Gender Bent Beauty

Men and women stray from adherence to traditional sex-oriented interests

Implications - As high heels for men and tuxedos for women become socially accepted and even admired, new markets open up to designers. The blurring of gender lines is allowing designers, retailers and marketers to tailor what are considered traditionally female-targeted products to men, and vice versa.

Trend Themes

  1. Gender-blurring Fashion — The trend towards gender-blurring fashion is allowing designers, retailers, and marketers to tailor traditionally female-targeted products to men, and vice versa, creating opportunities for androgynous designs and unisex products.
  2. Gender-bending Advertising — The use of controversial images and gender-bending advertising techniques is a bold move that companies can make to attract attention from consumers and competing companies, opening up opportunities for disruptive marketing campaigns.
  3. Virtual Gender-swapping — Virtual gender-swapping technology, such as computer software that allows instant gender modifications and virtual transgender suits, speaks to the blurring of gender roles in today's society and presents opportunities for businesses to innovate in consumer technology.

Industry Implications

  1. Fashion Industry — The fashion industry is at the forefront of the gender-blurring trend, creating new markets and opportunities for designers, retailers and marketers to innovate and tailor traditionally female-targeted products to men, and vice versa.
  2. Advertising Industry — The trend towards gender-bending advertising techniques creates opportunities for bold, attention-grabbing marketing campaigns that push the boundaries of what is socially acceptable, requiring businesses to think outside of the box when promoting their products.
  3. Consumer Technology Industry — Virtual gender-swapping technology presents opportunities for businesses to innovate in consumer technology, allowing individuals to explore their identity and experiment with gender in a safe and accessible way.
5.7
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
11 Featured, 64 Examples:
3,524,075 Total Clicks
Date Range:
Jun 09 — Sep 09
Trending:
Hot

Featured Examples

Gender-Bending Ad Campaigns
Gender-Bending Ad Campaigns
Raquel Zimmermann Plays a Man & Woman for Jean Paul Gaultier Fall '09
It seems as if the fashion world can’t get enough of androgyny lately, and Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fall ‘09 ad campaign plays heavily on this theme. Model Raquel Zimmermann is captured as both a man… MORE
Men in Mesh, Heels & Masks
Men in Mesh, Heels & Masks
Antonella Arismendi's 'Illuminati' Erases Gender Lines
When clicking through Antonella Arismendi’s ‘Illuminati’ editorial for D Mag on The Fashionisto, I saw a reader comment that categorizes the shoot perfectly: genderf*cked. It’s a pretty solid way to characterize… MORE
Editorials in Drag
Editorials in Drag
Solve Sundsbo's '3 Boys' for A Magazine Explores Gender Roles
Sølve Sundsbø's '3 Boys' editorial for A Magazine is a curious exploration of gender that dresses Luke Worrall, Danny Fox and Josh Bitelli in drag. Under the styling tutelage of Katie Grand, models Luke… MORE
Gender-Benditorials
Gender-Benditorials
Dazed & Confused Draws on Fashion's Iconic Imagery of the 70s and 80s
Canadian model Meghan Collison straddles the thin line between men and women in Dazed and Confused Magazine’s September 2009 issue. A gender-bending Collison poses for the editorial ‘Iconic Imagery’ snapped… MORE
Man-Friendly Heels
Man-Friendly Heels
Rod Hourani's Man Heels Cross Gender Lines for Spring 2010
Taking a look at designer Rod Hourani’s Spring 2010 collection, which was a considerable showcase of men in heels, one gets an awkward feeling that fashion is never going to revert back to where it used… MORE
Androgynous Editorials
Androgynous Editorials
Tush Shows 'The Venus Boys' in Glitzy Gender-Bending Photos
They usually say men are from Mars and women are from Venus. So what happens when we get the 'Venus Boys'? We get some glittery gender-bending in the new issue of Tush magazine. We have already shown… MORE
Unisex Mesh & Sequins
Unisex Mesh & Sequins
Ioannis Dimitrousis' Spring/Summer 2010 Line Has Glitz for Both Genders
Ioannis Dimitrousis' Spring/Summer 2010 line is packed with glitz for both genders, namely in the form of a bizarre combination of mesh and sequins. Channeling both the pop and punk fashions of the 80s,… MORE
Gender-Blending Editorials
Gender-Blending Editorials
'McMenamy: The Legend' by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia July 2009
Model Kristen McMenamy is infamous for her androgynous look, an aspect that photographer Steven Meisel plays up wonderfully for this 'McMenamy: The Legend' editorial for Vogue Italia's July 2009 issue.… MORE
Sex Change Videos
Sex Change Videos
New Software Allows For Instant Gender Modifications
Have you ever wondered what it felt like to be the opposite sex, but just weren’t quite ready to undergo any serious procedures? Have you ever wondered what your twin sister or brother would look like?… MORE
Glittery Androgynous Editorials
Glittery Androgynous Editorials
Kim Grisco's Shoot for Chew Magazine Toes the Gender Line
We've featured a number of androgynous and gender-bending innovations, and this editorial shot by Kim Grisco for the Energy issue (#6) of Chew Magazine is no exception. Model Garrett Forbes is styled… MORE
Gender Swap Suits
Gender Swap Suits
The Virtual Transgender Suit Provides Instant Change
In a world where 54 percent of males and 68 percent of females think about a gender swap, or create online personas of their opposite sex, it comes as no surprise that a Virtual Transgender Suit was created.… MORE

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