Anselm Kizza-Besigye poses in one of his unconventional outfits.
Men interested in fashion or dressing unconventionally have almost always been viewed differently than women with similar perspectives. Anselm Kizza-Besigye ’17 agrees with this statement. “I think that dressing unconventionally can alienate guys who live in traditional environments. I can relate to that emotion sometimes when I wear more effeminate clothes, like the ones I steal from my mom, or when I put my hair all the way up. My brand of androgyny sets me apart, and I’m sure it confuses people. However, as long as I feel comfortable and confident in what I wear, I don’t feel bothered by what some people might think.”
Television, a medium famous for depicting the stereotypical lives of people all over the world, often file fashionable men as homosexual, bullied, working in the fashion business, or a combination of these things. I can only speak for parts of Europe and the United States, but these standards displayed by television undoubtedly have an effect on the way the public views men with a sense of style.
Today, although mainly in gentrified areas, men dressing fashionably are more accepted. Kizza-Besigye expressed some of his thoughts on fashion, most of which defy many typecasts made on men’s style.
“I don’t see fashion as a hobby or passion. I don’t read fashion blogs or look at runways. I would say that I do have a distinct, personal style, but I certainly didn’t develop it through any detailed analysis of global trends. I’ve always been a fan of funk and Soul Train, and at a certain point, I started trying to vaguely recreate the outfits I saw on from that era. Developing my style was really just a process of combing through various thrift stores and searching for pieces that made me feel good about myself.”
It may seem easy for Kizza-Besigye to be able to express himself freely in such a small community, yet this actually signifies a lot. Twenty years ago, no man in a prep school would dress this way. In this way, on this tiny campus we live on, we can see people like Anselm showing us the future of men’s fashion, which is evolving to make the unconventional more widely embraced.
