Agender definition: Without a gender (nongendered, genderless, agender, neutrois); moving between genders or with a fluctuating gender identity (genderfluid); third gender or other-gendered; includes those who do not place a name to their gender.

Selfridges, the iconic department store on Oxford Street, London, is positioning itself as a leader in the slow process of shifting mainstream societal opinion regarding gender by devoting a whole section to unisex fashion.

Rather than have separate men’s and women’s departments, it will instead have three floors of unisex clothing, offering a concept space called Agender (devised by renowned designer Faye Toogood) for customers to shop without ‘his’ and ‘hers’ limitations or stereotypes. The store is also launching five unisex fashion collections and will be presenting mixed-gender beauty products and accessories: “Join us as we explore and examine shifting gender boundaries through ground-breaking fashion, music and design collaborations.”

The store is responding to evidence that shoppers no longer want to be defined or limited by their gender as to what they can wear. By moving away from the binary of masculine and feminine, it offers customers choice in whether and to what extent they express their gender through their wardrobe. 

Adapted from a piece for the Futures Centre.