Can androgynous fashion help us move a step closer towards achieving a Gender-Equal society?

Androgynous fashion refers to the donning of clothes and accessories in such a way that it avoids creating a distinction between masculine or feminine physical characteristics and to express non-binary gender identity. In other words, it refers to fashion that is neither feminine nor masculine but gender-inclusive and sexually neutral, hence creating a genderfluid fashion.

Paul Poiret & Coco Chanel are considered to be among the first very few pioneers to introduce Androgynous Fashion Style to the fashion industry. In the 1900s Coco Chanel designed trousers that could be worn by women. After this, many liberation movements in the 1900s liberated women to wear comfortable clothes which allowed free body movement. The 1960s saw a great change in women breaking free from their rigid gender standards but it was also time for men to loosen out of the gender stereotypes and discover their identity.

In India, we can witness the androgyny fashion not only in Western Fashion but also in some of our Authentic Traditional Fashion too. For example- The Mundu or the Lungi wore predominantly by the men of South India is similar to a feminine skirt. Kurtas and Salwars are worn by men and women equally. The Nauvari Saree worn by women of Maharashtra is draped in a similar way to that of the male dhoti.

Androgynous fashion refers to the donning of clothes and accessories in such a way that it avoids creating a distinction between masculine or feminine physical characteristics and to express non-binary gender identity. In other words, it refers to fashion that is neither feminine nor masculine but gender-inclusive and sexually neutral, hence creating a genderfluid fashion.