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Prior to 2015, you were more likely to hear about androgynous fashion than gender neutral fashion in India. Androgynous gender expression sits right in centre of a spectrum described as masculine and feminine on polar opposites. Androgynous clothing was largely pictured as cross dressing where women slipped into mens suits on ramps and men wore ladies sweaters to corporate Fridays. Unlike gender-binary notions of “unisex” or “androgyny”, fashion’s gender neutral revolution of 2015 challenged the very gender tags attached to a particular style. Gender neutrality looked beyond binary to recognise gender non-binary. However, are Indian men ready to wear gender neutral fashion?
GENDER NEUTRAL FASHION – TRENDING AMONG INDIAN MEN
When it comes to forecasting the fashion trends of India, the last decade has shown a clear pattern where Western trends take roughly up to a year to three – to be manufactured locally, and for the trends to trickle down in ramps. It may take more time for all that jazz to be marketed, and further trickle down to masses. In 2016, Ranveer Singh wore septum ring and pussy bow blouse on L’Officiel cover – most powerful gender fluid statement from a male celebrity in India yet.
By 2017, gender fluidity was buzzing hot on desi Instagram. By 2018, gender neutral statements were omnipresent on runways. And in that backdrop of events, I even got an opportunity to discuss my journey towards gender neutral fashion at TEDxChennai.
INDIAN MEN AREN’T READY TO WEAR DRESSES, NOT YET!
Bummer! Even among the women, not every Indian is comfortable in Western silhouettes like bifurcated jeggings or corset gowns. What works in homogeneous Western cultures need not necessarily work in heterogeneous Indian society. Gender neutrality is otherwise inherent in DNA of familiar mens styles like kurta pajama.
“When it comes to traditional outfits, Indian men and women share kurtas, lungis and dhotis with ease. They are comfortable in bright, draped shawls, and they even wear embroidered mojaris. As a culture, we’re also used to seeing men wear pearls and jewels for weddings. Western men would normally shy away from even a brooch, forget a necklace.” – Wendell Rodricks
Indian subcontinent has a rich history of silhouettes, jewellery, grooming, and makeup that are largely gender neutral. Most draped silhouettes that Indians wore prior to colonial period were chiefly gender neutral in nature. Think dhoti pants, think cowl kurta – worn with headgears, brooch and statement accessories. Shantanu & Nikhil menswear. Wendell Rodricks lungis. TarunTahiliani drapes. Kallol Dutta, Antar Agni and Arjun Saluja are few other names that immediately pops in my head. India has a far richer gender neutral clothing history than Western world, and it’s very important on a cultural scale to build upon the indigenous elements of gender neutrality.
WHAT IF INDIAN FASHION TRENDS TRICKLE UP THAN JUST TRICKLE DOWN?
Designers who skip fashion history books and jump straight into trend books are more like those doctors who never attended medical school and yet, diagnose you Googling symptoms. The formula so far has been – wrap elitist cultural values with Western influences and you get what’s marketed as fashion in India. The design direction for Athleisure fiasco in Indian fashion was such that not only the silhouettes were directly borrowed from trend books of West but interpretations remained largely elitist too. Despite trending for more than half a decade, Indian version of athleisure or modest fashion often ignored the Real_MVP… The most popular leisurewear garments of the subcontinent – lungi & nighties! What if the mass costume culture trickles up to influence high fashion trends to question status quo? That direction takes you beyond the controlled imaginations of elitism. Will ruffled dresses become a societal normalcy for Indian men in 2019? No sure if we’re there yet, but an effective route to destruct gender constructs is to reconstruct the inherent gender neutrality of known silhouettes.
45 responses to “2019 – Are Indian Men Ready To Wear Gender Neutral Fashion?”
great information ………
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This is quite an interesting post and blog.
thank you for sharing it. It is awsome and all Indian should wear such dresses, i love it
Very Nice content in this post.
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Very well written content. Love to read more articles from you.
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Nice article I always read your articles.
Hey loved your work. This is a great content i have ever read. I am waiting for your more post on men’s fashion.
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AmpourOnline.comGreat content.Keep up the good work.
Thanks for sharing…Hey, This was a really different kind of article i have read so far. Looking forward to your upcoming blog posts. Keep inspiring.
Nice explanation for gender fashion. Looking forward to furthering articles.
Waoo !! the unique and creative concept in fashion world !
This is very really unique helpful information. keep it up. Thank you so much!
I love indian designs, especially sarhi. Your blog is awesome. I have found stunning design here. Thanks for sharing
Great design. I like all these. Thanks for sharing i want to buy
these kurtas and pajamas are very common for men and women , well nice post waiting for your more post keep it up
Good Luck I always check you…
This is something new I just read here. Gender neutral fashion shows Indian Culture.
Thank you for sharing.
My Fashion VillaThis article is very nice and all about of fashion tread for men or women. fashion is most popular case now a days.
It’s all about of culture different countries.
Thank you for sharing with us.Thanks for sharing this interesting information.
Thanks for this Wonderful read.You shared great content.
Right, we Indians are not so much comfortable in Western silhouettes.
True That! Great Blog!
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Wow. Just an awesome article. your creative in images and content throughout is good. Need to read more from you. Thanks for this.
!Nice discussion about an Indian fashion and gender-neutral.
Thanks for sharing this informative post.
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neutral gender in fashion? ah.. i must think twice to wear it
!Thanks for sharing the article about gender-neutral fashion in India. I also think this is trending among Indian men. I would like to give a special thanks for here the discussion about the differences between Indian and western trends. how they shy from that which we like, kurtas, pyjamas and lungi.
Awesome you have great sense of fashion. Thanks for sharing.
something different as always,
nice postAbsolutely disgusting. Male should stick to male stuff than female.
It doesnt look nice. its like gayish
Your style is fabulous. Good job, keep going!
Gender neutral clothes look so nice although it will take time to indian men to accept this new trend. As we all know that in India if you wear something that is not regular then people stare you like they saw an alien. I must say you have beautifully wrote this article. Thank you so much for sharing. keep it up.
This clothes are beautiful and especially the gender neutral clothes always look good. thanks for writing over this topic. Keep it up.
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