Punk fashion
From Freepedia
Punk fashion is a fashion style largely associated with the punk movement during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It varies very widely from Vivienne Westwood styles to styles modelled on the bands The Exploited and Black Flag. Punk fashion was heavily influenced by the distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including glam rock, skinheads, rudeboys, art school students, greasers, and mods.
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Classic
A classic punk fashion look might consist of: a pair of combat boots, Doc Martens boots, old tattered converse shoes, tapered jeans or tight leather pants worn with a ripped T-shirt and silver bracelets. Hair was cropped and deliberately made to look messy, in reaction to the typical long smooth hair of the 60s and early 70s. It was also often dyed brilliant unnatural colors. Other accoutrements worn by punks often included: bondage pants, ripped fishnets, spikes, safety pins as body piercings, and pants with leopard patterns. Also often worn would be leather motorcycle jackets with words, band names and symbols written on them with paint markers. It is also a common punk style to wear a jean jacket or vest adorned with band patches, studs, spikes, safety pins, writing, or any combination of the above. Other accessories included: studded jewelry and many safety pins (not only in clothes, but also as body piercings).
1980s - "hardcore" and "anti-fashion"
With the advent of the more politically-inclined hardcore punk style in the early and mid-80s, social and political slogans became common adornments. While this was not without precedent (NO-FUTURE, a vaguely political slogan from the song "God Save The Queen" by The Sex Pistols, was commonly seen on punk clothing in the mid and late-70s) the depth and detail of these slogans were not developed until the hardcore punk movement began to gain momentum.
A parallel "anti-fashion" style developed emphasizing minimal adornment, eschewing branding or fashion trends and often even color, favoring muted colors. A typical late-80s look might include a plain black t-shirt, black hooded sweatshirt, jeans or thrift-store work pants, cheap flat soled shoes, and hair cut by a friend. Worn by both men and women, the clothing was asexual. In a Western society where surfaces were emblazoned with logos, advertising, and tagged with company names, and where people strove to express their personalities, ideas, gender, and sexuality through dress, the stark absence and obscuring of these symbols was distinctive. Altering this appearance with a single logo for a band, zine, or art project would heighten the effect.
Modern
What could be called "modern" punk fashion has been primarily influenced by Hardcore, Grunge, and to a lesser extent, Goth/Death rock. Today, different facets of the punk scene have different clothing habits. Skatepunks commonly have short hair and wear baggy jeans, Dickies, unnecessarily long wallet chains, wife beaters (also known as A-shirts), hooded sweatshirts, branded skate shoes (such as DC or Vans), studded belts and wrist bands. Other punks wear leather, denim, spikes, chains, and combat boots. Their hair is typically dyed and arranged into a mohawk, bihawk, trihawk, or simply a collection of spikes. Grungies or Grungers are commonly seen in denim, flannel (usually plaid), ripped jeans, long and undyed hair, and Doc Martens or other work boots or skate shoes. Please note that these three types listed here are not all of them and that most punks do not limit themselves in this way, and these are more mainstream examples. Many 'true' punks stick with the 'classic' sort of dress.
Most punks combine aspects of these rather then simply conforming, as it is, in itself, something that punks are against.
It should be said that contemporary punk fashion is extremely commercialized, as many well-established fashion designers, particularly Jean-Paul Gautier use punk elements in their production. Punk clothing, which was initially handmade, became mass produced and sold in record stores and some smaller specialty clothing stores by the 1980s. By the late 1990s, the publicly traded corporation Hot Topic established the business of selling punk style clothing at American shopping malls. Many fashion magazines and other glamored media are now advertising the classic punk hair-style or suits with as a punk-style touch as the "respectable image." This indicates that punk has become an established mainstream style. Also, many people from the original punk scene of the 70s have since heavily criticized the subsequent scenes of conforming to fashions, and lacking the originality and individuality which motivated the original punk fashions in the first place rather than all taking on a narrow-minded look.
See also
- BDSM fashion
- Black metal fashion
- Cyberpunk fashion
- Death rock fashion
- Emo fashion
- Gothic fashion
- Industrial fashion
| Punk rock | Punk genres |
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| Anarcho-punk - Anti-folk - Crust punk - Death rock - Garage punk - Gothic rock - Hardcore & Post-hardcore - Horror punk - New Wave - No Wave - Noise rock - Oi! - Pop punk - Post-punk - Post-punk revival - Psychobilly - Riot grrrl - Ska punk - Two Tone |
| Other topics |
| DIY - Punk pioneers - First wave - Second wave - Punk cities - Punk movies - Skinhead - Skinhead films - Ska |
