The blurring of lines between gender, identity and fashion isn’t exactly new. From the world of music, we had a series of icons who popularised androgyny and brought non-traditional gender identities clear into the view of the mainstream. In the 60s we had the ambiguous alter ego of Bowie, in the 70s there was Bolan and the Glam Rockers before Boy George and the Blitz Kids in the 80s (just to name a few).

History speaks about these movements within the same breath as it does ‘counter culture’, driven by the underground dwellers who celebrate shared ideals and spirit through expressions of fashion, music, and self. Movements that grew organically but never with the mainstream in mind.

Jump forward 30 odd years, what’s changed? A fair bit it seems. Gender neutrality is in, in a big way, and at least for a while is being mainstreamed, unsurprisingly by the fashion industry.

So the question then…is this just another commercialised take on something previously championed by rock royalty, but too taboo to go mainstream, or is 2016 the time when we’re finally ready to embrace? Time will certainly tell. But the bandwagon is starting to get full with some very familiar faces.

Arguably the the biggest coup has been by Louis Vuitton, who have employed the services of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air’s real-life son – Jayden Smith –  who modeled their 2016 spring/summer womenswear collection…go figure!

A number of cool iconoclastic labels such as Comme des Garcons, Rick Owen and Shayne Olivers Hood by Air have also been mashing binary gender divides up for some time, with Oliver naming gender-flexible-female-performance artist Boy Child as its chief ambassador.

London’s top tier shopping destination Selfridges has also taken a front seat in the fashion shift. In 2015, they opened Agender across three floors of their Oxford Street location. Agender is industrial and intentionally discreet, with many items tucked inside white garment bags that a customer must unzip to try on.

For us, Agender is not about harnessing a ‘trend’ but rather tapping into a mind-set and acknowledging and responding to a cultural shift that is happening now,” said Linda Hewson, Selfridges’ creative director.

At a high-street level, H&M sub-brand & Other Stories has taken it one step further by releasing a campaign starring transgender models Hari Nef and Valentijn De Hingh. Similarly, Target has introduced gender neutral décor to its upcoming children’s collection.

Closer to home, there are changes afoot for all of us. Young people and adults of both genders can be increasingly seen shopping together in certain categories – namely tech accessories and activewear.

Other commentators, namely Trendwatching.com say “People of all ages in all markets are constructing their own identities more freely than ever. As a result, consumption patterns are no longer defined by ‘traditional’ demographic segments such as age, gender, location, income, family status and more.”

So will the latest gender neutral movement make a lasting change in retail? Granted there are more fundamental questions at play in terms of what this means for the fabric of society, cultural values and gender equality – I’ll leave that to another blog, and, not least, the experts. It does however, lead us to some fairly immediate questions for marketeers about how identity is communicated and the visual cues that help guide decision-making and choice –  e.g. mannequins, store and product branding, as well as visual merchandising.

Personally, I’m willing to take a punt and say a long-lasting, meaningful change has begun and it’s finally here to stay, we may just need to re-focus our own vision to notice it.