Otherwild owner Rachel Berks talks heteropatriarchy and swimwear.
, I’ve heard many times from our customers that they struggle with inclusive clothing options, particularly swimwear, even within this trillion-dollar garment-industrial-complex. In my own life, my partner, who identifies as an androgyne, has always struggled to find suitable beachwear, often gravitating towards sports-oriented swimwear, which has filled a missing gap but had nonideal design elements like a low-cut neckline, unflattering seams, and no real chest support.
These days, even when the fashion industry stakes claims of androgyny or gender-queerness, brands often push shoppers to temporarily take on the qualities of a perceivedgender, like labelling items “boyfriend” tees or utilizing drag as a trend. But with Hirsuit, we’re creating products that are truly gender-free and do not cater to a heteropatriarchal gaze, which often causes people to act out prescribed performances of “sexiness” for an imagined cis-white male viewer.
isn’t even in the dictionary, and thus not understood at-large within the misogynist and masculinist culture to which we are beholden, I wonder when it comes to clothing what does “sexy” even mean without the burden of these mostly unquestioned concepts, which currently inform the designs of contemporary swimsuits?
For me, making these products is not just filling a void in the marketplace, but is also providing varied, authentic, and relevant forms of presentation and expression. It is my hope that when anyone wears Hirsuit, they feel a little more themselves in a world that so often attempts to capitalize on their insecurities or marginalized identities.
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