Although I don’t know much about my topic -which is androgyny- yet, I began to notice some connections between the images I collected and what they meant in terms of my topic through the limited knowledge that I do have. As I titled my theme map “Evolution of Androgyny”, I tried to sort the images in a linear fashion so that it’s presented as a timeline. Through this, I was able to see how each image related to the next and how these androgynous trends began and evolved over the years. Since the idea of androgyny mainly started to become popular after the women’s suffrage movement in the 20’s, some sub-categories I came up with had a lot to do with the concept of breaking the norm and freeing oneself from social-gender restrictions. Some of the sub-categories I found within my topic was gender fluidity and different time periods where androgyny was a major influence. In addition, I thought it would be interesting to use quotes from influential icons and designers as a starting point to further research my topic. Some of these include: “I’m not a man, I’m not a woman” (lyric from a song by Prince) and “We Need Leaders” (motto of the clothing brand Public School).
Using the 3 part formula, here are 3 research ideas I came up with for my topic:
- I am studying Yohji Yamamoto’s works because I want to find out how his androgynous approach towards fashion has influenced the industry in order to help readers better understand the vision of today’s modern and unconventional designers.
- I am studying the history of androgyny because I want to see how it has influenced our society in order to help fellow designers understand what it means to be androgynous for the youths of today and how to design for them.
- I am studying the influence of androgyny on the fashion industry because I want to find out how the concept of androgyny has changed the industry in order to help my readers understand the importance it pertains to being a well-rounded designer.
