As the condition of the climate continues to morph into "an uninhabitable mess of drought and despair before our very eyes", we rely on dystopian futuristic fare like Mad Max Fury Road to make all this impending doom and gloom more palatable. In this case, director George Miller channeled all that collective angst in a movie with so much action and so little dialogue, he hopes it will "be understood in Japan without the use of subtitles."
What this adrenaline-fueled "western on wheels" also features is a very badass Charlize Theron as Furiosa, all shaved head, armed - & bionically armed - on a mission to cross the post-apocalyptic desert, headed for the safety of the coast. What it doesn't feature is anything too feminine, fashionwise. These masculine warrior-woman types created by Hollywood aren't only waging war on the government and other outlaws, but on cultural stereotypes. It's one thing for a woman to shave her head during chemotherapy, but it's something entirely different to ditch your tresses to go into battle. (image)
At the same time, men are being encouraged to explore their "feminine" side, especially if Vivienne Westwood (left) has her way come Fall of 2015 with her collection dubbed, so subtly, Unisex. ("Dresses for men?" remarks Style.com's reviewer, the awesome Tim Blanks. "When was the last time that was even worthy of mention as a thing?")
Even Selfridges is getting in on genderbending things with Agender, a new campaign exploring "the masculine, the feminine and interplay found in-between." They created a concept space spanning three floors of their Oxford Street location in London, offering unisex clothing and accessories from Ann Demeulemeester, Comme des Garçons, Meadham Kirchoff and Gareth Pugh.
From this gender-neutral perspective, one of the most interesting of the group has to be Rad Hourani, who spent the year prior to launching his eponymous fashion label studying human anatomy in order to develop clothing patterns that merge men's and women's design into a single approach able to fit "all genders, forms and shapes." His view is that traditional clothing categories have morphed into boxes everyone is desperate to think outside of. "We live in a technological world where you can be anywhere at anytime, which has made us more of aware that boundaries between nations, races, gender are man-made," he explains. "Today more than ever, we realize how violent boundaries can be."
The Agender campaign will also feature photography, film, music and design pieces exploring the idea of gender. "Moving away from the tradition of a societal and sartorial binary gender definition," they explain, "we will take our customers on a journey where they can choose to shop and dress without limitations or stereotypes." Which includes wrapping purchased in white canvas to further help shoppers not to feel labelled.
"Fashion," agrees Stephanie Hahn, whose 22/4 label features the same looks for both sexes, just with adjustments for physical frame size, "is the direct and uncensored reflection of our society." And society, particularly our traditional sartorial boundaries dividing the "feminine" from the "masculine", is changing. But to what, exactly? If the Doomsday Preppers and Endtimes enthusiasts are correct, the end is nigh.
And the question of course that jumps to my mind is: Oh god...what do I wear?
- Lesley Scott
(Rad Hourani unisex designs via source)
NOTE: The focus of this endeavor on the element of societal breakdown is a signature of the Apocalytical fashion tribe. For more of my posts and podcasts about the Apocalytical tribe, CLICK HERE. To learn more about each of fashion's four mega-tribes that I track, START HERE.
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