Fast fashion brand Zara has hinted at the fact that some of their pieces can be might be gender-neutral.
The fashion retailer has yet to make an official announcement regarding unisex clothing, but some shoppers have noticed that some of their clothes are being modeled by men and women online. A $209 checkered coat is advertised as being on the Zara Man, even though it is being modeled by a woman and also appearing in the women’s coat section. Another long-checkered coat at $209, that is also advertised for the men’s collection but is being modeled by both genders. This garment also appears in the men’s and women’s outerwear sections.
This wouldn’t be the first time a billion-dollar brand to embrace the gender-neutral clothing. Back in 2016, Zara released a unisex line named “Ungendered” which had eight wardrobe pieces such as hoodies, tracksuit bottoms and t-shirts, all in neutral colors. The collection was met with mixed reviews which some shoppers praising the collection and others criticizing the clothes for being too plain.
“When will we move past this notion that genderless clothing simply = plain t-shirts/sweatpants? why is this “bold”?,” tweeted Tyler Ford, associate editor for Condé Nast’s new LGBTQ platform, “Them”.
Some other customers were upset as well, with one consumer saying the line was “literally just male coded lounge wear”. Others went as far as to suggest Zara should’ve added more subversive options like skirts.
Zara wasn’t the only major fashion retailer to follow the forward-thinking idea. M&M launched a unisex denim line and John Lewis stopped labeling their clothes for “girls” and “boys” on their children clothes.
Regarding the recent modeling images on their website, Zara told The Independent “this isn’t something that Zara would provide a comment for.”
You can still shop Zara’s ungendered collection on their website and select stores. There is no clear indication if Zara will be releasing a statement regarding the images on their site, for now, we can just indulge in the fascinating news happening around the fashion world.
