Gender-neutral fashion is evolving in Jaipur as women flaunt suits and men experiment with angrakha kurtas and drapes
When Ranveer Singh does it, he makes it to the columns of our pages, and nobody seems to mind. When a man in Jaipur does it, well, he may end up raising more than a few eyebrows. While androgynous fashion may not have exactly made a debut in the Pink City " as far as men’s fashion is concerned " gender-based clothing has become less polarised in recent times with most avant-garde designers and brands featuring unisex collections.
While our city still has a long way to go until the day when men can confidently carry classic skirts, we must not forget that androgyny has existed throughout Indian history. Our city, known for its royal heritage and culture, had the royal families sporting floor-length achkans for both the genders. Though gender-neutral, or androgynous fashion is a fairly new trend on the radar, international houses like Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent had already given women trousers and tuxedos in early 20th century.
It’s not just about the trousers, after all. Women are also seen flaunting brogues and boyfriend jeans while men are comfortably flaunting silhouettes that are typically associated with the opposite gender. It is rightly said that ‘sex is biological and gender is neutral’ and using clothes to play with gender is all about highlighting the edges of society and questioning cultural norms. AFTERhrs talks to stylists and designers of the city to know more about the trend.
SUITS FOR WOMEN AND SKIRTS FOR MEN
Gender-neutral fashion has been here for aeons. “Victorian and empire eras are proof that women also wore pants and suits with ducktail long back. The history of Scottish men proves that men wore skirts. Even Marc Jacobs, a renowned American luxury designer, has been spotted wearing skirts a lot of times. In India, Ranveer Singh has been spotted wearing long roman style skirts for his movie promotions,” shared Sheena Angrish, co-founder at Angrish. “Actresses like Angelina Jolie, Victoria Beckham and Sonam Kapoor have also been spotted wearing quite big lapel pant suits with bow ties and pleated smoked shirts. Fashion is an ongoing process, it will always keep on changing but it always returns to the starting point. In Jaipur, gender-neutral fashion is evolving at quite a pace. Women have started flaunting suits and men are also experimenting with angrakha kurtas and drape kurtas,” she added.
NO GENDER BAR
While your guy or girl next door may shy away from experimenting too much, stylists believe that fashion has always been genderless. “As fashion is evolving, there is no gender bar on clothes and accessories. Fashion itself loves to experiment and so do people. Fashion is about creating your own story and the trend of androgynous fashion is emerging in the Pink City,” expressed Abhimanyu Singh Tomar, stylist. “People’s mindset has certainly changed in the recent years and with changing trends, they have become more experimental,” he added.
MORE EXPERIMENTAL, LESS JUDGMENTAL
The days have gone far by, when skirts were just for women and trousers were just for men. In 2018, gender no longer dictates the way people dress. “Jaipur has modernised with time and people have become more experimental and less judgmental. We even do men’s contemporary clothing with 24k gold. In fact, in one of our recent shows, we played with loads of experimental cuts, layering and draping in the men’s collection. It was really well accepted and appreciated. I am personally really captivated by the new occult,” shared Suvigya Sharma, designer.
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