Androgyny has been something of a hot topic of late. What’s
surprising is that the furore was initially kick-started not by the
clothes, but by the models themselves. Back in 2009, doe-eyed student
and occasional model Martin Cohn caused a stir when he slipped into a
sequined cocktail dress for the finale of Elsie Overland’s Spring
/Summer 2010 collection, but boys-as-girls-as-boys took some time to
ingrain itself into the collective consciousness.
Andrej Pejic has become the gender-bending face of fashionable
equality, leading the charge with his silky blonde locks and whippet-
slim frame, modelling a wedding dress on the catwalk at Gaultier, and
appearing in Marc Jacobs SS10 advertising campaign. Almost
simultaneously, Lea T was fighting the corner for in-demand
transgender models, appearing on the cover of Love locking lips with
Ms Moss, and walking at the Givenchy couture show. In January this
year the ever outspoken Cathy Horyn, writing in the New York Times,
suggested that the interest in gender fluidity, was part of a bigger
picture, claiming that the Internet, a virtual hotbed for daring and
dramatic image experimentation, had laid the foundation for the
return of “individual creative power”.
Whilst the Internet may have made individuality easier to locate and
swifter to flourish (the tattooed Rico Genest, discovered by Nicola
Formichetti via Facebook is a case in point), musicians and pop
culture icons have been wielding the unusual as a trademark,
incorporated elements of androgyny into their aesthetic and exploring
the accepted rules of gender and stereotype. The decadence now
associated with Weimar Germany (think of Marlene Dietrich in The Blue
Angel by Josef von Sternberg and stage productions of The Threepenny
Opera by Bertolt Brecht or any scene from Bob Fosse’s Cabaret),
represented a new take on hedonistic and artistic expressionism. As
for Dietrich, the enduring, iconic and much imitated stills from
Morocco (released in 1930 and directed by von Strenberg), clad in a
tuxedo, a crisp white shirt and silk top hat, casually lighting a
cigarette, remains one of the defining images of elegant androgyny.
As Ziggy Stardust, David Bowie painted his face with a distinctive
zigzag stripe and favoured geometric print body-suits in a new take
on superhero styling. He complemented his look with over the knee
boots and outlandish stage outfits, and created, according to the
biographer David Buckley “perhaps the biggest cult in popular
culture”. Around this time the psychologist Sarah Bem suggested that
society had not encouraged the development of both masculine and
feminine characteristics within the same individual, and that
psychological androgyny can expand the range of behaviors available
to everyone.
Warhol was one of the first to embrace the double facets of his
persona, and in 1981 collaborated on a series of photographs dressed
in drag, but this was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The
80’s saw distinctively feminine men embrace an androgynous attire,
beginning with Prince (who still favours high heeled boots), Soft
Cell’s Marc Almond, and Boy George, whose eclectic clash of geisha
make-up and heavy gold chains ensured he stood out in the line-up of
Culture Club.
Whilst the boys were busy imitating the girls, they played them at
their own game, as power dressing reigned supreme. Making a stand for
female empowerment, Madonna, Annie Lennox and Grace Jones challenged
accepted notions of sexuality, playing up to and extending the
standards set by the Twenties Garconnes. The Flappers were content
with simpler, but by no means less scandalous acts, opting to bob
their hair, drop the waistlines of their dresses, or flatten their
chests, resembling something of a teenage boy. In contrast, Madonna
et al pushed it further, flavouring their androgyny with a hint of
subversive sexuality. In the video for ‘Express Yourself’, Madonna
swaps a floor-length, bias cut satin dress, paired with classic
finger waves, for a square cut double breasted blazer and wide-legged
trouser suit, worn with a lacy black bra and a peroxide crop. Lennox
preferred to clash her striking orange crop and perfect red lips with
suiting and a sober grey tie.
It’s ironic that, despite this persuasive and chequered history,
androgynous dressing can still seem so fresh and exciting. The
interest has, this season, shifted from the models to the clothes,
although if this is a direct result of Andrej or a reference to the
cyclical nature of fashion, is difficult to discern. Usually more
than reliable purveyors of high-octane, glossy Italian glamour, Dolce
and Gabbana literally borrowed from the boys, and opted instead for
oversized blazers with satin lapels, shirt and tie combos, ankle-
grazing trousers held up with skinny braces, and thick soled brogues
(themselves a deferential homage to Prada’s Spring Summer 2011
collection). In London J. JS Lee opted for minimal tailoring that
works equally well across both genders, her neutral palette and sober
silhouettes exacerbating the conceit. Less of a challenge to the
gender stereotype and more an affirmation that there’s still a norm
to be subverted, androgynous fashion remains a debate to join for
AW 2011.
