As fashion becomes genderless, the bandana is now a hot trend

Various genderless accessories are currently on-trend among fashion fans, with bandanas leading the way. Photo: AFP

Gender boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred in the world of fashion, which is now focusing its offer on unisex, genderless and co-ed items.

The bandana – a unisex accessory par excellence – is emerging as a hot trend for 2021, snapped up by fashion followers of all genders to lift their looks with a rock 'n' roll touch or country twist that makes all the difference.

Recently, global search platform Stylight looked at the hottest must-have genderless fashion items of the moment. With no labels and no rules, various genderless accessories and cosmetics are currently on-trend among fashion fans, with bandanas leading the way.

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While bandana print was a pandemic trend, the accessory is now proving popular in its original form, worn as a scarf around the head or neck to create different looks.

The bandana is becoming so popular that Stylight is reporting a +1,000% increase in clicks for the item in 2021.

Other genderless trends on the rise include crochet bucket hats, with clicks up +600% this year.

Men's nail polish and sandals

The research also suggests that some fashion items previously aimed at or popular with women are now finding broader appeal. For example, men are now rocking sandals with style (+706% increase in clicks on men's sandals), not to mention the legendary Birkenstocks (+65% increase in clicks on the brand) and tote bags (+14%).

And the same goes for cosmetics, which are also moving into genderless territory.

While unisex skincare is booming, the trend also now encompasses makeup. Nail polish, in dark or colourful shades, is on the up among men, as are nail stickers.

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In fact, Stylight reports a +41% increase on Google searches for "men's nail polish" in 2021.

The Stylight report is based on internal data collected from the 120 million annual users on its global platforms.

Clicks on the different products on Stylight and Google Analytics were analysed using the time period January to April 2020 vs the same period in 2021. Google Trends was also used, analysing data in 2020 vs 2021. – AFP Relaxnews