THE ANDROGYNY OF THE SEA

There is an enduring fascination with the mythology surrounding sea creatures. These beings have been reinterpreted over centuries by different cultures and through different art forms, with gender often being subverted or obscured, as myth and stories have evolved. 

While the Mermaid has now become a icon of femininity, they were often represented as far more androgynous. Other-worldly creatures of equal beauty and power, there is a fluidly between Mermaids and Mermen, both in how they have been depicted and the attributes they embody. Indeed Sirens, sea dwelling creatures which use song to lure sailors to their demise, are most often feminised in art and culture, becoming allegories for the destructiveness of women. However tracing back the origins of the Siren, through both Eastern and Western mythology, reveals them to be expressed as both male and female.

Moreover by their very nature of Sirens and Mermen are hybrid creatures, neither one thing or another. They not only occupy the in-between, but this otherness empowers them. Man or Women, fish or human, these creatures of the sea transcends these classifications, to represent something greater.

These themes have played into the inspiration behind Sister Loves’ Scarf Collection Atlantis: The Gods and Goddesses of the Sea. Featuring the hand-drawn illustrations by design collective Smallwasfast; the collection explores the idea and mythology of Sirens and creatures of the sea. The Atlantis collection comprises of four designs, which reflect the different natures and incarnations of the Sirens and Merfolk. Buoyed Up, however, explores most directly the androgyny and beauty of Mermen. There is a playfulness about this design, alluding to the overt campness of the Merman, yet also capturing the adventurous and individual spirit which these beings epitomise.

Across the fashion industry there has been refocusing towards unisex and gender-fluid design; the constraints of Menswear and Womenswear becoming increasingly outmoded. Sister Loves wants to champion Genderless Design. Drawing on the androgyny of sea creatures, we have reinterpreted these ancient beings as modern icons. Our Gods and Goddesses of the Sea can embody whoever and whatever the wearer chooses it to.