This article on gender-neutral fashion is part of our Vogue Business Membership package. To enjoy unlimited access to Member-only reporting and insights, our NFT Tracker, Beauty Trend Tracker and TikTok Trend Tracker, weekly Technology, Beauty and Sustainability Edits and exclusive event invitations, sign up for Membership here.
From Dior’s leopard print skirt-shorts to Valentino’s gentler take on tailoring, the Spring/Summer 2024 men’s fashion weeks showed how far gender fluidity has come on the catwalk. Designers spoke of the need to move beyond traditional interpretations of masculinity, and embrace a new way of dressing that is not dictated by gender. But off the catwalks, progress is slower as challenges remain around merchandising gender-neutral collections and getting the sizing right.
“When I design things, gender doesn’t come into it. Where we find difficulties is fit,” says London-based designer Daniel W Fletcher, who showed a collaboration with Savile Row tailor Huntsman off-schedule during London Fashion Week in June. The show featured nine suits and 12 ready-to-wear looks including broad shouldered coats, corsets and dresses, on models of various gender identities — subverting traditional men’s tailoring norms.
The rise of the crotch, shoulder breadth, chest, rib and hip measurements all tend to differ in traditional menswear and womenswear, and finding a truly gender-neutral sizing system can be challenging — especially when it comes to scaling it across the industry’s vast and complex supply chain. “We’re thinking about offering two fits on a garment for a wide and slim version of a shirt, and a long or short version of a trouser which would include the crotch too, so people can feel they can choose the option that fits best without identifying a gender,” says Fletcher. “But, the reality is that whether you’re shopping gender neutrally or not, not everything is going to fit everyone because every body is different.”
It’s important to get right. The average return rate of online fashion orders in the US is 24.4 per cent — costing companies an estimated $25.1 billion in processing costs annually, according to Coresight Research. And, by far the top reason for returns is incorrect size/fit, cited by 53 per cent of surveyed brands and retailers; followed by incorrect colour at 16 per cent and damage (10 per cent).
Meanwhile, demand is rising for gender-neutral clothing. Almost a third (30 per cent) of consumers have already purchased a clothing item outside of their gender identity, according to a Klarna study of more than 8,000 adults across the US, UK, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Italy, France, Germany and Poland published at the end of 2022. This rises to 50 per cent for the Gen Z respondents. And 70 per cent of consumers of all ages say they are keen to purchase more gender-fluid clothing in the future.
Brands that get it right could cash in on a much broader consumer base, including cisgender men and women (who identify with the sex they were assigned at birth) and the transgender and non-binary communities. Trans designer Santana Quierós, founder of custom fashion brand House of Narcissism, points out that fit is even more important when designing for trans and non-binary customers because the wrong fit could cause gender dysphoria, which will inevitably lead to returns and many customers may never come back.
Lydia Okello, non-binary, plus-size content creator, writer and model, says they have never purchased from a gender-neutral collection because the sizing tends not to fit. “In fashion and culture, the androgynous ideal has been a body that lacks voluminous hips, breasts and curves even though there are tonnes of people who are non-binary or gender non-conforming or trans who have those,” they say.
Non-binary designer Viktoria Zuziak, who founded their eponymous brand in 2020 to counter the power structures embedded in gendered clothing, uses the term “peopleswear” to describe their approach. “Styles and aesthetics don’t need to be gendered,” they say. “A lot of people who are cis also don’t dress in gendered clothing, so it’s about offering a different approach that isn’t so prescriptive.”
Developing new sizing systems
Many gender-neutral collections focus on menswear-coded items and use menswear sizing. Layla Sargent, founder of repairs and alterations service The Seam, which partners with retailers including Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter, says most requested changes are to do with preferred proportions. “Above the standard length and waist alterations, most of the bookings that we get for alterations on gender-neutral brands are for garments that have been designed for a masculine aesthetic, so having to taper the garment or take the shoulders in on blazers, or taper the legs in on trousers,” she says.
Some brands and retailers are creating their own sizing systems that work for a broader spectrum of genders and sizes. “In most cases where there’s a block in the road, it’s because you’re starting from a philosophy of radical inclusion but not from an actual body. What ends up happening is you make clothes for no one that are meant for everyone,” says Willie Norris, design director at menswear label Outlier and founder of her eponymous brand. Norris, who is trans, used her own body as the fit model for her eight-piece gender-neutral collection for Outlier. The sizing is based on the alphabet, or numeric for trousers, and has the exact measurements available for customers to find the best size for them.
Zalando created the sizing for its genderless range based on measurements from focus groups of around 30 people of all sizes and genders, and included non-binary people in the fit process, says Wayne Gibb, head of menswear buying and design and private labels (which include its genderless, extended sizing and adaptable lines). The e-tailer used garment design software company Browzwear’s modelling tool to help develop the patterns and to build a library of 3D models and avatars for each range.
Zalando works with new suppliers in Turkey, China and Bangladesh in-person over a week-long period to get new genderless patterns and samples right. “Whenever we design something new it goes on the avatar and we pick the fabrics, which goes to the supplier, so it avoids us having to go over with patterns and it saves us a lot of money and time,” says Gibb.
Designer Zuziak notes that androgynous label Gender Free World offers four different fits for shirts based on the bust-to-waist ratios. They also suggest brands take the way they offer sizing for jeans, with both a waist and leg length measurement, and apply it to other trousers or types of garments to offer sizes that fit a broader range of proportions.
Zuziak’s own brand is made-to-measure to accommodate for fluidity beyond the standardised block. “[The current sizing system] makes a decision about what body [the garment] is going to fit, and I feel that’s not a decision I should be making,” says Zuziak. However, this solution can be hard to scale. Designer Fletcher works with small factories in London for his made-to-order business. “You can only really do it if you have your own factory and atelier, but it’s difficult to do that on an international scale, it would have to be localised,” he says. Zuziak is keeping an eye out for technology solutions that would speed up the fitting and pattern-making process and make made-to-measure more accessible.
Experts stress the importance of involving people who are trans and gender non-conforming in the process of developing a gender-neutral collection, from consulting on the concept to fit models.
Pushing the limits of fit: Stretch and adjustability
Zalando’s Gibb says oversized fits tend to perform best within the company’s genderless line. There are some considerations brands can make to ensure these styles don’t look too boxy on certain body types. “We have a bell curve to all our shirts and jackets so they’re not too boxy. We also use thicker waistbands and ribbing, so if you’re shorter you can bunch the leg and pull it up higher, so it looks great with stilettos,” says Ality Richardson, founder of gender-free LA casualwear label Ality.
Materials also play a role in fit. Zalando started with jersey for its genderless line, but now has expanded to tailoring and jeans too. “We do jeans with stretch now because we tried non-stretch jeans and the returns were crazy high, the profit loss was horrendous. But, we mainly do the top part of the jean as elasticated [for fit purposes] and keep the rest rigid at the bottom [to help the jean look higher quality],” says Gibb.
Paris-based designer Jeanne Friot has been experimenting with adjustable elements in her gender-neutral collections. “We upcycled deadstock leather and vintage buckles into belts that we put on kilts. Everything about the garment becomes adjustable and you can fit them on three different sized bodies. I liked this idea because it has the function of being adjustable, but it’s integrated into garments to be more commercial [and creative, as it’s part of the design],” says Friot. Since she introduced the belt detail in SS23, it has been developing into a house signature: the brand now offers adjustable sizing via the belt design on kilts, dresses, jackets, mini skirts and tops to fit a variety of different proportions. The adjustable pieces are now bestsellers, Friot says.
There are certain considerations a brand can make to ensure tailoring is easier, too. “It’s good to add extra seam allowance in pinch points like the waistband or shoulder areas and hemlines so you can alter a garment either way, smaller or bigger. Also, ensuring your lining is constructed so it’s easy to get into helps,” says Lollo Waern, head of makers at The Seam. New York menswear brand Bode has experimented with sitting the pockets further apart to allow menswear trousers to be tailored to womenswear sizing.
While solutions such as adjustable sizing, alterations and using specific fabrics can add to costs, experts say it’s worth it to invest in sizing — otherwise the pool of customers who can actually fit into gender-neutral collections will be very limited. “If you’re going to be gender inclusive, you should be size inclusive because gender does not have a specific size,” says Okello.
House of Narcissism’s Quierós agrees: “Gender neutral is in the eye of the beholder. You can grab a dress from womenswear and trousers from menswear and call it gender neutral if you wish. I don’t think gender neutral should be the aim [for designs], I think the aim should be to make sizing as inclusive as possible and do a selection of garments that can include some designs that are menswear-coded and some that are womenswear-coded and let the customer choose.”
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
More from this author:
Revolution Beauty CEO steps down in settlement with Boohoo
