uniform style worn by all. Softer and less obvious it is a subconscious blurring between masculine and feminine that exists within their current lifestyle, these uniform items are meant for both sexes, for example it is no longer seen as unusual for a man to wear women’s jeans because they prefer a slimmer fit.
Why now?  
Women have a history of embracing more masculine clothing, from the 80s “Power Suits” with exaggerated shoulders giving a masculine silhouette; it has been used as a transformative weapon to empower women in the workforce. So what is most interesting is the new acceptance of traditionally feminine forms by men. Modern heterosexual men have no shame in wearing women’s clothing, they do not feel it threatens their masculinity but instead they seem to embrace the more gentle, slender, and even girlish aesthetic. After years of women feeling the need to dress like men to gain respect, there has been a power shift and finally men are accepting the power of the female form.
Changes in Behaviour of Customers
The result of this culture change is that fashion increasingly shows no gender distinction, with designers now creating with men and women’s bodies in mind, their differences no longer relevant.
Harvey Nichols buying team reveal that this season’s cult items are the same for both men and women. Key items such as bomber jackets, Polo-necks, leather tops, high-top trainers and brogues have all performed as best-sellers across both departments. Harvey Nichols highest selling items over the last year have been the same, such as the Givenchy Rottweiler collection and Valentino camouflage trainers, these cult products are desired by both sexes.
Harvey Nichols explains, “We have seen huge similarities in the key trends for men and women this season and brands like “Nudie” and “V Files” actually producing unisex ranges.”
To cater to this new demand for a unisex look, Harvey Nichols has unveiled a new ‘His&Hers’ category on its website.
This theme also seems to have affected beauty trends with a key development this season being clean, totally neutral faces. Harvey Nichols explain “this season the look is no mascara, moving away from any feminine shapes on the eyes, focusing instead on creating natural skin, the face is left neutral, as seen as the Philip Lim AW14 show”.
Borrowing from your partner doesn’t stop at their clothes. When it comes to beauty just over a quarter (26%) of the UK regularly borrow something of their other half’s -  35% of men and 17% of females. Men readily admit they want to take more pride in their appearance with a quarter of men admitting to borrowing their partner’s moisturiser and 10% borrowing make up.
Beauty bloggers have been creating videos targeting women wanting to create the look of actor Jared Leto’s long hair. (OR Daniel Hersheson at HN has reported women coming in asking for the “Jared Leto” ombre look). Similarly for women the partly shaved head has been a strong trend, most recently shown by Gisele in the Balengiaca campaign.