Gender Stereotype and Influencers’ Role in Genderless Fashion

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the role of gender segmentation in the fashion industry through the generations, particularly among the Millenials and Z Generation. Although, in fact, it has been stated that the perception of gender roles and gender stereotypes are less strong for these generations, contributions regarding the fashion sector are still few. For this purpose, focus groups were conducted with young Italian fashion consumers who contributed to a discussion on gender stereotype in fashion, genderless fashion, and the role of Instagram influencers in the genderless fashion. Research is currently ongoing, but results are expected in line with Laughlin (2016) who affirmed that these generations are less sensitive to gender segmentation and with De Veirman (De Veirman et al., 2017) to the extent that influencers can raise awareness much more than other forms of persuasion. This study provides a guidance for scholars about consumer perception of genderless fashion and current findings provide brand managers and advertising practitioners with empirical data about the role of social media influencers in genderless fashion and Instagram marketing.