Genderless and Luxury: Aesthetics in a Boundary-Bloding Era and MOOD's Answer
Now, clothes are beginning to speak more about how we live than who they belong to .
Runways, stores, and digital spaces are loosening gender labels and expanding freedom of body and style.
MOOD's concept of "playful luxury" is at the heart of this change. While maintaining the "structure" of perfect tailoring and the strength of materials, individuality is visualized through intentional misalignment and looseness - a sense of playfulness. This is not just a trend, but a renewal of values.
The market trend is clear. The global fashion industry has maintained a structure in which luxury generates the majority of economic profits, even in a period of low growth, while the trend toward consolidating show schedules into co-ed shows (COREDO) has spread.
Valentino has announced that it will stop holding separate shows for men and women and focus on one couture show per year, and a gender-neutral approach to showing fashion is becoming mainstream.
In the retail sector, Selfridges' "Agender" project in 2015 is symbolic. The sales floor itself was redesigned without gender symbols, offering an experience where anyone could choose based on silhouette and material. This was not just an edit, but an attempt to change the design philosophy of the purchasing experience.
Generational change is also driving demand. According to a survey by Klarna introduced by BoF, about half of Gen Zers worldwide have purchased clothing outside their gender category, and about 70% said they would like to buy gender-fluid fashion in the future.
Vogue Business reported that 56% of Gen Z "cross-buy." Gen Z's values, which expect inclusive choices, are certainly changing brand planning, sizing, and sales floor design.
Product updates are also underway. In 2019, Gucci released "Mémoire d'une Odeur," a fragrance that transcends time and gender, and sought to universalize it through visuals, words, and formulation. The unisex nature of fragrance is flicking a switch in values, as it is an area where boundaries can be blurred more quickly than with clothing.
Of course, design challenges remain. A "one size fits all" approach that ignores differences in body types can easily lead to exclusion. Taking measurements that straddle national men's and women's standards, grading mass production, and battling return rates—the reality on the ground is one that cannot be solved by romanticism. Still, as trends from Spring/Summer 2023 onward show, brands are loosening gender labels and beginning to address fit issues in concrete terms.
From a sustainability perspective, gender-neutral designs increase the number of people who wear them and the opportunities for wearing them, which can ultimately extend the lifespan of clothing. As investment in circularity (repair, resale, rental) accelerates, luxury tends to have a design philosophy that assumes "longevity."
The framework of slow fashion, which advocates "long-term use, reuse, and reinterpretation," is becoming the basic language of post-luxury.
Boundaries are also dissolving in the digital realm. Gen Zers are updating their everyday look through avatars, experimenting with gender-neutral styling and makeup online first. Roblox's vast data on avatar updates and purchases shows a "practice field effect" that encourages real-life challenges.
MOOD's position is clear. We don't just deal in "somehow genderless" clothing that simply removes labels. We design clothing that allows space to bring out the wearer's story, based on the quality of the tailoring, materials, and construction.
For example, adding flowing drapes to a tailored frame, or layering delicate jewelry over hard leather - creating a sexiness through a composition of "tension and relaxation."
There is a logic (pattern, length, volume ratio) that works for anyone to wear, and room for anyone to make their own contours the focal point.
In addition, MOOD places emphasis on the "learning pathway."
We share our ability to read reviews (what is praised and what is criticized), our discerning eye for materials (softness, drape, recovery), and knowledge of care and repair (sustainable design) both on our blog and in-store. Luxury is not a symbol, but a dialogue between everyday life and values. We will implement "playful luxury" that meets both the inclusive demands of Gen Z and the aesthetic sensibilities of older generations.
Finally, I would like to touch on the ethical aspects that underpin this trend. Data shows that 90% of Generation Z expect companies to take responsibility for social and environmental issues.
The key to trust is not just to "talk" about diversity and sustainability, but to incorporate it into operations such as size range, transparency of measurements, repair acceptance, and material traceability. Post-luxury refers to a design philosophy that allows for the long-term reuse of quality items and is open to anyone's body and story. MOOD continues this experiment with both playfulness and sincerity.
