Burna Boy wears gender-neutral outfit, twins with Tracee Ellis Ross at his record-breaking concert

Global Afrobeats superstar, Damini ‘Burna Boy’ Ogulu made history over the weekend by performing at an 80,000-capacity concert in a London Stadium, a feat that has never been achieved by any other African artist. 

For the event, he was styled by his sister and regular Stylist, Ronami. He wore a burnt orange suit with frills, pleats and fringes made by designer Robert Wun. His suit had a large cut at his jacket.

This exact look was seen in actress and daughter of Diana Ross, Tracee Ellis Ross. Tems also wore a similar version of this look, in blue. What’s great about this outfit is the way it motions the fabrics, giving the wearer extra volume for flowing movement.

Burna Boy is stepping out of what would normally be traditionally masculinity by wearing a feminine suit. But one would argue, what is a woman’s or man’s suit? Why should clothes be gendered? This sort of question has led to a popular trend known as genderless, gender-neutral or androgynous fashion. 

Genderless or androgynous fashion is revolutionizing the boundaries of conventional attire, enabling individuals to broaden their choices by wearing garments that were once deemed to be exclusively feminine or masculine. Many designers make clothes with no gender in mind - or at least make them gender-fluid while many stylists pick clothes from the opposite gender for their clients. 

This is not an entirely new phenomenon, especially with the alte movement. Nigerian male musicians paint their nails and wear outfits and accessories that would have otherwise been termed feminine. Bella Shmurda donned a skirt while performing, Adekunle Gold exhibits outfits featuring a feminine silhouette, and the likes of alté artist, Odunsi the Engine, exude gender-neutrality or androgyneity in his clothing choices.

Kudos to Burna Boy for breaking the glass ceiling for African artistes and doing it in style.