Fashion is always interesting for our society. After our birth, our parents clothe us in a way that conforms to gender stereotypes. Blue for boys, Pink for girls. It’s jeans versus dresses.
In our entire lives, we deal with subtle and not-so-subtle expectations and cues of dressing up according to your gender. Our parents gave us nicknames and garbled if we stray away from expectation.
Fortunately, Queer fashion is moving beyond the expectations of society.
The Truth About Queer Fashion
The development of queer fashion in the past few years is finally starting to grow by leaps and bounds and is slowly pushing back against standardized expectations set by the society.
Numerous fashion and clothing blogs are now focusing on trends that stand against gender expectations. These movements are setting new trends and encouraging designers while comprehending how non-gender conforming people use clothing to show their personal stories and sensibilities.
Moreover, there are marquee events like Rainbow Fashion Week that gives queer fashion further exposure to different sectors in the society.
The Queer Fashion’s History
By history, men and women alike fight for the right to dress in a way that defies gender norms. Sad to say, these movements did not flourish that much toward gender-neutral.
What happens instead is that a woman who favors a man’s suit or a man who likes to wear a skirt become cross-dressers. The motivation behind Queer fashion is to try to create spaces that go beyond commonly-held perceptions of feminine and masculine style.
Below is one of the many brands who reshape the queer fashion landscape with other business sectors and carve out their unique place in the industry.
Harridian Township – Saint Harridian is an established company that promotes queer fashion for people with different gender identities. Through Harridan Township, the company is looking forward to monopolizing their mission for spreading queer fashion awareness.
Bindle and Keep – Bindle & Keep is probably the most famous queer fashion line. It had an HBO documentary that improves the brand’s clothing sale even further. It is a high-end company that gives enormous efforts to creating clothes for the non-gender conforming lines of clientele.
Genderflux – It is a queer-devoted company that fights against gender norms through designing an innovative and inclusive line of 15 clothing items that are ready-to-wear. Genderflux launched the IndieGoGo campaign to showcase the unique elements of queer fashion.
Who Owns Queer Fashion?
While queer fashion is earning recognitions in the fashion industry, both locally and globally, new queries of adoption and ownership start to emerge.
For what it’s worth, the idea of fashion and style as a social code or cue is already well-ingrained. And, it is true in the LGBT community.
As gender-fluid and gender-neutral clothing choices become readily available, most members of LGBT community start to wonder if they are missing something essential:
Mainstream – The mode of queer fashion is a concern for many. According to Anita Dolce Vita, owner of DapperQ, Queer style right now is incorporating with mainstream fashion. Her statement shares the similar concerns about mainstream brands that gain profit from innovative queer fashion design.
Exclusive – Sophie Wilkinson, a freelance journalist, studied the history of the lesbian community that wears masculine clothing and its use as a way to distinguish the difference between the queer and straight.
Inclusive – One of the many concerns that reaps much exposure is the idea of what’s trending when it comes to fashion. Laverne Cox, American Actress, and LGBT advocates said that while distinct identities become trendy and go viral, inclusivity shouldn’t be a trend, the way how people look shouldn’t be a trend.
Despite these issues, the positive impact of queer style and fashion is very visible. Transgender models are now more visible, and more non-gender conforming people continues to gain access to clothing that earmarks comfort, pride and yes, personal expressions.
Takeaway
Indeed, queer fashion never disappoints when it comes to uniqueness and originality. It’s the best time to enjoy your individuality and show what you are through the clothes that you wear. Wear the clothes that you want, walk with confidence and show your true colors.
About the Author
Jenny Park is an entrepreneur and designer by profession who loves writing as much as she loves dressing up. She also enjoys traveling to seek the latest trends in fashion and design in different states. Apart from her business, Jenny’s spares her time for writing things related to her expertise and shares them with her followers and readers. On her downtime, she indulges in cooking and loves experimenting fusion dishes.
