The second issue of CR Men’s Book hit newsstands, with a message of gender neutrality posted on the front cover.
It’s not uncommon to see a woman on the cover of a men’s magazine, however it is not something you would expect on the second issue of a high-end fashion publication like Carine Roitfeld’s CR Men’s Book. For the magazine cover, Roitfeld chose Mica Arganaraz as cover girl, while style icon Lucky Blue Smith’s photos were reserved for the inside pages.
In this age of gender neutrality, there exists a willingness among men to experiment with their fashion choice. Looking to the future, this issue aims to change the perspective on gender roles, with one creative thought at a time.
Carine Roitfeld’s CR Men’s Book looks to the future of men, rather than men’s fashion. Roitfeld explains that, “It’s about thinking differently, like putting a woman, Mica Arganaraz, on the cover of a men’s magazine.” The photo is a black and white, glittery-faced Mica, sticking out her tongue. The controversial photo expresses a new point of view on gender equality and gender neutral fashion.
Gender fluid fashion has become more than just a style of clothing, with society’s whole notion of gender changing rapidly. The divisions between men and women’s fashion is diminishing and designers are embracing this on a wide scale.
In 2015, Ronda Rousey made history as the first women to appear on the cover of the Australian Men’s Fitness Magazine. The magazine received mixed reviews, questioning why a female would be on a men’s magazine.
Gender has previously been viewed as a social construct, designed to describe the characteristics that a society or culture has outlined as being masculine or feminine. Using fashion as a “vehicle for change, whether that’s challenging gender roles or expressing a new point of view,” Roitfeld is challenging this idea of a gender-based characteristic.
It is evident that times are changing and fashion has been used to amplify that change. It is this expression of difference that leads us into an exciting and unpredictable future.