‘Fashioning Masculinities:’ Tracing the history of gender-fluid menswear

An extended cape in a light-catching dusty pink; a floral brocaded silk gown with a cinched waist; a army buff coat adorned with dainty ribbon fastenings — these are a number of the most subversive gadgets featured within the new exhibition “Fashioning Masculinities: The Artwork of Menswear,” at London’s Victoria and Albert museum (the V&A). However this distinctly female menswear is not the work of at this time’s new-gen trend designers — they’re historic artifacts from the seventeenth, 18th and nineteenth centuries.

“We actually wish to present individuals the lengthy historical past of adjusting concepts of masculinity,” co-curator Rosalind McKever instructed CNN on the museum’s exhibition preview. “(What ought to menswear appear like) looks like such a recent query, however this can be a for much longer story than perhaps some individuals notice.”

Situated within the V&A’s subterranean gallery house, “Fashioning Masculinities” focuses on three key points of menswear: underwear, extravagant regalia and naturally, the swimsuit. Whereas every component flows rhythmically onto the subsequent, this isn’t your typical journey by way of historical past. As a substitute, up to date seems by younger designers sit alongside their historic references, usually mixing in seamlessly with the previous. A corseted silk costume with full farthingale-style skirt seems straight out of a Sixteenth-century ballroom, when in actuality it debuted final September on a London runway in the course of the Edward Crutchley Spring-Summer time 2022 present.

Ensemble by Edward Crutchley. Spring Summer time 2022. Credit score: ©Chris Yates/Courtesy of Edward Crutchley/Victoria and Albert Museum

Whereas “Fashioning Masculinities” facilities on menswear, gender fluidity is the bedrock of a lot of what’s on present. It is a college of thought that promotes genuine dwelling (and dressing), says gender-fluid designer Harris Reed, who options within the exhibition. “I’ve gone into my craft as a result of I did not wish to make one other field for what a lady is or a person is, and even for what a non-binary individual is,” Reed instructed CNN. “You’re creating one thing for that physique, for that being. It is about dwelling with out boundaries and with out borders.”

Harry Types in Gucci’s Pre-Fall 2019 Males’s Tailoring Marketing campaign. Inventive Director: Alessandro Michele; Artwork Director: Christopher Simmonds; Photographer & Director: Concord Korine. Credit score: Concord Korine/Courtesy of Gucci/Victoria and Albert Museum

“Being included in an exhibition like that is fairly surreal,” he mentioned. “I keep in mind going to a museum as a small child and never seeing any illustration of myself in any respect. So it is fairly an emotional factor coming right here at this time and actually seeing every little thing collectively.”

“We’re seeing such creativity, pleasure and variety within the menswear trade,” mentioned McKever, “but additionally a shift throughout the trend trade to considering otherwise about gender.”

“Vogue is without doubt one of the best issues to push the dialog ahead round gender, round queer identification, round self-expression,” agreed Reed. “It begins to alter the way in which we work together with one another, and the way we develop as a society.”

“Fashioning Masculinities: The Artwork of Menswear” is open from March 19 till November 6, 2022.