Gucci just released a new genderfluid clothing collection called “Gucci MX,” which dropped on July 22. On their website, they have a men’s, women’s, children’s, and now an “MX” category. Gucci describes “The MX Project” as “collections set out to deconstruct preconceived binaries and question how these concepts relate to our bodies.”
As to how they do this, I’m not entirely sure. According to Pink News, the addition comes after creative director Alessandro Michele’s announcement that Gucci would no longer host gendered fashion shows. They have, however, created a genderless version of their iconic 1961 Jackie handbag. According to the brand’s Instagram account, #AlessandroMichele changed its look by proposing it “in a mini size, with a minimal silhouette.” Ah yes, let’s conflate gender neutrality with thinness and androgyny. The bag is cute though, I’ll give them that.
Not only is the bag tiny, but it has a “non-binary attitude,” which is just… sigh. Clearly no one on Gucci’s marketing team is non-binary, because they wouldn’t have approved that statement. Non-binary is a gender identity, not an attitude.
Even though Gucci probably launched this campaign in good faith, they’re perpetuating a lot of harmful stereotypes about non-binary folks. Most of the models sporting the MX collection are tall, white, thin, and androgynous. Of course, the overrepresentation of thin bodies is no surprise in high-end fashion. But thinness is also associated with an absence of gender, and let’s remind ourselves why that is. Thin folks might be rendered genderless/sexless by society because they lack curves. And curves are often associated with femininity, which is part of the reason why it’s easier for us to conflate androgyny with masculinity.
These myths about non-binary identities, as they’re so concisely laid out in Wednesday Holmes’s Instagram post, lead to the erasure of non-binary people who are fat, femme, disabled, and of color. Of course, masculinity is a huge part of this spectrum, but we represent countless other sizes, shapes, and identities that the Gucci collection fails to include.
As a non-binary femme, it’s hard to get excited about this campaign when I see myself and so many others left out. So instead of giving Gucci brownie points for adding a tab to their website and altering a purse, let’s support the gender non-conforming folks who are already doing work in the fashion industry and advocating for gender-inclusive styles.
Check out GFW Clothing, a gender-neutral clothing brand that is inclusive of different body types.
Header image via “The Gender Spectrum Collection”
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