Why are Li Xian and Wang Yibo wearing women’s clothes? Male Chinese celebrities are leading a gender-neutral fashion trend at odds with the country’s anti-K-pop traditional values
In the realm of gender-fluid fashion, women wearing men’s clothes have always been more dominant than the opposite. Drawn to their oversized fits, women have long been rocking “boyfriend” jeans and shirts to add chic to their wardrobe.
But today, the growing number of Chinese male fashionistas wearing women’s clothes is reversing the narrative. From celebrities to influencers, Chinese men are increasingly shopping for womenswear.
Why is ‘genderless’ fashion the K-pop style statement of the moment?
It is much easier to find well-designed and interesting pieces in womenswear than menswear … The cut is better, details are more well-thought-out, and there are just more choices overall
The problem with C-pop and luxury brands
For example, he famously paired a pink Chanel jacket with a mini purse in the show Street Dance of China and wore a tweed jacket to a red carpet event held by Tencent. Not only did Wang’s outfits normalise womenswear for men, but they have also inspired women, who find his looks surprisingly cool for a classical brand like Chanel.
Wang is just one of the many male Chinese idols setting a new normal for men’s fashion. Tiffany & Co. and Armani Beauty’s spokesperson Jackson Yee wore a Chanel women’s tweed overall to the Grammy’s in 2018. Then, actor Li Xian, the spokesperson of Ermenegildo Zegna, attended a 2019 Vogue party in a Chanel coat from its 2018 womenswear collection.
Real-life fashionistas have been catching up with the movement, too. Jeremy Yang is an emerging blogger on Little Red Book, and he is not shy about adding womenswear to his day-to-day fashion. “It is much easier to find well-designed and interesting pieces in womenswear than menswear,” he said. “The cut is better, details are more well-thought-out, and there are just more choices overall.”
Praise or shame? 15 Chinese celebs who donated to Henan flood relief efforts
Earlier this year, Little Red Book released its “2021 Lifestyle Trend Keywords” report, which ranked genderless fashion as one of the top 10 themes on the platform. According to the data, views of genderless dressing posts had a 182 per cent increase year-on-year during 2020, while the number of users posting about the theme grew by 83 per cent.
In China, emerging domestic companies like the clothing label Bosie and the beauty brand Hashtag are among those leveraging sales of genderless products to a younger generation that is increasingly rejecting gender binaries. By removing gendered marketing, these labels have created a sense of novelty for a market that has yet to see many androgynous or non-binary offerings.
5 Chinese celebrity ambassadors for Western fashion brands
While leveraging womenswear opportunities remains difficult due to challenges like sizing and marketing campaigns, brands should not dismiss the chance to speak to male Chinese fashionistas through a non-categorical fashion language. More representation of men in androgynous styles, and more products that challenge conventional gender norms, are all ways to connect more deeply with this community. After all, what this generation ultimately wants is the space to experiment and play. And brands that prove they are too cool for traditional social categorisation will gain an edge.
- Women may have long embraced ‘boyfriend’ jeans and shirts, but now male stars and Gen Z are integrating fashion-forward women’s designs into their wardrobes
- ‘Incarnated Chanel’ Wang Yibo, Tiffany & Co. and Armani Beauty’s spokesperson Jackson Yee and Prada’s muse Cai Xukun have all been spotted in womenswear