Why are sportswear items losing gender? Unisex collections are becoming increasingly popular

“Facebook now allows users to choose their gender from 71 options, and brands are increasingly releasing collections that suit both guys and girls. The sports industry has quite expectedly been one of the first to pick up on this trend. Brands didn’t even have to radically change the concept.

style expert

From the beginning of the 20th century to today, sportswear has undergone great changes. It has become more versatile in almost all sports.

Were there any differences?

Unisex, gender-neutral, androgynous – all three terms can be applied to much of today’s clothing. Such clothing is designed to blur the line between distinctly masculine and feminine characteristics. An in-depth analysis of fashion and its history shows that, contrary to those who think that gender-neutral fashion is a new trend, the most modern cycle of its development began 70 years ago.

The term “gender” was first used in 1955 to describe the social and cultural aspects of masculinity and femininity regardless of biological sex. In turn, the term “unisex” was introduced in the 1960s to refer to clothing designed to be worn by both sexes.

The origin of modern unisex clothing can be attributed to the period of World War II, when women had to take the place of men in positions where pants were indispensable. The next major shift occurred in 1968, when collections inspired by the space race and futurism appeared on the catwalks.

With sports style, however, things are more prosaic. Sportswear cannot be analyzed on a par with casual wear until the 2000s, because it has always stood apart and had no ambitions to get on the catwalks.

style expert

Thanks to Coco Chanel, unisex models – pantsuits, sweaters – began to appear since the 20s. But for a long time in almost all sports women competed in skirts, less often in wide pants, gathered at the ankle. Further women more began to master and “male” activities: boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, hockey. Sportswear became more versatile in almost all sports.

Designers predict that in the near future, sports and street fashion (and therefore all other fashion) may come to the point where all collections will initially be only agender, and the main means of expressing gender will be accessories.

Today: the struggle for equality and collections for all

Today, sports style and street fashion have confidently occupied their niche in the industry and even dictate their own trends. It is for the freedom that we fell in love with sports chic: loose fit, comfortable fabrics and bright accents. Now guys can feel free to wear pink, and girls can wear massive muscle sneakers.

In addition to the development of such a trend in the sportswear market, a revolution is also taking place on the sports fields themselves. The International Olympic Committee is creating special programs and documents to strive for gender equality. The number of athletes in men’s and women’s competitions is equalized, the amount of prize money is adjusted and new medal counts are created.

However, scandalous news stories still arise. At the European Beach Handball Championships 2021, the Norwegian national team athletes did not wear classic bikinis but sports shorts. They were fined by the European Handball Federation (EHF) for the banned outfit. The athletes were supported by many colleagues and public figures.

It is very strange that there should be a difference between us and men when we play the same sport.

Katinka Haltvik, captain of the Norwegian national team

The expert believes that today clothes can differ in color and cut, taking into account the peculiarities of the male and female figure, but we come to a common denominator. Pants, T-shirts, T-shirts, shorts were attributes of men’s closet only, now they are universal.

There are few sports where clothing differs by gender. For example, skirts remain in such sports as tennis, many types of dance sports, figure skating.