British singer Harry Styles is one of the male celebrities who has helped bring this unisex – or, more precisely, gender fluid or non-binary – approach to fashion into the mainstream. Not content with posing in a Gucci dress for “Vogue” magazine, the artist no longer hesitates to step out in clothes and accessories once considered “feminine.”
Indeed, the concept has been gaining ground over the seasons, making inroads into the collections of luxury houses as well as ready-to-wear brands. Here are three items men are adopting from womenswear and making their own.
1. Handbags
Women are no longer the only ones spending hours rummaging around in their handbags to find their lipstick, phone or keys.
Many men have traded in their backpacks, belt packs and satchels to join the it-bag trend, starting with Styles, who barely, or rarely, leaves the house without this item traditionally associated with womenswear.
And this is not a marginal case. Rapper Will.i.am and actor Billy Porter have also adopted this essential accessory.
In fact, luxury fashion houses like Gucci and Balenciaga have a leather-goods section for men in their online stores. Then there’s the Telfar label, known for its unisex tote bags that sell like hotcakes.
2. Pearl necklaces
Another accessory proving an unprecedented craze among men is the pearl necklace, undoubtedly the star jewellery item of the year-end.
Rappers swear only by pearl necklaces, spotted in white, black, dual-material, long double-strand designs, XXL pearls, or paired with diamonds – as recently tested by Justin Bieber.
And again, he is far from alone. From Machine Gun Kelly to Maluma, Bad Bunny, Pharrell Williams and ASAP Rocky, many have adopted the pearl necklace.
The phenomenon is such that American baseball player Joc Pederson is rarely without his pearls, it seems – even on the field.
3. Heels
While women have swapped their stilettos for the comfort of sneakers, their male counterparts seem to be doing the opposite.
For now, it’s a much more discreet trend, but it is becoming increasingly less rare to see male celebrities in pumps or platform shoes on the red carpet, like Porter or Styles, among others.
And fashion houses are gradually getting in on the act. At the recent Balenciaga fashion show in Paris, heels were spotted on the brand’s red-carpet-turned-runway worn by male models.