Kicking off a new year in fashion means the start of fall 2011 New York Fashion Week. However, many people do not realize that fall promotions actually start way earlier than February’s runways.

Fashion ad campaigns are just as important in determining a brand’s prospects as anything else. The face of the brand is determined from ad campaigns, as well as the key looks and themes throughout the collection.

After reviewing campaigns from the likes of Proenza Schouler, Balenciaga, Jean Paul Gaultier and Calvin Klein, I’ve noticed a strong push toward a genderless society, where each model is a guessing game for the viewer. The rugged style of macho men and the skinny emo-hipster seemed to have fused into a look in which models have the bone structure of a man but the slim body of a woman.

This fall, there is no such thing as male and female anymore. There is only style, fit and fashion.

‘To be more philosophical about it, we are growing as a people and as races and as cultures; it’s OK to not care what your gender is as long as you look great in clothes,’ said Cator Sparks in a Dec. 21 article written by The Telegraph’s Melissa Whitworth.

Fashion has always been about overstepping boundaries and creating the next new trend — creating a style different from anything else in the past. But lately, the industry seemed to be in such a dull stance, with fashion recycling itself within different eras. Nothing new and futuristic has managed to come and stay. This ditch the industry created for itself is a likely reason for fashion’s growing interest in pulling out the sex and gender card.

‘Sexuality and gender crossovers are always a place to go … but especially now that the industry has become slushy with products, and luxury has lost some of its allure,’ said Cathy Horyn in her Jan. 12 New York Times article.

The recent popularity of transgender models have been on the rise these past few seasons, with Andrej Pejic and Lea T securing advertising and modeling contracts with brands such as Marc Jacobs, Jean Paul Gaultier and Givenchy. These brands not only appreciate Pejic and T for their outspoken stance on transgender issues but also their ability to look both masculine and feminine. These models’ androgynous looks are the muses of many fashion brands and designers today, presenting the concept that it is luxurious to be genderless.

Using sexuality to enhance a brand has always been in and out of fashion for several decades now, but this time it looks like it will stay and change the way consumers view fashion. Women are constantly pulling inspiration from menswear, and with help from GQ, Esquire and Details magazines, I would not be surprised if men’s fashion starts to do the same.

As an industry struggling to get out of a world where everything has been the same for decades, changing the roles of gender and sexuality seems like fashion’s best bet in breaking the mold.

Vicki Ho is a senior public relations major. Her column appears every Thursday, and she can be reached at vho@syr.edu

Published on January 18, 2011 at 12:00 pm