Appearances made on the 24th Vodafone Ghana Music Awards stunned lots of Ghanaians as some male celebrities turned up in feminine styles.The likes of Highlife Artiste Kwabena Kwabena who was arrayed in a purple fur fall style jumper and a multicoloured trousers, Osebo’s Scottish wear, DJ Azonto’s bride tulle and Fashion influencer Chris Ayomide Nunies black and red prom dress stole the show and attracted eyes on the front pages in the media.
This came to the Ghanaian populace as a culture shock since unisex clothings is not an element of our culture. What has accounted for that? is it a diffusion of the appearances made on America’s Met Gala awards Red Carpet? Did they want to attract eyeballs and lenses on their fashion to make a statement?
In the Ghanaian culture, this might be new however, in other parts of the world agender clothings are being embraced and not ridiculed by their society at large.
Men suiting themselves in women’s apparel is seen as a sartorial evolution taking place in the western world as celebrities and fashion brands are breaking the gendered fashion concept.
Prior to that, other countries since the inception of fashion have had their men wearing skirts which was culturally accepted and tolerated. In Rome and Greece, Fustanellas was an ‘ish’ as their male sculptured statues are in skirts. Scottish men also move about their daily activities and make occasional statements in their kilts.
Also, in the middle eastern countries, sarongs are worn by men without social backlash.
Coincidentally, unisex clothing are also corroborating the surge in LGBTQI+ awareness. Since Governments and international organizations are pushing for LGBTQI+ acceptance and toleration in the world, the fashion community is also charting the same path by breaking sexuality concerns as women are allowed to put on men’s wear and vice versa. Sexuality is no more determining what someone wears since washrooms can even be used by both sex.
The 2020 pandemic also accelerated the trend of agender clothings as search for unisex wears increased more than 33 percent from the beginning of 2021 according to Shopping platform Lyst.
Other interpretations claim people feel free and express themselves better in unisex clothing. What determines people’s happiness differs and the choice to wear a dress out of one’s gender also determines soomeone’s happiness. “ The rise of unisex clothing makes it easier for men to expirement with different styles and express themselves through their clothing”
So what we witnessed at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards might be novel but it is a fragment of a whole evolution taking place in the world