RESEARCH TOPIC: Is gender neutral fashion linked to gender equality? 


Articles:

The Odyssey Online......

• As societal norms change, the boundaries between women and men's fashion become hazy
• As we have seen lately, unisex fashion trends have taken the runway by storm
• When the media portrays the future of fashion, both men and women dress alike
• Uses example from "The Hunger Games," men and women dress the same

CNN...........

• When writers and filmmakers depict the future, they often include one strange detail: men and women dressing alike.
• Recently, fashion designers like Gucci have begun selling what is being called gender-neutral or gender-free clothing: clothing that can be worn by either men or women
• 2016 was the year when..
• Target made an announcement in August that the retail giant would be eliminating gendered language in its children's toys and bedding
• Transgender celebrity Caitlyn Jenner's Vanity Fair cover
• Miley Cyrus self-identification as gender-fluid.

Marketing Concern: Is gender neutral fashion just a marketing stunt?

• It is important to differentiate between marketing and actual progress towards gender equality

• "To be sure, fashion can advocate for social change. But just as often, fashion will exploit social movements, aestheticizing them as a way to seem edgy and turn a profit."

• Is the fashion industry manipulating a current social movement for a profit?" (Martins 2016).

• "Fashion is a business, and it is necessary to succeed. However, exploiting people's lives and turning their story into revenue is not something that deserves praise" (Martins 2016).

Analysis & Discussion

ZARA

•   Zara is a Spanish clothes and accessories brand

•   Zara keeps up with the latest fashion

•   Mostly high quality and affordable

•   They have been extremely successful because they keep up with street fashion with the changing times

•   Focuses on how fashion changes everyday

•   Makes new designs fast and puts them into stores within the next weeks

Most other fashion brands would take a whole six months to get their new designs into the market

According to SuccessStory.com

• Zara's brand, name, and image has poor marketing 
• The brand does not advertise itself in any form at all

                                                                References

Martins, L. (2016, January 26). Is Gender Neutral Fashion Linked To Gender Equality? Retrieved from https://www.theodysseyonline.com/is-gender-neutral-fashion-linked-to-gender-equality

Rizzo, M. (2016, January 14). Can we tie unisex fashion trends to gender equality? Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/14/fashion/unisex-fashion-gender-equality/

Zara Success Story. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://successstory.com/companies/zara

Sciacca, N. (2016). Why Zara calling sweats 'genderless' is problematic. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2016/03/08/zara-genderless-clothing/#xIPN2TAJL8qY