Sitting in my Copenhagen hotel room, enduring what turned out to be 28-hour delay on my journey back to the East, I decided that as I was in Viking territory, I would take the time to indulge in the fashion fun fest that pounds the pavements of this picturesque city. Why do I use the term "fest"? Because I found myself gasping for air at the sight of a Nordic girl wearing an animal ears headband. Until that life-defining moment, I had always assumed that these "happy ears" as I call them were an essentially more Eastern phenomenon, mainly spotted in Beijing walking up and down the Nanluoguxiang shopping street (the term "authentic hutong" seems rather outdated). This led me to wonder: Copyright lies with Carrie Bradshaw, can any fashion trend actually be called a "trend"? Aren't they sometimes simply cultural staples? Take for example the androgynous vibe hailing from the recent 2013 pre-fall collections. As far as I know, the lines between the feminine and masculine wardrobes have been shifted throughout history. From Plato in his Grecian togas (427-347 BC) to the Ming emperors' yellow dragon robes (1368-1644), hasn't androgyny always been on the racks?

Blurred Lines

Pharell got it right. The pre-fall collections have shown us a decisive blurring of what constitutes male and female dressing; oversized, double-breasted suits and pantsuits seemed to take centerfold. This is not the first time we've seen this emergence of female power-dressing though; just think of the 1980s broad-shouldered broads – still sends shivers down my spine. Yet back in those days, the underlying motive for this masculine approach in women's wear collections was one of economic striving; the glass ceiling had to be smashed and sloped shoulders combined with oversize dark glasses were risky essentials in getting big business.

As Vogue America remarked in May of this year, 2013 bares a reshaping of the fashion world, characterized by interchanging collections and models. The likes of Andrej Peivic (sizzling up catwalks and confusing campaigns alike since 2010/2011 collections), Casey Legler and David Chiang flirt both with the camera and society's fixed notions of how we should dress. As Legler put it, "Fashion is now holding up its mirror to an obvious social reality: What you 'should' look like now means only what suits you best."

Nothing in fashion is set in stone

The Oxford English Dictionary defines "androgyny" as "of indeterminate sex" or "partly male and partly female," a definition which seamlessly fits in with today's trend watching. In the fabulously anthracite and minimalist caves of Greece where a toga-clad Plato composed his "Androgyne," (a term often explained as bisexuality, but which is in fact a reference to the "third gender classification" which existed among the ancient gods) there was male, there was female, and then there was a mix 'n match. No three-piece straightjacket muss, no layered train dramatic fuss.

How then does China fit into this androgynous, gender-bending (according Vogue columnist Sarah Mower all "yesteryear terms," yet I find them still suitable) scenario? In terms of hairstyles, it would almost appear that Chinese men outdo David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust with their elaborate weaves bouncing up and down the avenues. Fashion reflects social change, a modernizing maturity in terms of social notions which China is most certainly experiencing; the emergence of a middle moneyed class thanks to the nation's economic growth surely plays a major part in this. Yet, while some may call the feminine pursuit in China's menswear a new fusion dish, I believe it is in fact a staple food, having been evident from the halcyon days of the Tang Dynasty to today's tweeted pics from Tiananmen. "Androchine," I'd call it.

Nailing it

As I have mentioned in this column before, men's fashion took a particular turn to the more female side of things during the nation's old dynastical days; long robes with butterfly sleeves and the headwear, all too often associated with femininity in modern-day terms. Since I do not want to go that far back in time yet again, I will instead prefer the example of the internationally hailed Jingju performer Mei Lanfang (1894-1961). Jingju, or Peking opera, basically celebrates the art of disguise. What disguise? Men disguising as women, for some roles, in the name of grand theatre. They get it down to a tee; the make-up, the effeminate hand movements, all take years and years of training to master (remember the "Red Lantern"?). Around the time of Mei's death, the unisex uniforms of the Cultural Revolution were entering the photo shoot. Whether you were male or female, gender no longer existed and this was also expressed in the daily get-up. The cut of the typical Mao suit was straight up-and-down. No fuss, no muss.

Fast forward four decades and the average street view unfolding before our eyes has received a Midas touch in comparison with what went before, and the change has been startlingly rapid. Though the women participate in the ambiguous gender game as well, aka the zhongxing style or cool tomboy look, the predominance of androgyny in men's style provides a better, read "easier," review. Contemporary China specifically and East Asia generally bears mucho macho, but also mucho metro in its daily wardrobe. Check out your average Chinese or Korean pop star sensation and witness hair that is not Harry Styles-messy-styled, but even more effeminately dyed, bleached or coiffed, with copious quantities of spray and gel to keep it all in place (up or down). They appear more "prim and pretty" (take Korean Siwon Choi or Mandopop's Wang Leehom and Jay Chou) than Gerard Butler-rugged. Yet both carry the same amount of male sex appeal with their fans. Many seem to take this "feminine" comment as an insult, probably because it is often associated with "submissiveness" as opposed to male "domination," but for the record, and my lawyer's blood pressure, I in no way intend it like that. Male appeal with a pretty face; the ambiguity of androgyny carries with it fascination and liberation; it has done so for centuries it seems. And as far as the "submissive" aspect goes, Taiwanese-born David Chiang is the latest poster boy for the pretty-yet-masculine look. The entire industry simply cannot get enough of him as Chiang possesses that genderless look befitting the current "trend." Talk about dominating.

I think China already nailed this gender-bending pre-fall clothing trend quite a few seasons ago.

Fashionistas United:

It's pretty easy to swing both ways in your wardrobe, but when purchasing the staples:

Take a hint from Tilda, not Plato.

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