Mark, the 61-year-old engineer who dresses in skirts and heels

MARIA CALVO

Clothes should not be gender-neutral. This is the message that fashion brands are defending more and more. A demand to which well-known faces such as Harry Styles or Billy Porter join, and which has become the philosophy of life of hitherto anonymous men such as Mark Bryan, an American robotics engineer living in Germany who has been wearing traditional garments for four years. associated with the feminine wardrobe. Although she made this decision almost five years ago, the truth is that her case became known worldwide when she decided to open an Instagram account last year, where she even showed the careful outfits she used to telework during confinement. Since then, followers and proposals related to the fashion industry rain down on her.

Bryan, 61, defines himself on social media as a "Porches-loving, cisgender, straight man who wears heels and skirts daily." As he has also recognized on this digital platform, his wife supports him and is very proud of the decision he has made regardless of the response of others. Her daughter also supports her looks and even takes advantage of the situation by borrowing some of her clothes and accessories. In this way, this family man demolishes "stale gender stereotypes", as the creative director of Gucci, Alessandro Michele, described them in his day, enjoying fashion without complexes and demonstrating to the world that sexuality has nothing to do with tastes. when dressing.

Each of her looks are made up of two parts that respond to the male and female stereotype: suit jackets and ties on top and skirts and heels on the bottom. As she has recognized, she considers pants bland and boring, while she sees infinite possibilities in skirts to combine her clothes. "Suit pants have few color options: black, gray, navy, or brown. With skirts, you can incorporate vibrant reds, greens, blues, flower or animal prints... And the same goes for shoes, since there are more styles and types of heels. In addition, I can wear open shoes when the good weather arrives ». Although it is true that it is difficult for her to find them in her size since, if she wears a size 38 in skirts, she wears a 41 in heels.

Evolution in history: heels for men, pants for women

Bryan remembers that until not long ago it was frowned upon for women to wear pants and suits, something totally normal now in the wardrobe of both sexes. Also, he emphasizes that men began to be the first to wear heels and he was right. "Heeled shoes were used for centuries in the Middle East as footwear for horsemen. When the soldiers clung to their stirrups, the heel helped hold on to the horse so they could shoot their arrows more accurately," says Elisabeth Semmelhack of the Bata Sho Museum in Toronto.

The growing interest in everything that happened in Persia then flooded Western Europe and these Persian-style shoes were adopted by kings and aristocrats who sought a virile appearance, a masculinity that could only be achieved on a few inches of heel. If we are talking about one of the great shoe collectors in history, that would undoubtedly be Louis XIV, who improved his 1.63 meter height by adding 10 centimeters of heel to his shoes. At the end of the 17th century, this trend began to fade until it disappeared completely.

The same was true for skirts. In ancient times, men wore unisex robes that denoted wealth according to their fabrics and cuts. In the Middle Ages, we find uniforms of certain armies made up of skirts, as well as the costumes of many kings, such as those worn by Henry VIII of England. In the Modern Age, it has been an evicted garment from the male wardrobe, except for the traditional 'kilts' worn by men in Scotland, until the arrival of Marc Jacobs or Alexander McQueen, who institutionalized the grunge style in the 90s, including skirts as their most representative piece. Its inclusion has been timid until now, although many other designers such as Vivienne Westwood or Alessandro de Michele have taken over to put an end to the hackneyed labels forever. Let's remember the famous checkered dress that he launched last year.

"You can't be afraid. Some people are like animals, they attack the weakest. Show the world that you are not afraid and that you are not scared and that no one can bother you. Skirts? Just do it, ”stresses Mark Bryan.