Antigender Fashion

In this rich examination of gender-fluidity in contemporary fashion design, Judith Beyer develops an emerging new theoretical framework for understanding how fashion can blur and challenge gender boundaries: antigender fashion. How is gender-fluidity in contemporary fashion different from 20th century androgyny or millennial unisex styles? Like antifashion, which opposes and challenges fashion, Beyer argues that antigender fashion seeks to dismantle and confront binary gender signifiers. After tracing the history of gender-blurring fashion from Marlene Dietrichs androgynous tailoring to Alessandro Micheles floral Gucci suits, case studies of four high-profile fashion brands reveal the diverse approaches to gender-fluidity in contemporary fashion. Investigating each case study through multiple theoretical perspectives from gender studies to gothic horror, cyborg theory to Afrofuturism Beyer situates antigender fashion in a rich theoretical landscape and illuminates exciting new critical directions for students and researchers. Can antigender fashion influence the construction of contemporary masculinities and femininities and can it be a catalyst for change?