Modified and deconstructed shapes, as well as a rebellious attitude, have always played a big role in the design of Singapore based fashion brand MAX.TAN. For Spring/Summer 2017 the design team chose to deconstruct androgyny. Which means that it’s not all about dressing women in men’s clothes or vice versa.

Androgyny is more than just boys in frocks and girls in suits, it is an attitude that goes beyond the unspoken rules of gender.

So this collection is all about exploring gender boundaries while leaving femininity intact. How does that work? Details of corsetry laces are worked into several pieces of the collection, while oversized suit jackets with immensely broad shoulder pads are tightly knotted around the waist. A boyish attitude is added by the choice of hair, makeup and shoe styling. But all these aspects are carefully chosen to play with a very feminine idea of revealing and hiding parts of the body. The look is serious and alluring at the same time. Shiny fabrics and transparent stripy patterns are the only decoration on pieces that are the most masculine and sporty in this collection. The balance is kept. No matter if one calls these traits feminine or masculine, the collection conveys an impression of agility, self assurance and curiosity. Which I consider to be much more fun than most gender-binary clothing.